.22-250?

Legionnaire said:

.. it could drive the modern long-for-caliber-high-BC bullets well. But why?... ..

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Why not ! Mine came by the way of a deal to good to pass up.
A TC Venture in camo - so now I have another option for yote hunting..
Plus its a tack driver - straight from the factory.

My 22-250 AI I put together a few years back has a 1-8" twist barrel which I built for the Sierra 69 grain BT that was available at the time , it stabilizes up to 75 grain Amax bullets if I keep the velocity up to 300 plus yards which is as far as I have tested it. Unfortunatly gun combo weighs 11+ pounds so gets limited use. I haven't got around to having my recent Vanguard .22-250 reamed but I will . .I like the 7.+ pound Vanguard as a in the truck safe gun to shoot what ever I see that needs shooting (non big game hunting) . The Ackley is a much superior cartridge with no downsides.

If you are turned on my speed, and like walking on the wild(cat) side, the .22 CHeetah will make you forget about the .22-250..

In my best Cesar Romero voice:

"Where does he get all those wonderful toys?"...


I also wonder why the large turret?

Clearly those bullets don't start dropping till they reach orbit...
Another nice one Offfhand!

Gordon said:

Your a tempter bro. I actually did some research on the 112v series j , apparently the 25-06 , and all the other calibers it was offered in are a Short action but with an enlarged ejection port that will handle 30-06 length cartridges. Apparently the .220 swifts have a .470" bolt face ( whereas the .22-250 and .243 ect have .473) . So if I could probably get a 6.5 Creedmore barrel from McGowen and slap on a big scope. . I have a 6.5 CreedAr-10 and dies.ave Swift's apparently are worth more. I think I am out $200+ fees + $200 +,+,+.

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A few thoughts:

- These rifles predate the 1989 bankruptcy / redesign that created the 'modern' Savage 10 short action. Prior to 1989, all actions were labeled as part of the 110 family - regardless of action screw spacing / action length. Only after 1989 did the short actions (eventually) get a two-digit model code. These specific 112's are 'first gen, 110 short action'. If you plan on retaining the stock, this data point is irrelevant. If, on the other hand, you ever want to replace the stock, this is an important note. There are very few remaining offerings for the original 'first gen' short action 110's - Boyds is pretty much the only place that I've found.

- These pre-1989 rifles come with the older three-screw trigger, and you can adjust these to be as nice / nicer than a new RifleBasix SAV1 or Timney. For a field trigger (not benchrest). the pre-1989 stock trigger is probably about as good as you'll ever need. It won't get much below 2lb and still be drop safe, but it'll get down to about 2lb and do so safely.

- Bolt head swaps are super easy; the floating / pinned bolt head allows any bolt body to be fitted with any bolt head.

- The barrels are 'small / regular shank'. If you plan on retaining the walnut stock, avoid going with .250 or larger recoil lugs unless you want to re-inlet the stock area around the barrel nut. I use EABCO lugs - they're .225 thick (OEM's are around .190, and supposedly not guaranteed flat) and they come with the locating pin installed.

- These 112's were the 'target' models of the era; single shots with solid receiver bottom for stiffness. They lack the third action screw of the modern 'target' action, but are technically much stiffer than the magazine fed equivalent actions.

Thanks, I think. The McGowen 6.5 barrel I would like to put in it is $559 all up ! I do have a barrel vise but dang! Maybe just buy the 25-06 one for $200 and call it good, it has 10" twist so I could shoot 120 grain low drag bullets pretty fast and far.

One additional thought - nobody makes one-piece optic mounts for these actions. You'll have to run two-piece 'flat back' bases.

Returning to the original subject of this thread, the .22/250 Rem, one of the classiest rifles ever offered in this caliber is Ruger's No. 1 single shot. Single shot, falling block rifles had long been prized by the varmint shooting fraternity and Ruger's offering his new rifle in a classic varmint caliber continued the tradition in fine style. This #1 was made during the earliest years of production.

Offfhand said:

Returning to the original subject of this thread, the .22/250 Rem, one of the classiest rifles ever offered in this caliber is Ruger's No. 1 single shot.

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Very nice piece of walnut you have on your No.1, Offfhand. As previously mentioned, my No.1 is chambered in .220 Swift. I mounted a B&L "Elite 3000", 4x12 power scope on it. What scope do you have on yours? Appearance-wise, looks like a Unertl variant of some sort?

SwampWolf said:

Very nice piece of walnut you have on your No.1, Offfhand. As previously mentioned, my No.1 is chambered in .220 Swift. I mounted a B&L "Elite 3000", 4x12 power scope on it. What scope do you have on yours? Appearance-wise, looks like a Unertl variant of some sort?

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Ha ! Got one of those on my fast twist B78 .22-250 AI - a genuine made in America Baush & Lomb Balrvar 6-24 . A miraculous piece of glass , lacking modern light transmitting coatings, It has good old school ocular paralax adjustments and has a very strong external mounting system much advanced over Unertl but uses same "target" bases . How is that ? In its 1959-70? life it was the go to Variable Target scope for any use it's range could serve you.

I will admit that I love the 22-250 and still use mine today (I have a couple). They are so much more authoritative than a .223 which is important when I was doing ranch work. I have a 700 ADL and a 700VS. I really like the VS for Prairie Dogs and don't find it unpleasant at all. I shoot many hundreds of rounds each trip and it is fine. I like the ADL for ranch/truck duty when I am out looking for coyotes. It hammers way out there and does well in the wind. I have not played with the 6.5CM, but did have a .260 for a while. There really is no comparison if you want to easily shoot at distance. I found the trajectory of the 260 to be underwhelming when using a MBR sight in. I am sure that with newer scopes you could dial in hits at extended ranges, but for shots on a running coyote, this might not work. My 22-250's are almost a point and pull for all reasonable distances. I may be nostalgic or heading over the hill, but the 22-250 is still one of my favorites.

Funny all the ranchers in my area from the 80s went to .22-250 for truck rifles on the real big spreads and echo your words " They are so much more authoritative than a .223 which is important when I was doing ranch work." .

SwampWolf said:

Very nice piece of walnut you have on your No.1, Offfhand. As previously mentioned, my No.1 is chambered in .220 Swift. I mounted a B&L "Elite 3000", 4x12 power scope on it. What scope do you have on yours? Appearance-wise, looks like a Unertl variant of some sort?

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The scope on the Ruger #1 .22/250 is the long discontinued Bausch&Lomb 6-42X. As Mr. Gordon suggested in earlier post, it is a remarkable piece of optics and so revolutionary in concept that it and other B&L scopes of that era had a significant impact on the industry and the scopes we use today. Your mention of A Ruger #1 .220 Swift , reminded of this one I happen to have with very nice wood.

I had a .22-250 for several years in the late 60's and handloaded for it. It's a great-shooting cartridge, but due to the tapered case, case stretching is a problem. The .22-250 Improved is a much better cartridge if you handload...really nice, but I didn't convert either of my .22-250s.

My .22-250 Rem 700 was fantastically accurate, even after I forgot to clean the bore and left it leaning on a metal sewer stack in the closet for a winter. I could barely see through the barrel and had a very difficult time cleaning all the rust out, yet afterward, it shot a 5/8" group from prone without rest at 200 yards!!!!! I kick myself for that stupid trick of not cleaning bores during the varmint season, then forgetting to clean/preserve the bore.

The .22-250 Improved reduces the case taper, preventing excessive case stretching and increases velocity to very near the .220 Swift. I'd do it if I ever got another one. However, the .223 does what I need to do at lower cost and I have three that shoot so well that the .22-250 is not coming back here.

My .22-250 won many turkey shoots for me, to the point that it was banned. I could count on getting my "limit" at every shoot.

(BTW: If anyone wants some .22-250 dies, I'd gladly give them away for shipping cost.)

Not to completely derail the OP's first question, but it got me really thinking about my first 22/250 and how I used it, along with a 6mm Remington on a daily basis. It is a time when I got to shoot 10-20 rounds a day while working a ranch that is 5 times the size of the city I currently live in. Gordon brings up a good point about using the 250 in the eighties. I think it is important to remember that at the time, for me starting in 1986, there was not the plethora of loads for the .223. Most companies had a 55 grain SP and a 55 grain FMJ. My ranch calved in late December to early February, right durning coyote mating season. They tended to be more aggressive during this time and actively hunted new borns. We were on a constant lookout while out feeding square bails and cake each day. I will always have a soft spot for the 22/250 and highly recommend them today.

I found an old picture from 1986 or 87 showing a morning's work on the coyotes courtesy of the .22/250.

ECVMatt said:

Not to completely derail the OP's first question, but it got me really thinking about my first 22/250 and how I used it, along with a 6mm Remington on a daily basis. It is a time when I got to shoot 10-20 rounds a day while working a ranch that is 5 times the size of the city I currently live in. Gordon brings up a good point about using the 250 in the eighties. I think it is important to remember that at the time, for me starting in 1986, there was not the plethora of loads for the .223. Most companies had a 55 grain SP and a 55 grain FMJ. My ranch calved in late December to early February, right durning coyote mating season. They tended to be more aggressive during this time and actively hunted new borns. We were on a constant lookout while out feeding square bails and cake each day. I will always have a soft spot for the 22/250 and highly recommend them today.

I found an old picture from 1986 or 87 showing a morning's work on the coyotes courtesy of the .22/250.

View attachment 827358

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Looks like you are of the "shoot em in the neck" club, as most ranchers around here were, with EVERYTHING!

I gave my Savage .22-250 to a grandson. He shoots coyotes with it. Apparently coyote tournaments are a thing now. He and two of his buddies won the last two and they're usually in the money. They killed 21 last weekend, 16 of them to his .22-250. Coyotes are what they're best at if you ask me.

When I was living in Montana I'd go out with some buddies and hunt rockchuck (the western version of the groundhog) which is correctly called a marmot. We were out on a dirt road one day and a rancher was sitting in his truck off the road. We stopped and asked if there were any rockchuck around and his reply was " I have a .22-250 in my truck and I've cleaned out all of them from around here. We went on our way and no more than a quarter of a mile from this rancher we saw a rockchuck. Apparently some "chucks" had not gotten the message about this rancher and his .22-250; it was good for a laugh!

I got a Remington in 22-250 and a 10 power Leupold Scope!
I busted Crows and Black Birds in Delta Rice Fields out to 400 yards. I also shot feral dogs and Yotes out to 500.

The .22-250 still has a place in my rifle battery. I'm a varmint hunter first and that is where the .22-250 shines. It has a very flat trajectory shooting 50/55 gr bullets out to 500 yards. In the area I live it's mostly smaller farms with ranges to 500 yards. With a slow twist I can't shoot heavy higher bc bullets but that isn't a bad thing. Those light bullets explode on contact meaning I don't have to worry too much about a miss or a shoot through.

I have other rifles that I use but for my use in the area I live it's hard to beat this cartridge.

Legionnaire said:

Dang! I can't get this thread out of my mind. I have a trued 700 action in the safe, a Grayboe Terrain, Timney trigger ... all the parts for another build except the barrel. I was thinking 7mm-08 Ackley, but the idea of a .22-250 Ackley keep festering. I already have a 7 SAUM, so a 7mm-08 Ackley wouldn't really add anything.

Decisions, decisions!

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Get a 1-8" twist .22-250 AI and life will be good. As long as you have to buy a barrel, a 27" one would really be HOT !