Pet load for 22-250 Remington
This load is for anyone that shoots varmints with the ole king of the varmint calibers 22-250 Remington. I know you swift fans don't like to hear that but get over it, the 22-250 is the king. The load is, 37.0 grains of Varget, behind a Speer 50 grain TNT, with a federal match primer. dave22250 have you tried this load? If my remarks about the 22-250 vs 220 Swift ruffled some feathers, then good, we need a good spirited debate in here, it makes things interesting.
Dave T
With the indictments hanging over Rep. Tom DeLay, we may have lost one of our most powerful allies this past week. I didn't much care for Mr. DeLays politics but he is a staunch gun right supporter and a powerful ally in Congress, I hope he can be replaced with someone on our side.
.22-250 loads and comments vs. Swift
Here goes:
Sierra 52gr HPBT MatchKing 31.8gr 3031 @3400mv
Sierra 55gr HPBT or SBT GameKing 32.5gr 3031 @ 3500mv
My old Rem788 shoots both these loads to .5MOA, sometimes even better, though I have to let the skinny barrel cool off. I can live with that.
Personal experience with the .220 Swift has shown me severe throat erosion after several thousand rounds, but that can and does happen with the .22-250, too, if you are a velocity vulture. Both rounds in my testing have achieved their best accuracy (as do most rifle rounds) with moderate velocities, and neither round exhibits excessive erosion when loaded conservatively. Yes, there is obviously greater bullet drop at lower velocities, but with a good scope and a known range, any competent rifleman can either compensate or adjust the scope and get hits out to 500 yards or so. (That's what those little dials on the tube are for, right?)
I think the only practical differences between the two are that the .22-250 uses slightly less powder for the same velocity, making it more economical in the long run if you shoot it a lot, and the shorter case of the .22-250 means that it can be chambered in a shorter and lighter action. As I don't think this is an issue that has any practical advantage in a varmint rifle, (except if you are hunting coyotes up in the mountains and carrying it all day), and for bench and target work, it can be a distinct disadvantage. It's not legal to use a bore that small for deer here in NH, so it's even less of an issue here than elsewhere.
I have found that it has, in general, been easier and faster for me to work up accurate loads for the .22-250, and that of the rifles I have worked with, the .22-250 seems to shoot a greater range of bullet weights more accurately. This, in all fairness, may simply be that chance has favored one round over the other as far as the rifles I've owned and/or loaded for, and, truth to tell, one Swift I have known has been able to shoot a .33MOA with a 52gr match bullet consistently. (It was, however the only bullet out of more than 20 we tried that ever did any better than MOA average in that rifle.)
My current .22-250 will do that just often enough to tease me, but still shoots .5MOA with anything between 50-55gr that I've tried in it over the last 20 years. I would note also that it has had over 5000 rounds through it since I've owned it (I got it used), with no detectable throat problems nor any degradation of accuracy over time.