stevens 22-250 powder/bullet weight

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ZX10Aviator

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gearing up to reload for my stevens savage 22-250, curious if any one is reloading for the same rifle?

I use some 52 grain HP on my 223, maybe use the same bullet in the 22-250?

Id like to know who has worked up a round that is uber accurate, like to know what powder this rifle likes, and bullet weight if what I have isnt the best for it.

Thanks!
 
The first thing that you have to realize is that someone can pass along their pet load that may shoot 1/4" groups out of their rifle, and your rifle may not be able achieve less than 2" at a hundred, with that exact load. Identical rifles will likely need differing loads to get the best accuracy from them.
There is often no easy path to working up an accurate load in your rifle. You can do as most of us do, and study the load manuals and select a couple powders and bullets to try. Your 52gr bullet mentioned should be fine to try, and many find Varget powder an excellent choice in the 22-250.
I searched around and ended up with IMR3031, used with Hornady's A-Max 52gr match bullet.
Working up loads has always been a fun part for me.


NCsmitty
 
that I understand, I just need a direction to start. There is a ton of powders in my manual, I have shot a buddies reloads with varget, and I have yet to get varget to work in anything of mine, Im not a varget fan. I use 4198 in my .223, but I see it doesnt apply to the 250

Thanks
 
I recall that Bruce Hodgdon? named a 'new' powder H380 due to the performance in the 'new' wildcat round .22-250 (I think a load with 38.0 grains). I would start working loads with a known standard (H380) and see where that goes. Good luck
 
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finally got out with the H380 reloads, not that good.... target was at 50yds, squares are 1"

The two lower holes were the final 2 rounds of factory ammo I had left for comparason.

Anyone else on this site have a savage stevens 22-250 that they reload for? Looking for a starting point. These were 38 grains of H380 and a 53gr HPBT hornady match bullet, Ill try speeding it up from here, I was just curious how the textbook load would do..
 

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How many rounds through your rifle? Is the barrel floated?

For the heck of it, check your scope bases and mounts to make sure that they are properly snug.
At 50yds, you should be seeing the bullets nearly overlap.

What other powders & bullets do you have? Usually the 53gr Hornady Match is very accurate.



NCsmitty
 
no other bullets, just 47 more of them..
I bought the H380 just for this thing, I was hoping someone out there would have the same rifle using a similar combo to save some time.

Ill check the scope and such but Im sure they are fine, as the factory stuff shoots MOA
 
I noticed that 38gr of H380 is a starting load at www.hodgdon.com, and maximum is 41gr.
I would try 5 rounds of 39gr and 40gr each, to see if your groups come together as velocity increases, because sometimes that's what you need.


NCSmitty
 
Todays shots, you can see what works better in mine, now to fine tune and see if I can make them better. But 40 grains was the magic number

i-4BkPr5k-L.jpg
 
A few years back, 38gr of H380 was about max load. Now what is it 41gr or so? Wonder why. I liked the metering of the 380 but consistancy from day to day for target shooting just wasnt near as good.
 
Forget H380, ball powders just don't work that well as they are very temperature sensitive. For that reason I've switched to Varget. And I'll switch to something else when I find it. I believe there has to be something better then Varget for this cartridge.

I started out with H380 and it worked well. However, from Aug to Dec I watched the POI change with the temperature. When it changed by almost 3" from Aug to Dec I switched to Varget. And that was the end of that problem.

I've been reloading for 34 years now, and I have to say the .22-250 is the hardest cartridge to reload of any I've seen. A year and a half ago I started reloading this cartridge for a friend and almost went insane. No matter what I did the rifle shot 2" groups yet factory ammo would shoot 3/4". If I hadn't seen it I wouldn't believe it. No matter what I did the groups were 2" and sometimes larger.

I had posts on several message boards trying to figure out why my reloads were horrible. Someone on here saved my sanity by telling me their rifle did the same thing unless they stuck to the max length as specified in the loading manual.

In desperation I seated the bullets to the 3.050 length and made a trip to the range again. Groups shrunk from over 2" to about 1/2". It was about this time that I bought my rifle, a Remington 700 VS. This rifle did exactly the same as my friends, you had to find the right length. My opinion of the .22-250 is it is very finicky about the seating depth, more so then any other cartridge I've ever loaded.

So far I have 2 bullets my rifle will shoot well. The first is the 52 gr Sierra Match and the second is the Sierra 55 gr SP. I tried 50 gr Nosler BT's on suggestion from Nosler, 2" groups again, even with a length of 3.050. I have a hunch if I spent the time fooling with seating depth this bullet would do better.

If I were buying this rifle again I would pass on the .22-250 and buy it in .243. Truth be told I wanted a .220 Swift but settled on the 250.
 
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I load 52 gr. a-max over varget in my howa but your gun has a 1-12" twist so I would try 55 or 60 grain bullets over either h4895 or varget.
 
Ive tried varget in a few other rifles, couldnt get the stuff to work, really dont want to have to buy more. H380 seems to work great now, just have to fine tune it, so far the 22-250 has been just as easy as the rest of my fleet to reload for.
 
Sounds like you are on to something. I also have a Stevens 200 in .22-250. I haven't loaded for it much yet. I bought it a few years back at Sportsman's Warehouse for about $219 and put a nice AO scope on it but haven't put more than 50 rounds through it. I want to get a trigger for it. Rifle Basix makes a great trigger for under $90. I like the rifle, stock is a bit rough, and the round is fantastic to shoot. I started raising a family back then and the rifle went to the closet until recently. I will start some of my loads this week and report as soon as I can. Good Luck!
 
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ZX10Aviator said:
Ive tried varget in a few other rifles, couldnt get the stuff to work, really dont want to have to buy more. H380 seems to work great now, just have to fine tune it, so far the 22-250 has been just as easy as the rest of my fleet to reload for.
Click to expand...
It may just be that Remington chambers aren't worth a darn and Savage/Stevens is. I don't know but this cartridge just stumps me in 2 rifles.

I know it's warmer where you are but I bet every time you shoot it at the range you'll find POI changes with the temp. I just think there's better powders out there. I've been thinking about trying XBR8208 or IMR4007ssc. Ole farmerbuck may be onto something with the 8208.
 
4895, I painted it and lightened the stock trigger with the screw thats already there, good enough for me, but Im pretty steady. My stevens .223 I could get all the bullets touching at 100yds with my reloads.
 
I bought some cotton stuffing and a couple yards of desert camo cloth from wally world with the intention of making the rifle blend in to the desert landscape. I didn't know about the screw to lighten the trigger. I will check it out. Thanks.
I checked out the website you have on your target (targetz.com). That place looks great. I need a printer, but know people who have one. Thanks for the tip.
We have year round coyote hunting here and I bought the .22-250 for that and javelina (pig) and whatever else I might hunt in those categories. I want to benchrest shoot with it as well, but I know my limitations and time constraints. I think it will be fun. Take care.
 
Forget H380, ball powders just don't work that well as they are very temperature sensitive. For that reason I've switched to Varget. And I'll switch to something else when I find it. I believe there has to be something better then Varget for this cartridge

Yep! I am well pleased with the groups using a 52gr A-Max and 38-38.5gr of 8208. (and i dont please easily:)
Seated NO MORE than 2.350
 
My Rem. M700 shoot bug-holes with a quality 50-55gr bullet (Sierra) and 39.0gr of H380. 40.0 is over max for my rifle as it craters primers.

It also shoots essentially as well with 35.5gr of IMR4064, same charge of Reloader15, and 33.5gr of Benchmark. Due to lower charge weight, I'd opt for the latter if shooting P'dogs in volumn.
There is over 3 dozen powders that can/do give superlative performance in the .22-250, so pick your "poison".
FWIW; I'd start with Benchmark, Reloader10, IMR8208, and some of the new CFE-223 or PowerPro 2000LR. Even Hodgdon's "Superfomance" powder is listed for the .22-250 at top velocities. An old time favorite for accuracy when everything else fails is IMR4350 or IMR3031.
Where I'm at, seldom do I hunt when temps are below 20degF. so H380 is hard to beat.

FWIW: the BULLET makes much more difference with my rifle than the powder charge. I can switch to a Hornady 55gr Spt w/cannulure and groups go to over 2"(Ditto Rem, Win, and PrivPartisan). So, anything with a cannulure is "suspect".
If it ain't a Midway "Dog-town", Sierra (any w/o cannulure 40-63gr), Nosler (except Partition), or Midsouth Varmint "Nightmare" or "Extream", I don't bother (Haven't tried the Speer's.......).
 
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