He's right. Heavier bullets like faster twist.
My 1:9 twist is most accurate with 55gr and my 1:7 LOVES the 75gr bthp's I have.
22-250
- Thread starter Bugger Red
- Start date
My 1:9 twist is most accurate with 55gr and my 1:7 LOVES the 75gr bthp's I have.
reynolds357
New member
You talking about a .223 or a .22-250?
Ok, heres the basics
Find your bullet here and get the length. https://www.jbmballistics.com/ballistics/lengths/lengths.shtml
then go here https://www.midwayusa.com/bullets/br?cid=19785 or to the manufacturers website to find the BC
then go here and plug in your variables
https://bergerbullets.com/twist-rate-calculator/
Play around with bullets and twist rate to find what will work well for you.
Find your bullet here and get the length. https://www.jbmballistics.com/ballistics/lengths/lengths.shtml
then go here https://www.midwayusa.com/bullets/br?cid=19785 or to the manufacturers website to find the BC
then go here and plug in your variables
https://bergerbullets.com/twist-rate-calculator/
Play around with bullets and twist rate to find what will work well for you.
Geezerbiker
New member
I have more good rifles for hunting deer than I'll ever get a chance to use but a .22-250 has been on my want list a very long time. It has to be one of the best long distance varmint calibers out there. I'd hazard a guess that it's in the top five...
Tony
Tony
stagpanther
New member
A production 22-250--like the savage I have--will typically be optimized for shooting smaller varmint bullets with a 12" twist and and will not work well with much beyond a 55 gr bullet. Longer, heavier bullets will need more twist and possibly a different chamber cut to accommodate a longer bullet seating. Something to think about in choosing your barrel.
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reynolds357
New member
I don't know what Savage used to do, but most their .22-250 are 1 in 9 or 1 in 12.
Most are 1 in 9. The 14 twist was popular on the Swift. I done ever remember .22-250 being slower than 12.
stagpanther
New member
I stand corrected for some reason I had it in my head my older one was a 14" twist, it's actually a 12" Same issue remains with bullet choice, though. Post above edited. thank you.
Here's what they used to do...
Speer Manual #9 (1974) oldest book I could easily find...
Rifling twist used in modern centerfire rifles
.22-250
1 in 12"
Sako
1 in 14"
Browning
Remington 700, 788, 40XB
Savage 110
H&R
Husqvarna
Ruger No1 77
Winchester 70 770
Mossberg
As you can see, nearly all the production .22-250s of that era were 1 in 14" twist.
At 78, I have probably have a few years on some of you and, even though my memory is not what it used to be, I believe the original .22-250s were introduced as a wildcat cartridge with a 1:14 twist barrels. That was many years ago.
My Remington 700 has a 1:14 twist and it was produced in 2009, after the cartridge had achieved SAAMI recognition and was no longer a wildcat round. At that time, that twist may still have been the most prevalent.
I recollect that after about 2012 or so, most of the newer .22-250 rifles that I looked at were 1:12 twist and my newer Savage is a 1:12 twist.
Sometime after 2015 or so, I recollect that Savage provided an optional 1:9 twist version that I would buy if I was still looking to get a .22-250.
My Remington 700 has a 1:14 twist and it was produced in 2009, after the cartridge had achieved SAAMI recognition and was no longer a wildcat round. At that time, that twist may still have been the most prevalent.
I recollect that after about 2012 or so, most of the newer .22-250 rifles that I looked at were 1:12 twist and my newer Savage is a 1:12 twist.
Sometime after 2015 or so, I recollect that Savage provided an optional 1:9 twist version that I would buy if I was still looking to get a .22-250.
You pretty much got it right.
Several prominent gunsmiths developed a .22 caliber wildcat based on the .250 Savage case in the mid 1930s. Naturally there were slight variations in the case between the different wildcats. J.E. Gebby called his the .22 Varminter and got a copyright on that name. Other smiths called theirs the .22-250.
Remington chose Gebby's version to standardize as a factory round in 1965.
Pretty much all the .22-250s had 1 in 14" twist barrels, because they were varmint rifles and that twist worked very well for that. Heavy .22 bullets (over 60gr) simply didn't exist in those days.
And for quite a few years after those 60,70, 80 and even 90gr bullets proved successful in long range .223 shooting gun makers stuck with the varmint twist barrels for the .22-250. Only about a decade or so ago did some makers decide to cash in on the popularity of the heavy bullets and put faster twists on the .22-250 as an option. I think they were a bit late off the mark on that, but you can get the fast twist barrels today, so, that's not a bad thing.
The .22-250 beats the .223 Rem by 400-600fps depending on the specific load, and its a constant advantage across all bullet weights.
I'll be upfront and say I don't shoot those heavy bullets and don't have any of those fast twist barrels, so I can't say much about them from personal experience. What I will say is that, for me, if a fast twist barrel doesn't shoot my varmint bullets (40-55gr) as well as the standard twist barrels, then its a waste of my money.
Out of curiosity I did some looking and found a Hornady manual that shows their 75gr bullet fired from a 20" 1 in 9 twist AR 15 showing a max velocity in the 2700fps range. Only 3 powders did this the rest were max in the 2600fps range. I found that interesting, I never realized they were that slow.
A .22-250 with a fast twist shooting the heavy bullets would significantly increase the velocity over the .223 round. Just be sure that, for deer, you use a bullet made for game shooting, not one made for target or varmint shooting,
Shot placement is always the key, and PROPER placement varies with bullet construction. Simply put, if a bullet isn't built to stand going through the shoulder and still get the job done, don't shoot them in the shoulder with that bullet. That part is all on you.
Several prominent gunsmiths developed a .22 caliber wildcat based on the .250 Savage case in the mid 1930s. Naturally there were slight variations in the case between the different wildcats. J.E. Gebby called his the .22 Varminter and got a copyright on that name. Other smiths called theirs the .22-250.
Remington chose Gebby's version to standardize as a factory round in 1965.
Pretty much all the .22-250s had 1 in 14" twist barrels, because they were varmint rifles and that twist worked very well for that. Heavy .22 bullets (over 60gr) simply didn't exist in those days.
And for quite a few years after those 60,70, 80 and even 90gr bullets proved successful in long range .223 shooting gun makers stuck with the varmint twist barrels for the .22-250. Only about a decade or so ago did some makers decide to cash in on the popularity of the heavy bullets and put faster twists on the .22-250 as an option. I think they were a bit late off the mark on that, but you can get the fast twist barrels today, so, that's not a bad thing.
The .22-250 beats the .223 Rem by 400-600fps depending on the specific load, and its a constant advantage across all bullet weights.
I'll be upfront and say I don't shoot those heavy bullets and don't have any of those fast twist barrels, so I can't say much about them from personal experience. What I will say is that, for me, if a fast twist barrel doesn't shoot my varmint bullets (40-55gr) as well as the standard twist barrels, then its a waste of my money.
Out of curiosity I did some looking and found a Hornady manual that shows their 75gr bullet fired from a 20" 1 in 9 twist AR 15 showing a max velocity in the 2700fps range. Only 3 powders did this the rest were max in the 2600fps range. I found that interesting, I never realized they were that slow.
A .22-250 with a fast twist shooting the heavy bullets would significantly increase the velocity over the .223 round. Just be sure that, for deer, you use a bullet made for game shooting, not one made for target or varmint shooting,
Shot placement is always the key, and PROPER placement varies with bullet construction. Simply put, if a bullet isn't built to stand going through the shoulder and still get the job done, don't shoot them in the shoulder with that bullet. That part is all on you.
44 AMP,
I can't speak for how a fast twist .22-250 would do with light varmint bullets. My .22-250s are 1:14 and 1:12 twists. But the 1:12 twist shoots the light varmint bullets as good or better than the 1:14 twist.
But maybe I can shed at least a bit of light on how my .223s with different twists do with light and heavy bullets.
I have 4 .223s - two bolt actions with 1:9 twists, one AR with a 1:8 twist and 1 AR with a 1:7 twist.
The 1:9s shoot light varmint bullets great and one of them shoots 77 grain SMKs and TMKs best of all bullets.
The other 1:9 shoots light varmint bullets best and shoots 77 grain SMKs and TMKs almost as well. I have shot 35 grain, 40 grain, 50 grain and 52 and 53 grain match bullets with that rifle (the 52 and 53 grains shoot the best followed by 40 grain Nosler BTs.)
With heavy or light bullets, it doesn't seem to matter all that much.
The 1:8 twist is a Les Baer semi-auto with 416R match barrel and it shoots 69 and 77 grain bullets great and shoots light varmint bullets almost as well. I never went lighter than 52 grain bullets with it - but 52, 53 and 55 grain bullets shoot very well. It came with a test target with two 5-round groups with 77 grain Federal GGM SMK ammo shot from a fixture that were both less than 0.120 inches. It is guaranteed to shoot groups under 0.5 inches with factory ammo and it averages 0.450 for all the factory ammo I have fired.
My hand loads average about almost 0.1 inch better and my best loads average about 0.050 better than that.
The 1:7 twist is my 'POS' AR - not a very good one and not all that accurate IMO. The short light barrel may be part of the reason.
It does OK by average AR standards, but not by my standards, so I really can't vouch for its accuracy when comparing light an heavy bullets.
I can't speak for how a fast twist .22-250 would do with light varmint bullets. My .22-250s are 1:14 and 1:12 twists. But the 1:12 twist shoots the light varmint bullets as good or better than the 1:14 twist.
But maybe I can shed at least a bit of light on how my .223s with different twists do with light and heavy bullets.
I have 4 .223s - two bolt actions with 1:9 twists, one AR with a 1:8 twist and 1 AR with a 1:7 twist.
The 1:9s shoot light varmint bullets great and one of them shoots 77 grain SMKs and TMKs best of all bullets.
The other 1:9 shoots light varmint bullets best and shoots 77 grain SMKs and TMKs almost as well. I have shot 35 grain, 40 grain, 50 grain and 52 and 53 grain match bullets with that rifle (the 52 and 53 grains shoot the best followed by 40 grain Nosler BTs.)
With heavy or light bullets, it doesn't seem to matter all that much.
The 1:8 twist is a Les Baer semi-auto with 416R match barrel and it shoots 69 and 77 grain bullets great and shoots light varmint bullets almost as well. I never went lighter than 52 grain bullets with it - but 52, 53 and 55 grain bullets shoot very well. It came with a test target with two 5-round groups with 77 grain Federal GGM SMK ammo shot from a fixture that were both less than 0.120 inches. It is guaranteed to shoot groups under 0.5 inches with factory ammo and it averages 0.450 for all the factory ammo I have fired.
My hand loads average about almost 0.1 inch better and my best loads average about 0.050 better than that.
The 1:7 twist is my 'POS' AR - not a very good one and not all that accurate IMO. The short light barrel may be part of the reason.
It does OK by average AR standards, but not by my standards, so I really can't vouch for its accuracy when comparing light an heavy bullets.
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Bugger Red
Inactive
No, I’m interested in what everyone has to say, but I have a job that occupies must of my time.