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Twist Rate for 22-250

gpr

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Minuteman
Feb 21, 2017
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I am rebarreling a 22-250. I want to use it primary for prairie dog and coyote hunting. However I like shooting long range and would like to use some heavy bullets to hit steel at 1000 yards. I was originally thinking to go with a 1:8 twist barrel, but now I'm wondering if that will be too tight and tear up the lighter 50gr bullets? I shoot the 50gr v-max superformance ammo which is 4000fps. Or if i reload it will be with 53gr v-max pushing them as fast as i can. For long range will likely shoot heavier 69-75gr bullets.

If i go with 1:8 twist, is it going to spin the 50gr and 53gr v-max too fast and tear them up?
 
I have a pair of .220 swifts (one a Remington 40X Rangemaster), both 1:14 twist which works well with anything 50-55 gr. It's perfect for creating pdog vapor trails. Won't shoot anything 60g or over.
Your 22-250 is pretty much the same cartridge. Any kind of breeze and that bullet drifts past ~600 yds, but is brutal at most pdog ranges. I would think the jacket would come apart a 1:8 twist 360K rpm. Deal killer if you want to shoot suppressed. IMR4064 and 3031 have been great powders for that cartridge.
 
Good point. That is another thing. I was thinking of a 24" barrel, and it will be shot suppressed most of the time.

would a 1:10 twist be better? I want to stabilize heavy bullets, yet still be ok shooting the 50gr v-max.
 
I do a lot of varminting. Faster definitely yields more dramatic results. I decided to try some 65gr Barnes Varmint Grenades in a 1:7.5 twist barrel. Under book loads, they came apart with the fast twist damaging my can. Hence my word of caution. I would be afraid that a 1:10 twist might be too fast for the lighter rounds 50-53grg rounds, maybe not optimal for heavies. I think you might be looking at two rifles or a switch barrel.

 
would a 1:10 twist be better? I want to stabilize heavy bullets, yet still be ok shooting the 50gr v-max.

A slow twist won't stabilize the heavies and a fast twist may have issues with lighter bullets. You're either going to have to pick a twist that will definitely do the heavies or one that won't. A 1:9 in pushing 75-80's MAY work at 22-250 velocities, but that's a huge maybe, it should be ok with 69's though. Check Bergers stability calculator, it's a great guide.

If it were me I'd go 1:8 or 1:7.5 and call it a day. Anything is going to be flat and explosive at 22-250 velocities so I don't see the reason behind the super light bullets. You should also still be able to run a 69gr as well.

 
I went to Bergers website and entered the info for the 53gr V-max. It says it is good to go with 1:9 twist. It also shows that 75gr VLD bullets are also good at 1:9 twist because we get away with a little more up here at elevation with thin air.

My biggest question is how tight of a twist rate can I get away with to shoot the 50gr v-max and not damage the jacket. Also how tight can I go on 50gr and heavier bullets to still get tight groups. If anyone has loads they have worked up and experience with it along with the twist rate would really help. I just didn't want to buy a barrel that would damage the 53gr v-max with spinning it to hard. (if you can't tell the 53gr v-max is my favorite varmint bullet as it has very high BC's, yet destroys varmints.)
 
I put one together a few years ago and it is quite a machine. 9 twist 24" barrel running the 75 vld's around 3300 fps. It will get to 1000 very accurately and I have even taken it out to 1200 which was cool. 3 yrs ago I injured my right hand right as deer season was starting here in KS, so she pulled the duty because I was little nervous about shooting with that hand anywhere near recoil. She pulled through with a very nice buck at 511 yds for me. Double lunged him and and he just waved his tail a couple times, laid down and that was it. I have taken coyotes out to 550 ish with it and its thumps them hard. Now my truck gun is a stock 250 with that goofy 14 twist barrel and it eats the 50's well but every winter I wish it was twisted enough to shoot at least the 69 gr bullets. I think once u start pushing them 70-75 gr pills with a fast twist 250 u will forget all about them 50-53 grain bullets.
 
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I have several 1-8" .223AI's that don't tear up the 50's @ 3,725.

I have a 1-9" .223AI that will smoke them if the bbl is fouled, but it has a horribly cracked throat.

 
Concur with redneckbmxer. Why do you want to run the light bullets, when you can run the heavies and high velocity?

Because a 53gr varmint bullet can be pushed to 3850fps and fragments completely on impact. 3300 fps in a non-varmint bullet doesn't have nearly the same effect.
 
I built a 250 with a 7 twist last year. Run 75 amax just below 3300. Took it to Montana a month ago. Ran both the 75s and 50 bowler bt and both were gawd awful brutal. Both shot just fine all all ranges I tried. No issues with fragmenting or accuracy at 3680 with 50s
 
I want something that will run 50gr bullets for several reasons.

1. 50-55gr bullets are about all you can find for factory ammo. Plus then i can buy 53gr v-max in bulk and reload the 250 and 223 ammo with them.
2. The devastation of a v-max at 4000fps is amazingly fun when shooting prairie dogs. The heavier bullets are great for long range, but don't have the same affect a v-max does.
3. the light bullets are so fast they don't have much drop, so within 300 yards i don't need to worry about hold over.

The reason I wanted the fast twist is I also have my own 1000 yard range which i enjoy shooting at, and a 22 call bullet is about the cheapest round you can send down range. Plus its a fun challenge to get out to that distance. I would like to get as fast of twist as possible to also run some heavier bullets when shooting steel, but primarily I will shoot the lighter bullets for hunting.

Thus why i was wondering if anyone has ran 50 or 55gr bullets through a twist like 1:9, as most of what I'm seeing that will over speed the bullets. I called hornady but the guy i talked to didn't have any general guidelines as far as RPM the v-max can handle. I don't want to buy a barrel then not be able to shoot the ammo I want, so looks like i need to get a slower twist rate. Now wondering if 1:10 will work for me. Won't really work on the heavier bullets but should be okay on 50gr and larger I think.

 
If you have your own range, I'd go .223 or .223AI in a fast twist. Nothing better for what you are talking about. Run 75 ELD's on steel and 50's on varmints. Barrel life will be in the many thousands, recoil is way less for spotting shots, less powder and plentiful brass. You can even shoot factory 75's (although anemic).
 
I have a 26" 1:8 twist 22-250 and shoot 55gr Nosler BT's 90% of the time, and 75gr Swift Sirocco2 the rest.

I haven't bothered loading anything lighter (53, 50, etc) so i can't comment on their performance. I buy the 1000 packs of 55's.

A mate re-barreled his 22-250 to replicate mine (same length/twist), as he was in awe of its performance.
Unfortunately when he got it back and shot it, it stripped the jackets off the lighter pills. You could see a 'puff' at 50m and nothing on target...
We put it down to barrel different barrel manufacturer's, his wasn't a quality brand/gunsmith while mine was a Hart barrel fitted by Hart.
The barrel maker/gunsmith tested the rifle and offered a new barrel or refund, it may have just been a dud barrel. My mate took the refund and ended up going elsewhere back to a 1:14.
 
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I want something that will run 50gr bullets for several reasons.

1. 50-55gr bullets are about all you can find for factory ammo. Plus then i can buy 53gr v-max in bulk and reload the 250 and 223 ammo with them.
2. The devastation of a v-max at 4000fps is amazingly fun when shooting prairie dogs. The heavier bullets are great for long range, but don't have the same affect a v-max does.
3. the light bullets are so fast they don't have much drop, so within 300 yards i don't need to worry about hold over.

The reason I wanted the fast twist is I also have my own 1000 yard range which i enjoy shooting at, and a 22 call bullet is about the cheapest round you can send down range. Plus its a fun challenge to get out to that distance. I would like to get as fast of twist as possible to also run some heavier bullets when shooting steel, but primarily I will shoot the lighter bullets for hunting.

Thus why i was wondering if anyone has ran 50 or 55gr bullets through a twist like 1:9, as most of what I'm seeing that will over speed the bullets. I called hornady but the guy i talked to didn't have any general guidelines as far as RPM the v-max can handle. I don't want to buy a barrel then not be able to shoot the ammo I want, so looks like i need to get a slower twist rate. Now wondering if 1:10 will work for me. Won't really work on the heavier bullets but should be okay on 50gr and larger I think.

You're trying to make one rifle do the job of two, somewhere there's going to have to be a compromise or you may end up with a build that does nothing well.

There's not a plethora of data out there for what your seeking, in fact it's extremely limited. There's a lot of data with 14 twists, and other than that the other data out there is fast twist (1:8, 1:7) for the 80's-90's as that's what people tend to go for. I have my doubts about 1:10 even working well for 69gr.

You have your own 1000 yard range, do you already have a rifle or rifles that you shoot at this range that are capable?

Do you have a rifle already that's flat shooting for that tasks that you seem to want as one of this rifles duties?

Ask yourself those questions and then turn this into the rifle your lacking, if you're not lacking either, turn this rifle into the one that you'd rather have another of, then build a second rifle if you really want another to do the same thing as the others.

There's 22 cal bullets that are economically priced in all varieties so I wouldn't use that as a justification. Also consider that a 22-250 isn't the best choice as far as barrel life compared to some others, and you're burning more powder than others. A couple cents more or less for a bullet shouldn't play a huge roll. Also you're already loading for another rifle with different data, powders, brass, and even primers... Consolidating bullets for this reason is also small potatoes.

If lighter bullets are more of a priority for this build and you want to run the 53gr Vmax (great bullet choice for a light bullet), I'd just do a 1:12 and call it a day. 1:12 will ensure the 53gr is stable at 22-250 velocities since its a little longer, I actually had a 1:14 22-250 that wouldn't stabilize it. You'll also be able to run the even lighter bullets just fine. Heavier bullets aside from the 60r Vmax will probably be a no go and that bullet won't be worth it due to the pretty terrible BC.

There are plenty of heavier bullets that are very explosive at 22-250 velocities and they're still really flat at close range but no, not as flat as the light bullets. Close though and they don't just absolutely fall on there face like the light bullets do either. Another solution something even faster like 22-243. It will run a 75gr bullet almost as fast as a 22-250 will run the 53gr. It gets you the flat, the super explosive impact, and long range capability but the trade off here will be barrel life and more powder.

Another option is to pick up any one of a number of the factory rifle options that are available for less than the cost of good barrel blank and threading. $500 will get you a Vanguard which are very accurate rifles, top it with a standard optic that has serviceable glass and will hold zero. You don't need wiz bang features for a gun that your shooting a laser beam out of to 300 yards so you can be under a grand total. Then build your action into the dedicated long range rifle and you'll have a dedicated rifle for each type of shooting.


I know none of this is what you want to hear but I don't think anyone can definitively tell you that X twist rate is definitely going to run great with light and heavy bullets. If you want certainty you're going to have to chose where to compromise.
 
I had a 1-in-12" 22-250 barrel and it stabilized everything up to about 62gr quite well, but didn't quite do it with 69gr SMKs (I am more or less at sea level). All the lighter bullets worked well.

With a 1-in-9" twist i had good results with weights from 52gr to 75gr, but barrel life seemed a little shorter.

I'll try something faster next.

I wonder though whether polygonal or 3r rifling might help keep lighter bullets intact.

ILya
 
Mine has a 1:8 twist. When I first built it the 62 grain flat base Bergers that have since been discontinued performed great. The newer Berger 77gr OTM does just as well, and I have gone as low as a 40gr and haven't blown one up yet.
 
I have a 1-7 twist 22-250AI, haven't bothered shooting anything under 75gr. Barrel life is horrid, but a 90gr Berger at 3200fps will flip a squirrel about 25 feet under 200 yards. I like the VMax as much as the next guy, but I'd stick to them in 223 and reach out with the fast twist 22-250.
 
I shoot a .22-250 AI with a 1-8" barrel. Shoots 53gr amaxs just fine and 80gr eld's great as well. I've also had a .223ai with a 1-8" that was also a hammer with the same bullets.
Another note, have have shot 40gr noslers while fire forms with no ill effect.
I will not build another.224 anything without a 1-8" in the future.
YMMV
 
I'm thinking and in the process of building a 22-250 AI with a 1/9 twist. I'll probably shoot more 55 to 65 gn bullets but will have a load for 75 gn pills for longer distances.
 
I shoot .223 with 75gr HDY HPBT-M in a 24" length, 1:9" twist barrel. Right on target at 600yd. I tried 75gr A-Max about 15 years ago, and no dice, they keyholed at 100yd. The newer 22 cal ELD bullets would appear to have a profile that resembles the A-Max.

I'm pretty comfortable with the idea of a .22-250 24" 1:9" barrel.

But I don't like the .22-250 for lots of sustained fire. It generates too much barrel heat that way.

There has been a succession of topics posted covering heavier/longer bullets in the .22-250 over the past decade and a half here. For whatever reason, interest in the combination seems to wane over time. I still think its feasible, but not for a comp gun or a p-dog gun; too much volume of fire, it kills the barrels.

And then, just how much terminal energy remains in a 22 caliber bullet at 1000yd? Punch paper, sure. Living things? Maybe not so suitable.

Greg
 
You should buy the barrel around the bullet you want to shoot for the intended target. If that's 50, 53, or 55 grain frangible varmint bullets on prairie dogs, a slower twist (12 or 14) stabilizes the round better and usually yields higher velocity. Most heavier target bullets travel through like ice picks and don't generate pink mist. 53gr bullet will definitely be blown more than a 75gr, but a 53 travels faster and has a better suited jacket. 80-90% of the near two thousand or so pdogs I've shot over the last 3 years (it's an addiction) are under 400 yds. Those longer shots I usually reserve for a .260 shooting frangible Sierra 100's or Hornady 130's at distance.
 
So you guys have had good luck shooting 55gr bullets from the 1:8 twist?
Do you think nosler ballistic tips at 55gr would be ok in a 1:8 twist?
 
I have a few 8 twist 22-250's. None will shoot the bullets under 62 grains. They all come apart at full power loading. I like the fast twist in places but the 55 grain 22-250 is a wonderful load that I cannot use in my rifles.
 
Pretty old thread, but I would also be interested to find out what @gpr decided to do and what the result was.
I have a 9 twist 22-250 barrel on the shelf waiting for the current 12 twist to burn out. My goal is to run the 53 v-max on the light end, and 69 TMK or 70 VLD on the heavy end. I'm thinking it will work quite well for both.
 
Sir,
I am thinking that your 53's will not hold together. Hope I am wrong . Good luck.
 
Sir,
I am thinking that your 53's will not hold together. Hope I am wrong . Good luck.

I think they will if he doesn't go crazy with speed. I send them right at 3000 fps through a 24" 1-9 Howa and never lost one.
 
I think they will if he doesn't go crazy with speed. I send them right at 3000 fps through a 24" 1-9 Howa and never lost one.
At 3000 FPS on a 53 grain bullet they will undoubtedly hold together but that is slower than a .223 53 grain load. When I shoot a 22-250 I want to push 3900 with a 53 grain bullet.
 
At 3000 FPS on a 53 grain bullet they will undoubtedly hold together but that is slower than a .223 53 grain load. When I shoot a 22-250 I want to push 3900 with a 53 grain bullet.

Accuracy trumps speed for me. YMMV.
 
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My barrel is a Black Hole Weaponry 3p, so I'm hoping it will be easier on the 53 jackets. In any case, my 12 twist is still holding on for dear life despite untold thousands of rounds on it, so it will be a while before I can test.