.22-250 GTG at 100, not so GTG at 200.....

[03psd]

I have had good luck with 39.5gr of H380 and 52gr Nosler CC and Speer HP at 100 yards. Today I moved back to 200 and the group opened up more than I expected. I went from sub 1/2 MOA to .85 MOA.

It was hot out (90*) but I was shooting from shade and there was a .5 value 5mph wind. Has anyone got a load that has proven to be decent at 200+ using 52gr SMK, CC or Hornady Match bullets.

Am I asking too much from a factory 700 VSF?

 

[03psd]

Re: .22-250 GTG at 100, not so GTG at 200.....

come on now, someone knows something about this or at least has an opinion......right??

 

[Cowboy]

Re: .22-250 GTG at 100, not so GTG at 200.....

Just an opinion. 200yds seems a little short for hidden flaws in a load to start showing up. Maybe you were having a little trouble with the wind, or maybe just a little off your game. Or maybe you were just really on the ball at 100yds. Given the hot weather, maybe you were shooting over twice the updraft from the hot ground at 200yds. Its 52 grains, it doesn't take much for nature to push that around 1/2". Give it another go before tinkering with it. Regardless, .85 moa is nothing to sneeze at.

 

[GCMxVeGeTa]

Re: .22-250 GTG at 100, not so GTG at 200.....

Whats the twist on that gun? You sure those are heavy enough?

 

[SuperXJeff]

Re: .22-250 GTG at 100, not so GTG at 200.....

That gun should shoot those bullets just fine. The load is great as well as bullet choice.I know that nobody wants to hear about sub moa groups but In my Remington heavy barrels it has been the norm. If you are being conservative at 1/2 inch( meaning that the gun really shoots better then that) then I would shoot the load a few more times and see if every thing remains the same. I can't tell you if h-380 is affected much by the heat or not. I never shot it in super hot weather and never at targets that were either far enough away or small enough to make a big difference one way or the other.



I wouldn't throw the baby out just yet. The load you are shooting is the favorite load of many a 22-250 shooter.

I never decide that a load is a keeper until I have shot it 3 or 4 times as there can be so many variables. Your gun has the right twist for those bullets and your load is just fine. At 100 it should pretty much put them in a ragged hole.

200 should be a not much bigger ragged hole. 3/4 at 200 in a 5 MPH cross wind sounds like a real good shooter at 100 on a slightly windy day.
Bottom line? You won't know until you try it a few more times. In the mean time get some Varget at it can shoot just as well as H-380 and sometimes it shoots better then H-380. The difference as you may know is that it will not be affected by the heat.
No reason to panic yet. Try it a few more times and don't give up until you have shot it at temps less then 75 with no wind. If all it will do is 3/4 of an inch at 200 in dead calm weather then you may need to do some more load work. Unless you are happy with 3/4. As far as I am concerned, a 22 250 is a 500 yard Coyote killer. The accuracy you are getting already would put an awful hurt on him at 450 to 500 yards. It all depends on what you plan to use it for.

I want the most accuracy even if I don't need it.

The truth as I see it is that most misses are caused by a mistake in the process somewhere rather then the accuracy of the gun. Misjudge the wind by 5 MPH and you just missed that coyote at 500 yards. The sod poodle at 300 yards. It won't matter weather the gun shot an inch at 100 or 1 ragged hole. The error was on our part. Anyway.. Just trying to help. Jeff

 

[03psd]

Re: .22-250 GTG at 100, not so GTG at 200.....

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: SuperXJeff</div><div class="ubbcode-body">That gun should shoot those bullets just fine. The load is great as well as bullet choice.I know that nobody wants to hear about sub moa groups but In my Remington heavy barrels it has been the norm. If you are being conservative at 1/2 inch( meaning that the gun really shoots better then that) then I would shoot the load a few more times and see if every thing remains the same. I can't tell you if h-380 is affected much by the heat or not. I never shot it in super hot weather and never at targets that were either far enough away or small enough to make a big difference one way or the other.



I wouldn't throw the baby out just yet. The load you are shooting is the favorite load of many a 22-250 shooter.

I never decide that a load is a keeper until I have shot it 3 or 4 times as there can be so many variables. Your gun has the right twist for those bullets and your load is just fine. At 100 it should pretty much put them in a ragged hole.

200 should be a not much bigger ragged hole. 3/4 at 200 in a 5 MPH cross wind sounds like a real good shooter at 100 on a slightly windy day.
Bottom line? You won't know until you try it a few more times. In the mean time get some Varget at it can shoot just as well as H-380 and sometimes it shoots better then H-380. The difference as you may know is that it will not be affected by the heat.
No reason to panic yet. Try it a few more times and don't give up until you have shot it at temps less then 75 with no wind. If all it will do is 3/4 of an inch at 200 in dead calm weather then you may need to do some more load work. Unless you are happy with 3/4. As far as I am concerned, a 22 250 is a 500 yard Coyote killer. The accuracy you are getting already would put an awful hurt on him at 450 to 500 yards. It all depends on what you plan to use it for.

I want the most accuracy even if I don't need it.

The truth as I see it is that most misses are caused by a mistake in the process somewhere rather then the accuracy of the gun. Misjudge the wind by 5 MPH and you just missed that coyote at 500 yards. The sod poodle at 300 yards. It won't matter weather the gun shot an inch at 100 or 1 ragged hole. The error was on our part. Anyway.. Just trying to help. Jeff </div></div>

Thanks Jeff-

Barrel is 1:14 and regularly shoots .3-.4" 5 shot groups at 100 on a calm day when I do my part. When I was shooting it was hot: 90*+ temp with 100*+ feel with humidity. It was the first time I shot for groups at 200 and probably the hottest day I have shot during. I fired a ~.5" group at 100 as a warm up befor moving back to 200 so I thought I was having a decent day. Perhaps the heat did take my focus away and there was a mirage at 200. I was using a 20x Leupy and a 3" red dot target so the point of aim was wavey.
I thought the heat would have something to do with it.I will dig up a Varget load and try it a bit earlier in the day to see what happens.

 

[SuperXJeff]

Re: .22-250 GTG at 100, not so GTG at 200.....

Mirage could have easily had an affect on it. That is an awful lot of scope for that kind of heat. I don't like much above 8x when it is over 85 degrees. I prefer a smaller dot with less mag for shooting that close but too each his own.
My friend called from the range he was shooting at the other day. He was shooting a 308 at 200 yards and getting three inch group, I asked him what power he was shooting and he said 14X. I had him back that down to 6.5x and it cut his group size in more then half. Some times having to focus really hard helps those groups more then a bunch of power.

I have had real good luck with 37.3 grains of Varget with a 50gr Nosler Ballistic Tip. I use Winchester Primers and loaded tem to the suggested COl as I had already tried them to the lands, off the lands ECT ETC. They shot best jumping the lands. Who knows why?

Part of the fun of all this is knowing with a virtual certainty what something SHOULD do. We don't know anything for sure until we try it at the target. How often do you hear people talking about something "Just kissing the lands" Well, Just kissing the lands didn't do shit in this 22-250 not with 40-50-or 55 grain V-Maxes or Nosler ballistic tips or Sierra HP match bullets 52's or 53's. all that work for nothing! But... There is no other way that I am aware of that it can be done. OAL on the load is stock per the book 2.350

Good luck and shoot me a PM when you get it figiured out as it will be interesting to hear what happens. Jeff

 

[ChrisGarrett]

Re: .22-250 GTG at 100, not so GTG at 200.....

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: 03psd</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I have had good luck with 39.5gr of H380 and 52gr Nosler CC and Speer HP at 100 yards. Today I moved back to 200 and the group opened up more than I expected. I went from sub 1/2 MOA to .85 MOA.

It was hot out (90*) but I was shooting from shade and there was a .5 value 5mph wind. Has anyone got a load that has proven to be decent at 200+ using 52gr SMK, CC or Hornady Match bullets.

Am I asking too much from a factory 700 VSF? </div></div>

Good article on mirage and target shifting in the October '09 issue of GUNS. This could easily account for your groups opening up while shooting in heat on higher mags and through mirage.

Basically, the light from the bullseye was being bent while travelling back to you, through the mirage and you were shooting at a false target.

Chris

 

[GSPKurt]

Re: .22-250 GTG at 100, not so GTG at 200.....

Is the scope square to the rifle? Might it be off a touch?
Just thinkin' out loud...