Ruger 1 in 22-250

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ExAgoradzo

ExAgoradzo

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I may have an opportunity at this gun. Older model, have only seen it 1 or 2 times.

1. Good varmint gun?
2. Good caliber?

Thanks,
Greg
 
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"good" is a subjective term.

I have an older 700 Remington.22-250 VS. Quite accurate (in mine). Barrel is probably good for +/- 1k rounds or so. Flat shooting. Lots of muzzle blast. Too much recoil to see long distance shots/hits. Tears up fur. Barrel gets hot QUICK in the summer. Even with a single shot I suspect ten shots rapid succession would toast the barrel.

I've got a CZ in Ruger .204 that I'd use most any time before the .22-250. The 250 is most likely gonna go away. Only reason I haven't sold it is that I have 4# of H-380 and 500 new brass for it.
 
I take it that you mean it is going away for you... Isn't this like one of the ten most popular cartridges???
 
I thought Id get more love for this caliber/rifle than I have...is it really not that good a deal for use as a Varminter...using its original name???
 
I love the performance of a .22-250 for varmints. I love the look of a No. 1. Unfortunately, many No. 1 rifles are not all that accurate.
 
I have four .22-250s: a Ruger 77v, a 77vMkII, a Tikka T3 Lite, and a Rem 700VLS stainless fluted. I live in Bakersfield, and shoot ground squirrels at distances up to 500 yards. They do get hot - so I switch off.

I've always admired the No 1's appearance, but never found one as accurate as any of my current four, or even the Mark X sporter that preceeded them.
 
Wow. I guess I may need to rethink this.
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It's your money. Get whatever makes YOU happy.

The .22-250 is one of the earlier over bore cartridges. Guys seem to be figuring out that bigger/badder/faster comes at a price. I got my first one in 1966, so I've had some experience.

To give you some idea, a .22 Hornet gets maybe 3,000 fps with about 12 grains of powder, a .223 maybe 3,300 with 26 grains, and a .22-250 gets maybe 3,700 with 39 grains. That extra powder makes more heat and muzzle flash/blast. These numbers can be skewed a little by bullet weight, but they are all .22's.

If mine goes away, the money will be used to finance a Hornet.
 
I've shot thousands of Varmints with 223,22mag, & 22-250. All will do the job but the 250 will do it better at the longer distances and what they are not telling you above is if the wind is blowing the 250 is far superior.:scrutiny:
 
ColtPythonElite said:
I love the performance of a .22-250 for varmints. I love the look of a No. 1. Unfortunately, many No. 1 rifles are not all that accurate.
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I own three Ruger #1's and I consider mine accurate. My .270 and my .25-'06 Varminter are "3 shot, one hole" rifles from a cold barrel. My .30-'06 puts 'em in just over an inch at 100 yds.
I'm of course shooting reloads and I did play with the forearms a bit.
 
and what they are not telling you above is if the wind is blowing the 250 is far superior
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To what?? The 39 grain Blitzking out of the .204 has a better BC than a 55 grain out of a .22-250, at least according to the Sierra website.

Both shoot laser flat. Both have virtually identical performance in terms of drop and drift. The 250 has a better "splat" factor due to the larger bullet. The .204 has less blast, less recoil (see your hits), and less barrel heat. Pick your poison.

You can go thru endless charts on your fantasy land trip across internet land. Argue all kinds of "facts" you get by reading someone else's fairy tales. I'm only going by what we experienced on prairie dog hunts in Montana. Last time I left the 22-250 at home in the safe and took the .204, and mostly used my Varminter AR in .223. It was getting first round hits at 300-350 yards. Anything over and the .204 did just fine until you reached maybe 450ish. Wind drift gets you no matter the caliber.

YMMV.
 
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I love and own several No. one, my No. 1 in .22-250 Varminter with a Leupold 6.5x20x40 VX3 with the AO will drill a pig or deer thru the ear at 200 yards plus with no problem....even with the bull barrel it is still light. I usually set it on a varminter shooting sled and I kill pigs/coyotes everyday in my cattle pastures.....the Ruger No. 1 can be finicky according to some people.....I have never had one disappoint me. they are not cheap, and I believe in mounting a scope of equal value on mine....go all the way or don't go at all. my next 2 No. 1s I want in .308 and .257 Roberts if I can find em
 
Barrel shot out? I have to take this statement with a grain of salt.
How many rounds does it take to "shoot out " a barrel? Actually, a rifle barrel should last several generations , my Pre-War Model 70's as an example.
I own six Pre '64 model 70's and they are still capable with reloads of shooting M.O.A.
STILL ,how many rounds till the rifle is junk?
 
How many rounds does it take to "shoot out " a barrel?
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Out of a .22-250 on a hot day, rapid succession I'd guess maybe ten. Letting it cool a minute or more between shots, maybe 1,000+/-

There was a guy on another forum that took a brand new .22-250 on a PD hunt. Shot about 350 rounds in one morning. Toasted the barrel. Send it back to the mfg. They said they'd swap the barrel...once
 
Barrels getting shot out that quick? My 22-250s have many thousands of rounds through them with no problems.

Granted, it wouldn't be my first choice shooting prairie dogs, but then again, I usually bring several along because they all get hot.

I also love #1s. In the rare case one will not shoot, just play with the forend. I have yet to have one that will not shoot.
 
I def feel better about the choice now. I was really thinking perhaps it was a bad idea. He may not want to give it up yet anyway: but having a dedicated varmint other than a 22 sllr or mag seems like a very good idea to me.

Thanks guys,
Greg
 
ExAgoradzo said:
I def feel better about the choice now. I was really thinking perhaps it was a bad idea. He may not want to give it up yet anyway: but having a dedicated varmint other than a 22 sllr or mag seems like a very good idea to me.

Thanks guys,
Greg
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You will love the Ruger #1. I own three and I'm always looking for another.
 
^agree with that also. I have a sweet 32-40 with a Darr barrel that is a blast.

.204, I will add that to the stable someday when I find it in a rifle I like. It looks like fun.

22-250 As far as performance, it does well within a wide range of velocities allowing you to pick your pill. I load mine down to around 1500 in my pistol and could take it above 4000 fps in my rifles if I was so inclined. My 60's era 40x has a best group of 0.085 5shot-100 yards and holds under 0.2 with laughable ease-ymmv with your gun. Don't sweat barrel burning internet anecdotes (Just google barrel wear and your cartridge of interest and you can find a horror story! :) ) Besides, If you want a gun that won't suffer wear and tear by shooting it, buy a blowgun.
 
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Cartridges don't endure in the marketplace for over forty years without GOOD reason. I use that figure of forty years because Browning introduced rifles for the .22-250 BEFORE it became a "factory" cartridge, back in the early '70s to my recollection. They even advertised it as the "wildcat" .22-250. Maybe this gave Remington a bit of a push toward "adopting" the cartridge as a commercial item.

ANY high-performance rifle cartridge will ruin a barrel in short order, if the user ABUSES the rifle.... and make no mistake, sustained rapid fire constitutes abuse in a varmint-caliber rifle.

Here in northern Nevada we are "blessed" with a vast abundance of ground squirrels. On occasion, I have fired over 400 rounds on these critters in one day's outing......but I used as many as five different rifles to do it. My mobile shooting rest has the capacity to hold five rifles in readiness even as it swivels around. About ten rounds from any one rifle, and I switch to another one that has already cooled down.

The .22-250 has a long and VERY successful history as a varminter. My own happens to be a CZ 550 heavy-barrel rig that is scary-accurate with Midway's 55-grain "Dogtown" bullets.....consistent 5-round groups UNDER 1/2" from 100 yards. This is the most accurate rifle I've owned, out of probably more than 150 over the past fifty or so years. The rifle certainly has a lot to do with this, but it also shows that the CARTRIDGE isn't exactly a handicap to the shooter....

The #1 Rugers that I have owned, and presently own, perform very well indeed, and look gorgeous in the bargain. Buy with confidence in both rifle and cartridge.
 
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I bought a ruger #1 s/s varmiter & the first 3 shots out of the barrel were .250 c/c w/ handloads. I like 'em.
 
When I shot my first five shots out of my .22-250 Remington 700 I was stumped. Only hit the target once in five shots. Closer examination showed a ragged and slightly clover leaf hole, not round hole.

50 grain Nosler BT over 38.0 of H-380, WW cases seated .010 off. Should have kept the target. FWIW, I think it was more luck than anything, but it does seem to shoot quite well for what little I shoot it.

Problem with that is when I shoot my Savage 99 in .250-3000 and groups are 1 1/2" I wonder what happened. Looks like patterns more than groups.
 
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