.22-250?

I’ve had 2. If you want a groundhog rifle, it’s great for 1 shot.

I tried to use one for prairie dogs. Way too much muzzle blast. Gets hot too quick for target shooting IMO

FWIW, my last one was a 1990’s vintage 700 VS heavy barrel. One the most accurate rifles I’ve owned. Literally bughole groups. First time I shot it, I couldn’t figure out how I hit the target with the first shot, then totally missed with the other four. Close examination showed the bullet hole was slightly oblong.

Jerry Gebby, a Nebraska gunsmith, was the developer of the "Varminter" wildcat from the Savage .250-3000, back in the 1930s. My uncle bought one of his barrels and built a varmint rifle via a bring-back Mauser 98 action. Around 1948 or so. Half-MOA rifle, with a Weaver K-10.

Then came Remington.

Quite a history of long-range shots on prairie dogs and varmints in general.

Yeah. When I was in high school in the late 60’s I was routinely getting hits on groundhogs at 300+ yards. That as pretty much unheard of then. I was reloading with one of those little Lee whack-a- mole kits

Had a straight 10x scope

Back in the days of Coyote bounties several ppl that lived around property I owned in the Missouri Ozarks were Coyote hunters. One such person and I became fairly close friends with. He had a dump truck as his main source of income, his secondary source was Yote hunting.
One day he came to visit. The gun in his back seat was an old 03A3 re-barreled to 22-250 and a huge scope I don't know what power.... but BIG.
As we stood talking in my driveway at one end of a 40 acre square piece of property we say a Yote jogging along a fence row at the other side of the property (a 1/4 mile away). He retrieved the rifle from his back seat, raised it to his shoulder and for what seemed like several seconds later BANG the Yote tumbled.
Ever since I've wanted a 22-250 but haven't got around to it yet.

Legionnaire said:

Given that, what niche does the .22-250 fill today?

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Nostalgia...
Back in "the day" it was quite the deal, just like the 250 Savage that it was based on.

Legionnaire said:

That's sort of what I was thinking, though I've never owned or shot one. Seems to be pretty good as a specific-purpose hunting cartridge, but not the best for general purpose.

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I agree. It is a great varmint rifle cartridge.

I do have a buddy that has a Savage 111 in 22-250 that he swears by, the problem he experienced was the barrel would get shot out after about at 1000 or so rounds, and that MOA would go to 3-4MOA afterwards. Myself I do prefer the .243 (Savage Model 110), as well as the .223/5.56 (in a Weatherby and my two AR-15) for varmint work and just plain target shooting. After all I've got several thousand rounds thru each and they still record MOA. Not only that the bark of the 22-250 is a bit much.

I've had 2 and I still have 1. Its a 22-250AI. As if the original 22-250 was not fast enough! Its a great rifle for varmints if you don't plan to shoot a lot at one session. Its fast, shoots flat and if you like to see targets explode, it does it. But it gets hot too quick for Prairie Doggin. Mine is a 14 twist built to shoot light bullets.

I don't know where it fits in but probably someplace between your 223 and 243.

I've got a savage Stryker pistol chambered in 22-250.

I can't say that I agree on its obsolescence, as many many calibers fall into the same category: 220 swift, 22 hornet, 22 Sav HP, 222 rem, 6mm rem, 257Roberts, 300 sav, etc. Newer calibers have surpassed many of them in terms of ballistics. But how many calibers are considered perfect for a specific task? Technically you can hunt about anything on earth with just a few calibers: 22 LR, 243 (or 30-30) win, and 12ga will take care of 99% of shooting situations. Does that make the rest of the calibers obsolete? Not in my mind. Personally, I enjoy getting a new chambering. Recently, I picked up a contender barrel in 221 fireball and a colt new navy in 32-20. I also happen to have every caliber I listed above.

I would get bored if guns only came in 9mm, 45, 223, and 308.

I had a 220 Swift that was like the fist of God on coyotes. Hold on the fur out to about 400 with a 50gr Vmax screaming along at 4035 FPS and it was bang-flop.

It was a terrifically accurate rifle but I recently sold it to a friend because I just never grabbed it to go coyote hunting because of a variety of reasons. I have first dibs if he ever gets the urge to sell it but I'm not sure if I would exercise them.

It was pretty much a one trick pony. Speed.


It is a new era of high quality optics, high BC heavy bullets, and range finders. I can get out to 800 yards with a 223 and 73gr ELD bullets, with less than HALF the drop that I would get from the Swift. The Swift twist rate that was necessary for high velocity with varmint bullets would not stabilize modern heavy projectiles.

Legionnaire said:

I was looking at a rifle in 220 Swift. When I read up on that cartridge, I saw that it had been "edged out" so to speak by the .22-250. So I started reading about the .22-250. The more I read, the more I conclude that I don't need one in my battery, as cool as it sounds. But I'm very interested to learn what others think. I'm kind of hoping somebody jumps in to make the case, "It's the best thing since sliced bread!"

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If you handload, the Swift is just as accurate as the 22-250, and always has the advantage of even more velocity. I was a full grain under max load with H-380 and getting over 4000 FPS from a 50gr V-max with stellar accuracy.


Brass is harder to find but lasts a long time with neck sizing only.


The 22-250 has the advantage of ammo available everywhere. It is definitely more common. Will you ever see a difference in practical utility between a Swift and a 22-250? No.

If you want to zap coyotes out to 400 yards and watch them drop as if lighting zapped them, the Swift or the 22-250 have a niche.

If you want to shoot coyotes and stretch the legs of a small frame rifle out to 600-800 yards with heavy bullets and a good scope and range finder, buy a 223 with a 1-7 or 1-8 twist.

Legionnaire said:

The last three posts make me smile: they are all retrospective, which kind of supports my thinking that the .22-250, although a great cartridge in its day, has become somewhat obsolescent. I know it's fast! But I'm guessing that one could accomplish much the same thing today with a 6mm Creedmoor. I don't own a 6CM, but I do own and shoot a couple of .243 Ackleys. Given that, what niche does the .22-250 fill today?

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With a 53vmax @3990, I can hit anything inside 500 yards with no recoil in a light gun. I say 500 because that's as far as my property goes.
A 243 has a little more recoil for a little less wind drift.

I am very partial to the 22-250 for it's ability to naturally support VLD bullet designs since the case doesn't try to be as long as possible to fit into the OAL allowed by the action. It's a bit harder to get VLD bullets to fit into a 243 action; you have to fight both case length and bullet length a bit more than 22-250.

The 22-250 is pretty efficient in its powder use; I can push a .224 75gr bullet at 3200+fps using ~31gr of H4895, but it takes 36gr of H4895 to push a 75gr .243 bullet to the same speed.

I run 1:8" twist 22-250's, and am pretty happy with the choice. If I feel like I need more than 75gr-80gr worth of payload, I bypass the 6mm and move to the 25cal rifles.

Seems a "fast twist" 220 swift would push the same heavy bullet as a 223, with a higher velocity? I'm no pro at this but that seems common sense to me

The tapered case seems to reload pretty easy, and feed easy.

They are great fun and if you hold out for a fast twist one they can easily take light deer out to 300 yards, a very quick killer ! Hint, if buying new Savage and a couple others have quicker twist ones available. You need at least 10 " twist to use all 60 grain bullets and 9" to use most 70 grainers. The 60 grainers are killer on light deer. The 8" twist , like my .22-250 AI has will handle all 70s very well and make it a long range lazer beam .

The 22-250 with a slow twist barrel and light bullets turns little varmints into mush at very long distances. It's only rival in that department is the Swift. If that doesn't float your boat get another caliber. It's recoil isn't bad and if you wear ear protection you won't notice it's noise. I have two and they aren't going anywhere.

One thing thats an advantage with the 22-250, 220Swift over the larger diameter bullets like a .243 is they are more frangible so they break up when they hit something instead of continuing on. Important when your in a more populated area. But the noise is right up there.

While I don't believe that old cartridges EVER go out of style, the Twenty Two Creedmoor sets about right to take a large bite out of the venerable rifle's place.(In a souless, woodless, brand new, air craft aluminum, Whizbang Bullet Flinger XL...)

Wind defeating coefficients and barrels twisted correctly for them.
It will be the same analog as the Two Sixty, but in a smaller caliber...
Unfortunately.

Normal humans don't have the understanding of handloading and fast twist two fifties from the factory will result in too many complaints of poofing bullets or uncharacteristic terminal effect.

Not to mention the loadings nightmare for the manufacturers and ammunition clerks. (Is this Sixty grain at thirty two hundred for a fast or slow twist?)

(Yuck. I typed that cartridge name. Can we call it the Twenty Two Critter? I feel like if we just start calling it that everyone will just follow along...)



Eta: Only, of course, if things continue in the faster bullets, longer ranges, smaller targets direction. Target range plays a large role. A high B.C. bullet up close just pencils through and ricochets out into the horizon. After four hundred yards my AR outshoots my cohorts Swift.

BigBlue 94 said:

Seems a "fast twist" 220 swift would push the same heavy bullet as a 223, with a higher velocity? I'm no pro at this but that seems common sense to me

The tapered case seems to reload pretty easy, and feed easy.

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It would. The new 224 Valkyrie would be a turnkey solution with similar capabilities.

I think the .22-250 is really at it's best as a Coyote rifle, or one to have along for occasional long pokes at prairie dogs and such. They are just a bit tough on barrels with extended firing, and I think heavier bullets with a faster twist would accelerate this issue.

They will drive a 40-55 varmint slug extremely flat to 400 or so, seldom leaving an exit on coyotes. Great fur gun in that role. If one does not care about the fur, I have to agree the same could be accomplished by the new gen .24s or the good old .243. I hunt coyotes with a few guys, and they can do pretty impressive things with the round. I use my Service match AR 5.56 with 75 heavies. As I shoot it a lot at distance and have well refined wind and elevation holds, I can equal their range, but not without the fur damage. The 75 HPBT tends to be rough on pelts. If prices ever increase on these critters, I will absolutely own a .22-250 or something with similar ballistics.

Gordon said:

They are great fun and if you hold out for a fast twist one they can easily take light deer out to 300 yards, a very quick killer ! Hint, if buying new Savage and a couple others have quicker twist ones available. You need at least 10 " twist to use all 60 grain bullets and 9" to use most 70 grainers. The 60 grainers are killer on light deer. The 8" twist , like my .22-250 AI has will handle all 70s very well and make it a long range lazer beam .

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My 12 twist stabilises 62gr hpbt. Anything longer than that are not good. Next one is going to be a 1-8 for the 75/77 grain bullets.