22-250 for prairie dog hunt. 40 or 50g?

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74challenger440

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I'm working up a load for my new (new to me) Rem 700 in 22-250 with a 1 in 14" twist. I'm going to use it next spring on a prairie dog hunt in South Dakota. My first thought was Varmint Nightmare Xtreme bullets from Midsouth, but the 36g and 55g shoot around 1 inch groups at 100 yards from my gun, regardless of the powder. I'm about half way through a workup for 50g A Max with H380. So far, half inch groups without varying the powder charge. I was thinking of trying 40g Varmageddon bullets, but I hear the wind may be a factor, so I was interested what some of the more experienced folk might recommend.

Thanks in advance!
 
My old Rem 700 in .22-250 lives on a strict diet of 5 grain Nosler Ballistic Tips and 34.0 grains of IMR 4895, have tried a few other bullets but the Ballistic Tips have been the best for me.
 
When prairie dog hunting in SD many years back, we all used 50 or 55 gr bullets. I used 55gr in my 223 because I thought they might be a little better in the wind.

I would go with 50 or 55 gr (50s if they were more accurate) if I were going again. I doubt I would even bother trying anything lighter. But I'm sure some prefer the higher velocities of the lighter bullets (or their slightly lower cost).
 
I would say that your twist rate will dictate your bullet weight. A twist rate of 1-14 should prefer 40-50 grain bullets.
 
I'm about to order some 40, 50, and maybe 53g Varmagedon to see which work best in my rifle. I didn't have good luck with 36g Varmint Nightmare Xtremes. That is why im thinking about 53g also.
 
10 grains difference won't matter. You will get about 100FPS more with a 40, but velocity isn't as important as accuracy. And a varmint won't care how fast the bullet was.
Hodgdon says CFE223 start loads are running a tick over 4,000 FPS. Might be worth looking into. If the accuracy is there
 
my .02

You may want to try Berger 55 grain bullets and VV140. In my youth, I could print one ragged hole 5 shot groups all day. My Remington 700 Varmint recipe is 35.5 gr. VV140, Winchester WLR primer and the Berger 55 gr. MEF bullets. I seat them so that they are .002 from the lands, but your gun might be different , so you will want to get a seating gauge or seat to a guide's col.
 
40 gr V max all the way if they group. under 1 in. Been a long time PD shooter way back before the plastic tip bullets. Those days used a 50 gr Sierra lead tip [#1340].in all my rifles.Would spend the winter loading 5000 rounds or various cartridges such as 221,222, 223, 223 AI, 22-250 and 220 Swift. About 10 years ago on the advice of readers of Varmint Hunter magazine tried the 40 plastic tipped bullets and settled on V-MAX.
Wind is a factor but so is time to target [velocity] a major factor. Have used nothing but 40 grains since.
 
Seem's I read somewhere that the 22-250 twist was set up for 50gr bullet's. Surprised me as I didn't figure a 55gr would be that much different. In the 40gr bullet's, used to be they weren't all 223 dia. A bunch were made a bit smaller designed for the 22 Hornet. In any case I'd go with the 50gr bullet and not an SX type. We, a friend and I, shot some 50 gr SX's out of his 22-250 years ago. Loaded right u to 3500fps and a whole bunch we got to watch burn up in the atmosphere! They come apart in flight over 3500 fps!Back then I was shooting 222 and 223 myself and found my best accuracy was with 52gr SMK's. But it wasn't by a whole lot unless your young and think a eighth inch or less makes a difference to a gopher!
 
You are right smack in the middle of 'Inherently Accurate' weight for 1:14" twist with .223/.224 diameter bullets. Smart move!
I used to shoot a lot of light weight bullets, but I mostly stick to 50-55 grains now.
Not a wind issue, it's more of a stocking issue, just got tired of chasing down more light weight bullets, while 50-55 is usually on the shelf.

I like the extra velocity, and wind wasn't any real issue out to about 300 yds, but it was just an availability thing. (You couldn't order everything under the sun on the internet back then!)
 
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