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22-250 Varmit!

Claybird8

Private
Minuteman
Mar 2, 2022
3
1
Jasper, Ga
Looking for super accurate Varmit 22-250 for dogs long and short range. 1/8 twist . Which one?? Anyone got one for sale?
Please no burn outs.
 
If your definition of long range is beyond 600 yards I would go with the fast twist so you can stabilize heavier high-BC bullets that a 1-12" won't.
 
I run a 1:7 twist 22-250. I shoot the 88 ELD and 90 A-tip. Runs around 3030-3060 fps.

1:8 will shoot up to 80 grain class. You will need to check each bullet you may shoot using a stabilization calculator. Bullet length makes a big difference on stability.
 
another Question, are you in an area that is/may be pushing Non-Lead (LFP) Monolithics? The 1:8 is great then, because the "Standard weight" LFPs are the same length and bearing distance of the heavier Cup and Core bullets. I.E. the 55g Barnes Varmint Grenade specify right on the box a 1:10 twist or faster, and they shoot like crap out of my 1:12 22-250. May as well use the 870 with Dead Coyote for the groups I get at 100 yds.

As for who's barrel, I would go with whoever is making a pre-fit for the 22cm that fits your action from the prefered companies on the Hide and contact them about chambering in 22-250. I would love to do this, but with a Sako, Howa, and 2 Mausers I am going to have to get a blank and have it fit and chambered by my trusted local gunsmith.
 
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I run a 1:7 twist 22-250. I shoot the 88 ELD and 90 A-tip. Runs around 3030-3060 fps.

1:8 will shoot up to 80 grain class. You will need to check each bullet you may shoot using a stabilization calculator. Bullet length makes a big difference on stability.
Exactly 1-7" 88 ELDM and heavier bullets. I considered a 1-8" for 53 gr VMAX up to 75 ELDM's.
 
50gr and 55gr vmax are absolute lazers out of my 22-250. Don’t think I would even want to waste my time with anything else.
 
I will say that for the 40-55gn projectiles a 1/8 is a tad fast. Euro optic sells a tikka with a 1-8 twist it slings 80-90gn at 3120 and is stupid accurate but it's a 1-1.5 moa gun with 53s and 55s with various powders. 1-8 is ok in cartridges such as the 222 or 223 cartridges they can't push them super fast. So for varmints I'd stick with a 1-12 or 1-14 twist to shoot the light projectiles.
 
The 53 gr vmax has a better bc than some 62- 63 gr pills. The 55 vmax doesn't compare to the 53 gr vmax.
 
I can tell you a 1:10 twist will only stabilize up to 69-70 grain. I had a 1:10 twist barrel for several years and tried to step up over 70 grains. The accuracy was horrible. Like 3-4” at 100 yards. It was hard to tell if it was key-holing or yawing in flight but I can only assume it was. The calculators stated “marginal.”

Best to decide what bullet you want to shoot and go from there. If you are not reloading, 1:8 is a bit fast. Anything over 300,000 rpm spin rate and you risk bullet failure in flight - they spin apart.
 
A 75 Eldm will hold 1800fps (think expansion) out to 800 yards out of my .22BR. While 88’s and heavier might arguably do better in the wind, they really don’t carry that 1800fps threshold any further. Again, out of my BR.

The 53 Vmax is a mean little bastard out of my 16” AR. It’s BC is higher than anything else in its weight class and cranking it up another 7 or 800 fps will only add to the fun, I suspect it’ll behave best in an 8-10 twist.

Were I building a rifle, I’d .22 Creed instead of .22-250. Also, none of the aforementioned is likely to be fur friendly.