.22-250 twist rates

My 1/9 ARs will shoot 69 gr very well. 62gr (if lead and not the long monolithic bullets) should be ok in a 1/10.

(Only by shooting one will it truly tell the story with the bullets you intend to shoot.)

Stay safe!

I have a 1/12 twist Savage 11 that is accurate with 60g Nosler partition and 64g Nosler PSP.

Just rebarrel the ones you have with 1-8 or 1-7 twist barrels,and shoot whatever bullet you want up to 90 gr.

I don’t own a .22-250 (always wanted one though)

Having said that, my understanding of the design intent behind the cartridge is to have the case capacity to sling .22 caliber bullets on the lighter side at speeds approaching 4,000 FPS. This means a slower twist barrel is needed.

If you go with a faster twist barrel to stabilize the heavier bullets you have to dial back the FPS. If you don’t you run the risk of over spinning the bullet resulting in it disintegrating in flight.

At some point in dealing with these compromising trade offs, you’ve turned your .22-250 into a .223

Jbm stability calculator check it out. With a faster twist .22-250 you'll be able to run game class bullets at top speeds, but light varmint bullets may not be so great, depending on construction, a 50 gr btip tip will hold together better than a 50 gr spsx, but if you are going fast twist, it's because you want the long bullets anyway right?

Nature Boy said:

At some point in dealing with these compromising trade offs, you’ve turned your .22-250 into a .223

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A fast twist 22-250 can chuck 75gr-90gr bullets at least 400fps faster than a 223. Depending on your intent, that can be pretty meaningful.

rbernie said:

A fast twist 22-250 can chuck 75gr-90gr bullets at least 400fps faster than a 223. Depending on your intent, that can be pretty meaningful.

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There may be a sweet spot in there. Not arguing that at all. It just might be a very narrow one.

It used to be true that velocity was needed to get explosive builet expansion. Modern bullet construction has rendered that necessity moot. Breaking 4000 ft./s isn’t particularly meaningful if the bullet lacks the aero efficiency to be useful at range and no longer needs to be driven to that speed to provide the desired expansion.

I think that the 65gr-90gr range is the sweet spot for 22–250. The case length inherently supports the use of long ogive (VLD) bullets when chambered in a traditional short action, there is adequate powder capacity to drive a 90 grain bullet to 2800fps-2900fps and a 75gr bullet to over 3100fps, and the heavier bullets provide excellent sectional density.

I have built several 22-250 rifle’s with 1: 8“ barrels, and think very highly of them. I have not found the faster twist to preclude the successful use of 55gr varmint bullets, at least for range use.

It's just my dream twist but 1/10 would be the bomb in my world but I don't plan on shooting anything over 69 grains. Your mileage may vary.

kwg

Whittaker Guns in Owensboro Ky has some special Ruger American rifles with 1 in 8 trust for $279.

https://shop.whittakerguns.com/product/1704071440207

My No. 1 handles 45 gr best. Right now the only thing I use are the Winchester White box exclusively bc I tried several factory loads and this was the only one that would group reasonably well. I’ve heard similar stories about other rifles. So, until I start reloading this is what I use.

I think the comment above re: light bullets really fast is on target for the .22-250. So, I’m kinda stuck because I’m thinking that the best thing for this gun would be an upgraded rings/scope combo, but do i want to invest in that, or get a good .223 1/8 or 9 and make that my designated target rifle... At the moment I’m just sitting on the whole thing not doing anything. Probably though will get the rings, use a different scope I have and call WWB good...

Greg

Kinda sounds like the fast twist .22-250 with 90 gr bullets is becoming a lot like a .250-3000 with 87 gr bullets...

Stay safe!

Both Berger and Sierra say their 90’s need a 1:7 to stabilize. Some folks report they’ve had success with 1:8 barrels and some have not.

I can’t find where I got the info on 90g bullet failure so please discout my comment above. I may have been remembering someone talking about issues using a 1:6.5 twist barrel

Honestly I can’t remember if I read it or was told it in a conversation. If I find any back up I’ll post it

The Berger calculator definitely wants faster than 1:8" for the Berger 90gr to be comfortable; it's rated as 'marginal stability' using a 2700fps starting point. I've been using 75gr-77gr and 80gr bullets of various manufacture without issue; I have a bunch of Hornady 88gr ELDs on the way to try out.

I’m not trying to be a smart a$$...but why would you want a 90gr .223? Why not simply go up to the .243 or Bob? The .223 class does an excellent job for what they do, if you need a larger bullet then get a bigger platform.

I suppose the 90 gr will give you a higher BC but the 70gr class are great target bullets...so.

Respectfully,
Greg

I have more than a handful of 257 caliber rifles that are well suited both for range and hunting use. The 22-250 fast twist rifles are intended to offer better downrange ballistics than, say, the VLD 25-06, while preserving bullet compatibility (in the 55gr-75gr range) with the 223 / 5.56 loads. I could add 6mm to the mix, but I've been slowly downsizing my caliber footprint for some years now, to settle on 224, 257, 308, and 358. Within that context, a 75-80gr 22-250 makes a lot of sense to me.

ExAgoradzo said:

I’m not trying to be a smart a$$...but why would you want a 90gr .223?

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Here’s one reason

If you shoot in NRA Highpower F/TR class you are restricted to either .223 or .308

Choosing .223 gives you the advantage of lower recoil, and, if you go with the 90g VLDs you have competitive parity BC-wise with a .308 shooting 185 juggernauts.

https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/223-with-90g-berger-vlds.838603/

Apologies for drifting off topic from the 22-250 discussion

Nature Boy said:

Here’s one reason

If you shoot in NRA Highpower F/TR class you are restricted to either .223 or .308

Choosing .223 gives you the advantage of lower recoil, and, if you go with the 90g VLDs you have competitive parity BC-wise with a .308 shooting 185 juggernauts.

https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/223-with-90g-berger-vlds.838603/

Apologies for drifting off topic from the 22-250 discussion

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I stand answered.
Greg

i am using 69 grain barnes match burners in mine with no problems , also loaded some nosler custom competition 69 grainers worked fine. i haven't tried anything heavier , yet.

I have a .22-250 AI with 1-8" twist Lilja barrel and while I have never shot it with anything over the 80 grain Berger VLD it shoots wonderfully and amazingly flat with that . It has a 6-24x scope on it and is a proven 800 yard coyote shooter.,

Gordon said:

I have a .22-250 AI with 1-8" twist Lilja barrel and while I have never shot it with anything over the 80 grain Berger VLD it shoots wonderfully and amazingly flat with that . It has a 6-24x scope on it and is a proven 800 yard coyote shooter.,

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Gordon, what kind of velocities are you getting with the Bergers?

40 grains of RL-22 does 3350 FPS at the muzzle with 75 grain Amax with my strap on Chrono. . I sighted it in with a 6-24 scope a few months ago . I have switched to Amax 75 bullets as they hunt better at extreme range. than Bergers VLD. , I can take most anything up to 150 pounds and 600 yards easily. It has a 26" barrel.

Look what showed up just last night, for an Aero AR10 build:

I recently built a 22 Creedmoor,and run a 1-7 twist 20" X-Caliber barrel on it. Shooting the 75 gr A-Max,I'm getting 3400 fps using H4350.
I'm getting sub .25" groups off a bench at 100 yards with it.