22-250 Loads

[novix]

If any one has any good 22-250 loads for a weatherby or in general please post. I was interested to know what the over all length was for Saladin pet 22-520 load mentioned on the Tikka T3 review using the BM2.

Regards,
Novix

[brad]

my parker hale deluxe loves
55gn rem cor-lokt, 34gn AR2206, fed210 primer and pmc cases.

you really need to find your own OAL,
pick a projectile, pick a powder do a methodical test from min to max in .5gn increments.
then when you find the sweat spot for that powder you can try diff projectiles, then when you find its favourite start adjusting the seating depth.
thats just my way i'm sure others will have diff ideas !

[Brad Y]

Been doing the 250 load thing for a while now and Im slowly getting there.

I found 32gr of BM2 and a 55gr vmax to be very accurate but its a pretty mild load.

Also got the 36gr varmint grenade in front of 36gr BM2 which isnt bad either.

Ive gone to 2206H for the 55gr now to fill the case more and it has a lower pressure. Got one ragged hole from 50m the other day as it was windy and I couldnt be bothered with 100m. This was a suggested sweet load from a computer program. The other suggested load is 2gr higher and with no pressure signs Im still going up in 0.3gr lots. Obvioulsy it will be over max loads but if the program is right as it has been so far, pressure is still under the SAAMI max for this cartridge

I found 0.015 to be good from my rifle for seating depth. OAL is 2.496 from memory with the 55gr vmax but you will have to find your own to suit your rifle.

[Model70]

Mate 36.6gn 2208 behind 55gn Vmax, it is a hot load and was worked up very carefully in .2 gn increments. As the other fellas said you'll have to work out your own seating depth, but ypur rifle will love you for it!

[novix]

Thanks for that guys.

I will have to try some loads and play with the seating depth.

Realy helps with the process given to find that sweet load by brad. I think that's the hardest part, What do you change first and by how much.

I have some of the 36gr varmint grenade so ill try that load this weekend if the rain lets up.

Thanks again

[trevort]

find your OAL from the ogive and seat backjust a smidge, 15 thou? Do all your load development at this 'near the lands' length. Thats 'near' not 'on'

Only play with seating depth after you have found you best powder/projectile/primer combo. Since most rifles like to be near the lands you will probably not need to adjust seating depth. if your OAL length loaded round wont fit in the magazine, develop your load with the projie seated to only just fit the mag. Again play with seating depth after all the other combos are tried.

[Brad Y]

Mate I find that decent loads start about 1.5 grains under max. Hence the 32gr BM2 load behind a 55gr vmax. Once you work out what powder and bullets it likes best then you can fiddle more. I would never have thought that sweet loads would have existed in the hot range that the program indicated but with pressure low, Im confident on building them up.

Also consider a round robin test when you shoot them off. Ive recently come across the idea and it makes sense. Shoot say a 32gr load at one target, then a 32.3gr at another then a 32.6gr at another. Then start again- 32, 32.3, 32.6 etc. It evens factors like barrel fouling and warm barrels out of the equation more. Once you finish the test then repeat it again to eliminate the bias from any fliers. That way you should get an indication of the most consistent load.

I aim to go up to 37.5gr BM2 with the 36gr varmint grenade and to 37gr 2206H with the 55gr vmax. Those are very hot loads....

[brad]

what projectiles have you got and what have you tried ?
id recommend starting with the traditional 55gn pill first as a do all load, before test those 36gn barnes, they seem to be a bit hit and miss maybe not the best for a beginner.

i have a few diff projectiles i can send you to test after you find a decent load for 55's.

be sure to post pics of your targets with clear load data beside the group in sequential order so some of the more experienced loaders here can add some advise on things you may not notice !

[Brad Y]

I also found that boat tail sierra blitzkings didnt work in my barrel. The flat base 55gr vmax did and continues to outshoot me...

[Model70]

I also found that boat tail sierra blitzkings didnt work in my barrel. The flat base 55gr vmax did and continues to outshoot me...

mate I had the same hassle in mine, couldnt get it to shoot under 1.25" at all. V Max changed that.
And bear in mind you dont have to use fancy varminting projectiles, try the 55gn Nosler SHOTS, around $18 per hundred, accurate and great terminal effect. Too many people with 22-250 seem to go "pfft, soft points" and stick to the fancy stuuf. Nothing wrong with that but dont rule out soft or hollow points, dynamite!!

[7mmmag]

I only use the 50gr Nosler B/Tips and sierra 55gr SBT now, but when i bought the rifle i tried a few different loads.

50gr Nosler B/Tips - 34gr BM2
52gr Sierra HPBT - 33gr BM2
55gr Sierra SBT - 34.5gr 2208
63gr Sierra SMP - 33gr BM2

Have a test load for the 40gr Nosler B/Tip to try.

All the above loads shot well inside an inch at 90m.

[Brad Y]

I also found that boat tail sierra blitzkings didnt work in my barrel. The flat base 55gr vmax did and continues to outshoot me...

mate I had the same hassle in mine, couldnt get it to shoot under 1.25" at all. V Max changed that.
And bear in mind you dont have to use fancy varminting projectiles, try the 55gn Nosler SHOTS, around $18 per hundred, accurate and great terminal effect. Too many people with 22-250 seem to go "pfft, soft points" and stick to the fancy stuuf. Nothing wrong with that but dont rule out soft or hollow points, dynamite!!

Yeah mate the boat tail might make them that much longer that it wont spit the out right.... I have tried the 55gr TNT's too and they were accurate, just they werent in the case by much when i had them seated to 15 thou off the lands. I think one of the american sites suggested that flat based bullets could be more accurate in closer, with boat tails better off out past 300...

[Knackers]

G'day novix, you could also try doing a ladder test.
The idea is to load 20 rounds with .2grn increments between the starting load and max load in the loading manual. Then shoot the 20 rounds at a target 150 yards away. NOTE you must keep track of where each bullet falls on the target and write it down or the test will be a waste of time.
Shoot at the same POA everytime and the bullets will slowly walk up the target, (as the load gets greater) and you will get a few clusters of bullets, or little groups if you want to call them that, that are close together on the string. This is suppose to be the sweet spot for the bullet powder combo that you are using. There could be two or three separate groups that are clustered together on the string of shots.
This saves loading up 5 of each powder rate till you find the good point, when you have choosen a load you can then fidddle around with the seating dept to try to get a bit more out of the load.
I hope I explained it well enough for you to understand, if you google "ladder test" you will find it.

[7mmmag]

That is an interesting way of working out the optimum performance of a bullet powder combination Knackers, must admit i havn't thought of doin that before. But will be worth thinking about when i next work up a new load.

[Dr G]

good way to keep fit to, 150yrds 20 shots almost 6km in walking. I like it, i need to burn some kilos