After pulling one I thought the projectile to be a Nosler varmageddon; however,after purchasing said bullets, I now believe them to be Hornady V-max with a black tip. The powder weight was 40.9 and after consulting my eighth edition Hornady reloading manual the only powder listed With that weight volume would be the H380 with a max weight of 41 grains. Once again this is not the powder in that load? The closest I and my friends have come is BL C-2, but that is not it either. Does anyone know for sure what bullets and powder is used in this load?Thanks for your help
Recipe for Winchester Varmint X 55 grain 22-250
- Thread starter Dspl4JS
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Black tip alloy jacket is a better match for the varmageddon, also Winchester doesn't mention the swaged core, something that hornady is proud of. Also, Winchester likes nosler partnerships.
Nosler lists 39.5 Max for h380 (hodgdon lists 41). H414/w760 might do it 4007ssc, cfe223 possibly as well.
Nosler lists 39.5 Max for h380 (hodgdon lists 41). H414/w760 might do it 4007ssc, cfe223 possibly as well.
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I have not put the projectiles on a comparitor yet but I will. Just looking at the two,the pulled bullet looks like it has more of a point; whereas the nosler I purchasesd looks like it has a more forward ogive. This could be an optical illusion since ther are marks left from the seated bullet. Your insight is very helpful thank you.
The chrome pan is from the Winchester Varmint X 55 grain 22-250 and the brass pan is BL C-2. Since my last post I have measured the projectiles, "bullet pulled from WVX and Nosler Varmageddon and they are not the same as far as the length to the ogive. There is roughly10 thousandths difference and it is exactly the opposite of what I thought. The ogive on the pulled bullet is further out and the varmageddon has a shorter ogive.
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Huh? 55 gr varmageddon should be more like .787 inches and the ballistic tip is .810 inches or 1.998 cm (threw me off with the metric lol) and 2.057..... that's a tipped varmageddon, HP would be 1.778 cm. Sierra blitzking runs 2.088 cm. Blitz is 1.834 cm, basically they're both pretty short, Winchester might be using their own bullet, I've been told they're less wowsome than the vmax, so I think that they're just doing their own thing. Are you looking to match accuracy or splosion?
Horsey,
My apologies, I adding a one to the measurements of the projectiles. The pulled bullet from the WVX is .812 and the Varmageddon bullets I purchased through Midway is .820. When dealing with bullet tips I have found some may vary considerably and this may be the case here. However, I put these on the Hornady bullet comparator, "which is a head space gauge with a .22 adaptor," and measured the ogives and there is a .010 difference there as well.
The reason I am trying to mimic this load is I have recently acquired a tang safety 84-85is M77 in 22-250. The man gave me a box of the Winchester Varmint X 55 grain and said, "the rifle likes these." I went to the range and they do...1/2" 5 shot group. I am just trying to get a start in the right direction in load development. However, this recipe seems to be a bit of an anomaly because it is harder than I expected to do so. I even e-mailed Winchester, but they did not respond. Must be a double naught spy secret or something...LOL.
To answer your question I want the rifle to shoot as accurately as possible and if I can do that I believe a 55 grain bullet doing 3500 fps will wreak plenty of Splosion!!
My apologies, I adding a one to the measurements of the projectiles. The pulled bullet from the WVX is .812 and the Varmageddon bullets I purchased through Midway is .820. When dealing with bullet tips I have found some may vary considerably and this may be the case here. However, I put these on the Hornady bullet comparator, "which is a head space gauge with a .22 adaptor," and measured the ogives and there is a .010 difference there as well.
The reason I am trying to mimic this load is I have recently acquired a tang safety 84-85is M77 in 22-250. The man gave me a box of the Winchester Varmint X 55 grain and said, "the rifle likes these." I went to the range and they do...1/2" 5 shot group. I am just trying to get a start in the right direction in load development. However, this recipe seems to be a bit of an anomaly because it is harder than I expected to do so. I even e-mailed Winchester, but they did not respond. Must be a double naught spy secret or something...LOL.
To answer your question I want the rifle to shoot as accurately as possible and if I can do that I believe a 55 grain bullet doing 3500 fps will wreak plenty of Splosion!!
Well, I've never tried to copy factory loads, no matter how well I can one hole a fusion 
, for what you're wanting to accomplish, I'll say that the factory used a fast easy metering powder. You can out perform the ball powders if you're willing to do some load development. Looking at that bullet, I'd say Winchester knocked off the varmageddon. Start with the varmageddon, flat bases will be more accuracy friendly anyway. Imr 4320, 4350, and 4895, h380, alliant varmint, and ramshot big game will all get you close to the speed your looking for. Nosler said that big game was the accuracy favorite that day, but honestly I'd start with the 4320 for speed, and you'll probably be close to Max. Same with 4350.
, for what you're wanting to accomplish, I'll say that the factory used a fast easy metering powder. You can out perform the ball powders if you're willing to do some load development. Looking at that bullet, I'd say Winchester knocked off the varmageddon. Start with the varmageddon, flat bases will be more accuracy friendly anyway. Imr 4320, 4350, and 4895, h380, alliant varmint, and ramshot big game will all get you close to the speed your looking for. Nosler said that big game was the accuracy favorite that day, but honestly I'd start with the 4320 for speed, and you'll probably be close to Max. Same with 4350.Part of what helps with the .22-250, the 14" twist likes short bullets you could also try the Speer TNT.
You know what I dont understand is I asked Hornady about the 53 grain v max and he told me that bullet will not stabilize in a 14 twist. Then he went on to suggest the 55 grain. I do not know why the 53 will not stabilize and the 55 will? Only thing I can figure is the boattail has sumptin to do with it?
Yup. Length per weight my friend. Have you tried the JBM stability calculator? I use it before I buy the bullets with accurate velocities I think I can achieve and thus far, have produced some amazing results, my temperatures can be very cold so I try for at least a 1.6 at 50-70 degrees and get .5" or better very easily.
You input the length and weight of the bullet, the velocity you hope to achieve, (I look at noslers accuracy load with a given powder, and then subtract roughly (80fps + 35fps/inch of barrel difference) and usually come out with an estimated velocity close to or just low of actual results over the chronograph. The JBM stability calculator also uses temperature and barometric pressure. Plug in your caliber (.224) and twist (14). Then you'll get the stability factor your load should be capable of. 1.3 is the minimum required to ensure your bullets will fly straight. The warmer you shoot, the more stable your bullet will be, the colder you get, the less stability you have. (Thus my 1.6 @59-70, it's factor at degrees Fahrenheit) this gets me .5 moa. And when I'm shooting coyotes, coons, pumpkins, etc at any kind of distance at -10* F I won't second guess anything about my load.
http://www.jbmballistics.com/cgi-bin/jbmstab-5.1.cgi
This is a list that includes the bullet lengths of a LOT of bullets on the market, it also includes plastic tip length, which does make a difference:
http://www.jbmballistics.com/ballistics/lengths/lengths.shtml#Nosler
ETA I calculated the varmageddon with estimated 22" barrel velocity of 3540 (using imr4320) and came up with a factor of 1.188 which is at the higher end of marginally stable at 70F. Since the gun does well with the factory load, I'd say this will work just fine. However, for my personal conditions, I'd look at the shorter flat bases if I wanted laser accuracy, hornady makes an sp and spsx, but honestly I can't promise that the spsx won't vaporize in mid air, I've heard lots of folks with a .22-250 like em, and my .223 break action will almost one hole em every day, (faster twist but 300fps slower) and they are CHEAP to play with. The HP varmageddon and Speer TNT and Sierra blitz should all fly like a laser, (itching to try that blitz myself in my interarms mark x .22-250 honestly). I usually load 50-55 gr bullets in my .22s but nosler came out with something heavier for deer if you NEED it, (though it probably will lose some splosion factor) the 64 gr bonded solid base. I don't know where you live or shoot, but if you are looking at summer prairie dogs with much warmer temperatures than my winter varmints, the varmageddon should work beautifully. If you're looking for sub temp loads, I recommend testing at LEAST 20 rounds in those conditions to be sure before you put Wiley in your sights.
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Thanks Horsey,
I will have to play with this for a while until it becomes more familiar. Thanks you have been a great help! My apologies for the tardy return correspondence, but Sundays are quite busy for me. Thank you for taking time to help me grow in the knowledge of reloading and bullet choice as well as being patient in my ignorance. I have already put JBL on my favorite list.
Nobody starts knowing everything, we all help each other where we can to keep maximum enjoyment and appendages in this addiction we deal with. Feel free to ask anything anytime, and if you feel like it, share the results of your journey and what works out best for you. We like seeing holes in targets, and I personally would like to see the terminal results of those varmageddon as they're just starting to become more popular and I've yet to punch one into anything yet, (had too many spsx by the time I found them lol).
Yes I will keep you up to date as I walk through the load developement. First up, Reloader 15 and H380. I know the 380 is ball powder and subject to temp variations more than modern powders;however, I believe it is worth a try from all that I have read. I live in the mountains of NC so it does not get too hot; but it does get very cold. I hunt at 4500 ft and the gun club is at 3100 so it stays fairly cool. My hope is the RL15 will make a bughole? If not next up will be imr 4064, 8208xbr and finally h4350. Affter that Ill have to regroup, ill keep you posted.
O that's cool! Reminds me of the browning bxr line, browning compacted copper fragments into their ballistic tips to disintigrate on impact and open the HP up faster, they ARE more explosive than a regular hunting ballistic tip, but I can't find any one who makes a TRUE sinter tip for reloading, if my .22-250 had a faster twist, (1:9) I'd definitely pick up the sinterfire bullets lol!
bluetopper
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Large scale ammunition manufacturors have access to powders the public does not. Sometimes they use powders we can buy but many. many times they do not.
Thanks bluetopper, for the insight!!
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