loading 22-250 extremely mild?

[SprayAndPray]

Is this a good caliber to load very mild?
I was thinking about if it is possible to get 22 hornet performance out of it, cheap. The hornet delivers something like 1000J, the hornet and 22-250 seems to have the same barreltwist, so i assume they handle the same range of bullets.

What is the lightest bullet the 22-250 in a 1in14 twist can handle? Is there a risk it will somehow overstabilize if too light/short?

Whats the heaviest that works in 1in14?

Preferably i would like to know if its possible to make ammo ranging from 500J or less up to the maximum power it can handle all using a standard barrel, I'm mostly interested in hunting small birds and squirrel sized critters (maybe up to rabbits) with it, so i feel i really dont need all the power.

How loud will the ammo be when loading it very light?
Will it cost me more per round to reload than the 22 hornet (not counting initial purchase of the cases)? How long will cases last me?

The reason i´m asking is i cant seem to find any rifles i want in 22 hornet, and after reading up on it im not quite sure i really want a rifle chambered in it BUT i think the performance will be exactly what i need. And 22-250 and hornet has the same twist.

 

[dakotasin]

yes, you can do what you are wanting to do w/ the 22-250. lightest bullets i've tried are 35 grain v-max, but if you can find them lighter you can load lighter. for really mild loads, like 22 magnum levels, you'll want to find some cast lead bullets, and use a small charge of a slow pistol powder - unique or the like.

 

[rcmodel]

The 22-250 wouldn't be my first choice to load to Hornet velocity levels. It is an over-bore case, and responds best to the medium burn rate rifle powders.

Besides, if all you want to do is hunt birds and small game like rabbits & squirrels, all you really need is a good .22 RF rifle.

If you shoot a rabbit with a .22 Hornet, or a down-loaded 22-250, there isn't going to be anything left to eat.

BTW: If you do really want a .22 Hornet, CZ makes the best one on the market, and they are widely available.
http://www.cz-usa.com/product_detail.php?id=10

They also make some very accurate .22 RF's.
http://www.cz-usa.com/products_rimfire_rifles.php


rcmodel

 

[redneck2]

If all you want to hunt are birds and squirrels, a .22 LR would be great. If that's on the light side. try a .22 mag or .17 HMR. I've got a .22 mag and it's pretty impressive. Considerably more whack than a regular .22.

FWIW...I've got a couple three .223's and a .22-250. As noted, the 250 may be a little erratic with light loads due to the large volume case. Lyman typically has cast bullet loads.

 

[KaiserBen]

Why not consider a .223 Rem bolt gun instead? It's easier to download the smaller .223 case, you can still load it up to a decent power level, and it's an almost ubiquitous chambering. CZ makes a rather nice one, the 527 carbine.

 

[SprayAndPray]

I have also considered the .223, and it might be better, which twist would be best for this application? 1 in 12 or 8? I like that the cases are only half price or even less compared to the 22-250.

So its problematic with large casevolumes when you want to go light?

The standard energy seems to be around 1800J for the 223, how mild can you make the loads for it?

I would like to try out the 17 hm2 since it leaves most critters intact, and for everything larger, something as powerful as the hornet would do fine, or something that can be loaded close to it preferbly something that can be loaded as light as 22 magnum.

 

[Shawnee]

I would suggest buying a .22lr or a Hornet or, in lieu of that, a nice bolt-action .223.
But please stand by - won't belong before all the .30-caliber codgers come along to explain why you need a 30-06 (which of course won't recoil any more than the Hornet with comparable bullets) and will also mean you prepared to kill any Alaskan Brown Bears who happen to be standing next to your small birds and squirrels (that happens a LOT, dontchaknow!). Probably won't cost more than $1600-$2200. And 30-06 ammo is available at any Victoria's Secret near you.

 

[rcmodel]

It seems to me you are all hung up on Joules of energy?
You are way over-thinking this thing.

If you want a small game rifle, get a small game rifle!
Not a 22-250, a .223, or a .22 Hornet or any other center-fire and then try to load it down.

The .22 Long Rifle is the consummate small game caliber and will do all you need to do to kill birds, rabbets, and squirrels out as far as you can hit them.
It is also far cheaper to buy rifles, scopes, and ammo for them.

If you need more range and power then that, take one step up to the .22 WMR, or the .17 HMR. You can shoot any of them far cheaper then you can down-load any center-fire to match them, and they will give exactly the same small game performance.

Anything more powerful, with more Joules, is just going to be louder, and completely destroy any samll game you shoot with it.


rcmodel

 

[Shawnee]

Another issue you would face with a drastic download of your 22/250 ammo is the need to re-zero your rifle/scope - and then back again when you wanted to use a standard load.

 

[SprayAndPray]

The 17 hmr is around 15€ a box here now, and the 22 magnum is not far away.
I will probably get a 17, dont know if it will be hrm or hm2 yet, the hm2 ammo is almost half price.

But for ranges longer than the 17hmr can handle or bigger critters, isnt a downloaded .223 a good choice, economicly speaking? And you can hunt much larger game with it when you want. What i would like is a multirifle that can handle most small animals.

 

[SprayAndPray]

A bit offtopic but what size game can you hunt with the 17hmr? And out to what range approximately?

 

[rcmodel]

But for ranges longer than the 17hmr can handle or bigger critters, isnt a downloaded .223 a good choice, economicly speaking?

If it's too far for a .22 Mag or .17 Mag, or even a .22 RF, it's too far for a downloaded center-fire.

Past 150 yards, you might as well use standard .223 loads because the bullet will have slowed down and dropped considerably by the time it gets out to 250 or so.

What i would like is a multirifle that can handle most small animals.

Buy a .22 LR and start learning to shoot it, reading up on rifles, hunting, etc.

Forget about energy ( BTW: ft/lbs in the U.S.A., not Joules) as it is a mostly meaningless figure.

Be more concerned with velocity & trajectory figures for small game hunting.
Anything you shoot them with will kill them cleanly if you can hit them cleanly.
Even a decent air-rifle.

Most all small game hunting for rabbits & squirrels is done at 50 yards or less.

Shooting most game birds with a rifle is against the law in the United States. They mostly have to be flying to be taken with any firearm legally.


rcmodel