22:250 advice reqd.

D

digisol

Guest
I'm currently looking for a new varmint rifle, and while most of the usual calibers like the old ever relyable 222, and 25:06 are very familiar to me but the 22:250 keeps popping up as a possible viable option with some very good rifles being made available, but only in 22:250, so I have held off to seek wisdom into the caliber.
Problem is I have not owned a 22:250 and the negative aspects of it's well documented bore throat erosion has so far kept me right away from it, so I have to ask of those who may have owned and (shot a lot through one) just how long will a barrel last before showing signs of erosion damage and the resulting accuracy drop off it will likely go with.
And also will any stainless barrel offerings last any longer than conventional carbon steel, in the 22:250 caliber.
TIA.
 
Pretty good choice for a varmint rifle

Moved your thread from the CB forum to keep those guys off your backside..

Performance is the only thing the 22-250 has on its side. You can get 50,000 rounds from a 22LR and 1000 (maybe) from a 22-250 barrel. Likely, it would be a straight line graph plotting barrel life vs performance.

Talk on the street has stainless over carbon steel.
 
Since you are seeking opinions, I'll throw this in. I was a late comer to the 22-250. I have four. Basically I would trade each one for a .243. The cost of reloading it the same. The size of the finished cartridge it nearly the same. The noise and blast are the same. All the negative aspects of shooting a full powered deer-class rifle are there, and, in my opinion, all of the limitations of a .22. With a .243 ther are some benefits in terms of wind, range, and power.
 
This does not answer your question but is more of a "food for thought" reply.

I am an avid varmint hunter but have not seriously used a 22/250 for varminting for the last 20 years or so, I have mainly used the 223 and had a brief year-long affair with the 204 before going back to the 223.

However, to get to the point of the reply - I just returned from our annual week long PD hunt in a target rich environment (thousands of PD's), there were 12 of us shooting rifles of various makes and calibers with the 223 being the most prevalant caliber and a couple of 204's and 22/250's in the mix. Most of our shooting was from 100 to 400 yards, I did a lot of the spotting and calling for the other shooters and while all of the calibers had adequate performance the 22/250 was the most impressive as far as "blow-up" performance on the PD's, and at the longer distances the 22/250's performance became even more decisive over the other calibers.

The down side is that using the 22/250 the shooter cannot always see his hits/misses even using a fairly heavy rifle, whereas using the 204 or 223 generally the shooter sees what happens after pulling the trigger.

You are correct in that the 22/250 will have a shorter barrel life than a smaller caliber but in my experience unless one drastically overheats a barrel (such as sustained shooting without a cooldown) the 22/250 will give acceptable accuracy (sub MOA) for somewhere around 2500 rounds, this is just about half of what can be expected from a 223 or similar caliber.

If you are contemplating a rifle that will give dramatic hit effect then it is difficult to beat the 22/250, if you are looking for long barrel life then there are better choices.
 
Firm Believer in 22-250

I've had 22-250s for years, popped numerous rodents and birds with them, and aside from a brief flirtation with a 220 Swift for several years, the 22-250 has been my go-to rifle every time. I've had good luck and life from both chrome-moly and stainless steel barrels. I currently own 3. Having tried the 223, 222, 220 Swift, 243, 204 and 22BR on varmints, the best have been the 22-250 and the Swift. If you're feeling more adventurous, you could get your smith to run up a 22-250 Ackley for you. Man, is that ever a terrific round, but barrel life is similar to the Swift's. I'd not trade a one of my 22-250s for anything.
 
I've had a '250, and gone through.......

a few barrels on it. If I was starting over, knowing what I know now, I'd probably have a .222 magnum(L461), using .204 brass because of the quality. I've used a 6MM Rem, and kept it; so I wouldn't get a .243. I haven't shot a lot of Prairie Dogs, but I spent a couple afternoons with a spotter, and my concern WAS the barrel, because one gets like a kid inna candy store. Your big drawback is, you're looking for a rack gun; you'd have more options if you were going to replace a barrel. If you have to have a hot .22, the '250 is hard to beat and I think it would be better if it were impped, with a .275-285 neck length as a result of pushing the shoulder back. The brass isn't that great, because of the age of the cartridge design. If you were a handloader, and could get decent barrels, maybe a necked down 6.5X47 Lapua(to .224) with a sharper shoulder and longer neck. This way you could have good strong brass, and there might be other benefits as a result of capacity, neck length, etc. If its a standard centerfire .22 caliber rack gun, I'd have to say(reluctantly) yes, the .22-250 is the best choice for you.
 
22-250

digisol: I'll second what drover and others said: Had to replace an original Remington chrome-moly varmint contour at 2400 rds. At slightly less than that, groups began to open up, copper fouling was more of a problem, and at around 2400 shots would begin keyholing. It was changed-out with a Hart stainless, and that one also lasted 2300 to 2450 rds. My standard load was the traditional 38 grs. of H380 with 50 to 53 gr. bullets, and no rapid firing--ever. Just picked-up another Rem. 700 ( barrel date 97), so after the lay-off of 6 years, am back in the 22-250 "business". Started with a 100 count bag of Winchester brass and am pleasently surprised at the quality of this particulat lot (#28D10): neck wall thickness variation is .0015" maximum ( and that's only a very few), flash holes centered, etc. Loaded round runouts after the initial firing is averaging .003" maximum, and again, that's only a few. Glad I picked up another: kind of like meeting an old friend after years of no contact.:)
 
I bought a used 22-250 (Rem 788) when I was 12 years old. The previous owner was/is a very good shooter and shoots often. I do not know how many rounds he had through it - but I have since put on 1,000 - 1,500. Last year, in the postals, I shot consistently around 230-235. For a factory rifle this is pretty decent. Not excellent, but far from poor. Certianly good enough for varmits. Long story short - the 22-250 is easy to get to shoot well and, based on my rifle in terms of varmit accuracy, will last a long time.
22-250 is hard to beat.

Stanley
 
Digisol: I have been shooting Rifles in caliber 22-250 Remington since the year it was introduced (1965 IIRC).
It IS a splendid Varminting caliber with just a few serious drawbacks for the medium to high volume, Varmint shooting enthusiast.
I am currently reloading for and Hunting with 6 Rifles in caliber 22-250 Remington.
I have probably owned 14 to 18 additional Rifles in 22-250 in the last 44 years as well!
Barrel life is one concern for the Varminter with a 22-250 Remington but heavy recoil and hot barrels are the most glaring of its few shortcomings!
My advice to you and anyone who has not tried one is to buy a Varminter in caliber 204 Ruger!
In the 5+ years I have been shooting this cartridge I have come to the conclusion that the 204 Ruger is simply the best "all around Varminting cartridge" ever devised!
And by all around Varminting I mean best for Varmints from Ground Squirrels and Weasels right on up through Fox, Bobcat and Coyote!
The ranges that 99.9% of all the Varmints that are shot, are shot at (just at and under 500 yards), the 204 Ruger simply excells and does so with splendid accuracy, non-existent recoil, awe inspiring ballistics and, its slow to heat a barrel!
I currently own 5 Varminters in caliber 204 Ruger (all factory arms!) and they along with observations of the accuracy of many 204 caliber Rifles my friends shoot, leads me to the conclusion that the 204 Ruger is more accurate than the 22-250 Remington!
And thats a tough task to accomplish!
A few months back I was sitting at a Gunshow on the west coast selling stuff and low and behold a conversation started up among several SERIOUS Varminting friends of mine, regarding the 204 Ruger.
My good friend Armand stated that if he were starting over, using and collecting Varmint Rifles today, he wouldn't buy anything but Rifles in 204 Ruger caliber!
This statement came from a 68 year old Varminter who owns 25 Rifles in caliber 22-250 Remington ALONE! And he has Hunted Varmints from the east coast to the west coast and about everywhere in between.
Those words were barely out of his mouth when I chimed in "I agree with you 100%"!
I have as yet to ask of my 204 Ruger Rifles anything, that they CAN NOT DO!
I sure wish that back in the early sixties when I began buying Varmint Rifles that the 204 Ruger had been available then.
It would have saved me a LOT of money!
Case in point - I was just on a Varmint Hunt with 3 other fellows here in SW Montana, yesterday.
One of the fellows had a Remington 700 VLS in caliber 22-250 Remington. Our main quarry was Ground Squirrels. Even with this heavy Rifle my friend could not ascertain if he had hit the Varmint on way more than 50% of the shots he took.
We eventually had to take turns spotting the shots for him.
Whereas my 204 Ruger and another hunters 17 Remington Fireball allowed us to see our own bullets P.O.I. everytime!
IF, you want one Rifle that will excell for 99.9% of Varminting's useages - go with the 204 Ruger!
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy
 
22-250

It always come down to one thing, accuracy. I have a 22-250 and it is fairly accurate but i still find myself wanting to more. Its been mentioned before and i remember one story about a guy who had a 22-250 shot it up and had a great time and when he felt its accuracy was slipping he rechambered to 22br, the 22-250 was never as accurate and consistent as the 22br in the supposed shot out barrel. Im sure a custom chambering job helped but choosing a cartridge that is designed to be more accurate just wins. My vote would be for a 22br possible a savage rifle and then add a 22br/6mmbr barrel.
 
still undecided.

Thanks for your individual input and PM, some problems do arise simply due to our different global locations, and while the varmint class calibers suit the varied array of critters in your locality we have some very different beasties and mostly in open arrid areas where close range shots are few and far between and perhaps why I love the 25:06.

Sure genuine wild game abounds down here with Pigs, Buffalo, Camels (yes lots of ferral camels), horses, and more but these places usually involve a solid days drive at a bare minimum for any serious hunt, and many of these are chased down by helicopter these days, anyway while any 22 cal does away with the smaller stuff, it can prove problematic when all your carrying is a 22 and a large boar or water buffalo decides to put some dum human on his dinner menu, the 25:06 has given a more secure feeling many times over.

I've pondered (and still am) over this choice of a new rifle caliber and even if the 22:250 was a perfect tack driver, it may not have enough stopping power to be an all round rifle here, the 222 and 25:06 cover a lot of game here, so i've moved in a different direction for a look into maybe a .308 which certainly covers more if not all of the available game that's here by a simple load change, and finding an accurate 308 is hardly rocket science, and theres always lots of available food for a 308.

While splattering rabbits and ferral cats with a 308 may be a waste of powder and a huge overkill in most circles, a large angry wild boar may feel differently about being fed the same 150g 308 pill.

Interesting ?
 
varmint rig...

lets seeee ...you are wanting a varmit rifle to shoot buffaloes out of a helicopter ???!!mmmm....sounds like a interesting place to hunt......have you tried hand grenades???hhahaha.....good luk on your choice.......nuthin but groundhogs around here....grin...Roger

PS...get a .243...if it wont kill it ,,stay in the chopper till reinforcements arrive!!
 
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I was goon put up some stuff here but somewhere "varmints" became horses and feral camels.......I got nothing.
 
You can crank .223 with a 35-40gr bullet to 3800fps, which is close to a commercial .22-250 at 50gr at 3850fps (Hornady). The .223 will be cheaper to reload, especially with military brass availability.
 
I wonder how much harm it would do to just let the camels and other large animals mentioned "carry on" in peace.

Same with ocelots and similar wildlife.
 
digisol

back in the USA when one talks varmint it usually is PD's or Woodchucks. with coyotes on the large size and ground squirrels on the small side.

i believe in all fairness one should have mentioned the type of varmint they were going after before bashing everyone for the advise given.

in a nutshell, match the caliber for your critter. for the size critter that is appropriate for a 22-250 rem. it is hard to beat because it is inherately accurate. just like your 308 win that is another cartridge that doesnt seem to mind what you feed it it just holds bullets tight to point of aim. oh by the way i would consider your 25-06 or 308 wimpy for a buffalo. JMHO.

usually one matches the downrange energy to the weight of the critter being hunted. what chart to use?? suit yourself as there are a gizzillion ways to gauge how much horsepower each animal needs to whup up on it! for example the 22-250 is great on PD's to get the RED MIST factor.:cool: on a feral donkey, camel or buff. maybe get a 12 incher off the deck of an american naval destroyer?? but then that may have more whup ass than your copter can handle. :rolleyes:

Fred
 
US Navy does not have a 12" Navel gun.

Not only no such weapon. They won't rent any cannons or weapons out with out proper ID a credit card and deposit.
 
.22-250 opinions

The .22-250 is a great varmint round, better yet the .22-250 A.I.. If you're worried about burning barrels or throat erosion go with a .223. The A.I. version with a fast twist rate of 1 in 8" will allow you to shoot 80grn. bullets beyond the normal .22-250. I'm currently killing PA groundhogs with a 1 in 8"
.22-250 A.I. using 80 grn. Hornady A-Maxes at 350 yds. and beyond. This bullet works very well, despite some saying that target bullets don't open up enough on critters. I examine the damage after shooting and can attest to the effectiveness of this bullet.

I consider barrels to be an expendable commodity like tires on a vehicle. you need to weigh what you want the rifle to do, expected distances to be shot, type of critter to be shot and what your budget will allow. I have four different .22-250 A.I. barrels and love the cartridge. Many eviscerated PA groundhogs and rogue crows have fallen to this combo.

A regular .22-250 should last 1500 rds. +/- depending on how hot you load it. Even after 1500 rds., you'll still be one minute of groundhog accurate. I buy my barrels long, have them re-chambered and re-crowned and get extra life out of them. If you find a good local gunsmith, have him put on a good quality barrel, (Hart, Kreiger, Shilen, etc.), and set your rig up as a switch barrel unit. I've probably given you more info. than you need right now but here's one another thing to consider; buy a Savage. You will have the ability to buy a fine factory rifle with more rate of twist combos. than any other commercially produced rifle along with the ability to buy pre-chambered screw on barrels from Pac Nor, Shilen, EABCO, etc. The bolt face for a
.22-250 will allow you to use the same action for a .22-250 A.I., 6mm BR,
22 BR, most of the 6mm BR variants, .243, .243 A.I., .250 Savage A.I.,.308 and others. You get the picture; one action with a variety of great varmint cartridges.

Lou Baccino
 
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