New 22-250

[snowshoes22]

I'm going to work up a load for a bull barrel rem 700 and was wondering what you guys are using. So far the gun has about 10 rounds of remington factory 55 grainers through it and is not shooting to its potential. I'm thinking a handloaded v-max will tighten things up. Open to other brands also. Varget or RL 15 will most likely be used.

[iusmc2002]

Mine really likes 52gr Sierra Match BTHP over 35gr Varget.  It was the second bullet I tested, and one of the first powders tested and I've been using it for 4 years now.  Shoots very well from my M77MkII Target w/ 1-14" barrel

[JLS]

The Vmax should shoot very accurately.  What twist is your barrel?  That could influence what weight you try.  Put another ten rounds of factory fodder through it and clean it good, then do your handloads.

[snowshoes22]

1:14 twist i believe. Looking at 55 grainers.

[yorketransport]

I had great luck with the berger 52gr match HP and H322. My gun was a 1:12 and worked best with bullets in the 52gr range.

This was a good group, but not the best that this barrel had shot.

Andrew

[carpsniperg2]

I gave a 700 bull 22-250 as well. It has always like the 50g b tips with h380.

[drysideshooter]

I would suggest getting a Stoney Creek (now made by Hornady) OAL guage and one of the modified cases for 22-250.  I have all of the stuff and am more than happy to help out if needed.  Many 22 cals are  pretty sensitive to how much jump to the lands you have, and some have a real sweet spot where accuracy really improves. 

I would suggest picking a couple of bullets that you like.  Try some minimum type loads loaded to published OAL with Varget, RL15 and H380.  Figure out which bullet and powder your gun seems to prefer and then work up some loads.  I typically work up powder charges until the bullet is going through the chrono at the speed I'm looking for and is accurate.  Then I'll stick with that powder charge and start adjusting OAL until I find the sweet spot. At that point I will chrono again and adjust the charge as needed.  When working up OAL make sure to load some dummy rounds at each longer length to make sure it will cycle through your action okay.  As a general rule you want to make sure to have an amount equal to 80% of the bullet diameter seated in the case, or in the case of a .224 bullet about .18" of bullet base seated in the case. That is for adequate case neck tension, and more is usually better.

If you are really concerned with accuracy you may want to consider fire forming some cases to your rifle and then mostly neck sizing when reloading.  I take it a bit further and typically case neck turn and check loaded rounds for runout, but it's pretty easy to go overboard.  On the other hand, if you're using this gun for taking long range pokes at game every little bit of advantage helps. 

If you want to do it quicker, down and dirty, it's hard to go wrong with H380 for most bullets in the 55gr range out of a 22-250.

[CAMPMEAT]

I had great luck with the berger 52gr match HP and H322. My gun was a 1:12 and worked best with bullets in the 52gr range.

This was a good group, but not the best that this barrel had shot.

Andrew

That ain't good enough !! 

[yorketransport]

I had great luck with the berger 52gr match HP and H322. My gun was a 1:12 and worked best with bullets in the 52gr range.

This was a good group, but not the best that this barrel had shot.

Andrew

That ain't good enough !! 

Apparently not because I traded that barrel off for a 6.5x284 that I never shot. I just got so sick of making those little holes. What's the fun in shooting 5 shots if you only get one hole?

I'll agree with drysideshooter on the OAL. That was when I saw the groups really start to shrink was I started tweaking the OAL. A change of only .005" would make a noticeable difference.

Andrew

[drysideshooter]

I had great luck with the berger 52gr match HP and H322. My gun was a 1:12 and worked best with bullets in the 52gr range.

This was a good group, but not the best that this barrel had shot.

Andrew

That ain't good enough !! 

Apparently not because I traded that barrel off for a 6.5x284 that I never shot. I just got so sick of making those little holes. What's the fun in shooting 5 shots if you only get one hole?

I'll agree with drysideshooter on the OAL. That was when I saw the groups really start to shrink was I started tweaking the OAL. A change of only .005" would make a noticeable difference.

Andrew

A lot of folks are really surprised to learn that such a small difference in OAL can have a real impact on accuracy Andrew.

From my experience with bolt guns the functioning of rounds in the gun often becomes the limiting length factor.   In some guns, particularly old M77's there is often so much throat that there is no way to get the bullet seated anywhere close to the lands.  Where I have been really amazed is with single shot rifles, like #1's using longer bullets like Barnes or Berger's.  When you don't have to worry about a bullet feeding from a magazine and use a long bullet the results can be really amazing.  You can often get quite a bit more powder in the case when loaded very long, though you still have to watch for pressure signs of course.    I have friends that have put sleds in guns like 700's for single shot shooting and loaded long with great results too.

Once you find a bullet/powder combo that works for a gun, playing around with OAL can really cut the group sizes down, as Andrew's groups clearly show.