22-250 .035 off lands

P

Poconolg

New member
I shoot a 22-250 Rem 700 with a Jewel trigger and Lilja barrel. It is 26" long and is an 1 1/8 diam. with 1/14 twist. I average 5 shot .45 groups @ 100 yds.
My gunsmith said to try far of the lands for a test. I loaded 40 rounds to try. Since I neck size only I have lightened up on the neck tension to .252 OD and seated my bullets to .035 off the lands. I am using 34gr of Accurate 2520 with a BIB 52gr bullet. Any thoughts out there about the light neck tension and the distance from the lands which is .035. I have not yet used these loads and it may be 2 weeks until I do. Thanks for the thoughts
 
If you are going to test loads for best performance at distance from the lands, I generally load them in .010" increments from .010" to .060" off the lands. Just picking a number and loading ammo up tells you nothing.
 
.035" off the lands, like any suggested distance, by anybody, is a WHAG. Every rifle chamber is different. So every rifle will prefer a different distance.
The whole off-the-lands thing is a load tweaking technique that is 100% trial and error. Neck tension really hasn't got much to do with it either. The worst that can happen with insufficient neck tension is the bullet may get pushed into the case upon chambering.
Since you're getting "average 5 shot .45" groups @ 100 yards", I'd be inclined to use whatever OAL gave you that and forget about the entire off-the-lands experiment altogether.
 
Poconolg said:
I shoot a 22-250 Rem 700 with a Jewel trigger and Lilja barrel. It is 26" long and is an 1 1/8 diam. with 1/14 twist. I average 5 shot .45 groups @ 100 yds.
My gunsmith said to try far of the lands for a test. I loaded 40 rounds to try. Since I neck size only I have lightened up on the neck tension to .252 OD and seated my bullets to .035 off the lands. I am using 34gr of Accurate 2520 with a BIB 52gr bullet. Any thoughts out there about the light neck tension and the distance from the lands which is .035. I have not yet used these loads and it may be 2 weeks until I do. Thanks for the thoughts
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What groups are you expecting? A .22-250 can do better than .4, but is not a 6ppc or 6br. Try jamming the bullet in the lands. Thats where my .30 br and my 6ppc like it.
 
There are a number of factors that will affect your groups. Trial & error is the only way to get results. Time consuming but it's the only way as every rifle is different. Just don't make more than one change at a time or you won't know what change affected the group.

Don't forget about having a good rest and use good bench techniques. If wind is present use wind flags, be patient and shoot only when it's calm or the same wind for every shot.

Wind flags are the most neglected item when shooters do load testing and they can be the best way to get small groups and reveal the real potential of your loads. Get good flags, learn how to use them and watch your groups get smaller.
 
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