I recently picked up a 22-250 AI, with a 27" 9 twist barrel. Plan to do some prairie dog hunting next summer. What bullet would you shoot for PDs out of that rifle?
- Thread starter slickyboyboo
- Start date
I use 70vlds in the 9 twist I built for my boy.
For long range Sierra tipped 69 gr matchking. For 400 yards or less a 50 gr Vmax.
I picked up some 73 gr ELD-Ms for the heck of it, just to see what they would do. I have heard they do well on PDs.
Let us know if the 73 eld’s stabilize ok in the 9 twist. If they stabilize they would make good p dog medicine.
I’ve heard the 73s work well in the 9 twist, but the 75s won’t stablize without an 8 twist. We shall see!
I hate to be "that guy", but unless you shoot pretty sparingly, you'll probably use up a good bit of that barrel's life on a single hunt. On my PD hunts, I typically run through 300-400 rounds in 1.5 days.
For a .223 Rem or .204 Ruger, that's not all that rough on the barrel... if I was shooting 22-250 (or the AI variant!), it'd be a different story.
Food for thought... just don't want to see you come back on after the hunt talking about how your barrel went south on you.
For a .223 Rem or .204 Ruger, that's not all that rough on the barrel... if I was shooting 22-250 (or the AI variant!), it'd be a different story.
Food for thought... just don't want to see you come back on after the hunt talking about how your barrel went south on you.
75 Amax in a 9 was iffy, some lot #s would stabilize and some would not. I know 73 Berger Match BT stabilizes just fine in a 9 twist barrel, I'd expect the 73 ELD-M to do the same. 60 V-max would be pretty explosive as would a 69 TMK.
I'd take a 223 and/or a 204 along for the closer shots, use the 73s from 22-250AI for longer shots and depending on rate of fire, limit yourself to about 10 rds before letting barrel get some cooling off time.
Back when I used to make 3-4 trips a summer for PD shooting, had a rack and 12 V fans to help cool down barrels. Rotate through rifles so no one barrel got shot while too hot for too long.
I'd take a 223 and/or a 204 along for the closer shots, use the 73s from 22-250AI for longer shots and depending on rate of fire, limit yourself to about 10 rds before letting barrel get some cooling off time.
Back when I used to make 3-4 trips a summer for PD shooting, had a rack and 12 V fans to help cool down barrels. Rotate through rifles so no one barrel got shot while too hot for too long.
The 223 is definitely king of the high volume prairie dog town. Two 24” ar bull barrels is what I use and load 20 20 round p mags at a time with 50 gr vmax bullets. When the shots are further than 400 yards the 22-250 ackley would come in handy. Personally I shoot a 6.5 Creedmoor for the further shots.
What bullet are you using for 6.5? Runners seem to be the norm with the RDFs.
I am using the 140 eld.
95 Vmax, 100 Amax, 120/123 ELD-M from a 6.5 Creed is gonna work really well.
Eventually want to build a 223 Ackley, that should be the ultimate PD cartridge, or so I have heard.
