your thoughts... how many rounds a stock Remy 22-250 barrel good for ???

All this talk about shooting out barrels made me nervous. Yesterday I dragged out the 220 and went to the bench. Shot one cold bore 55 gr Sierra GK precisely where it should have gone and then shot one 55 gr Nosler BT (same load, other than the bullet) right on top of the Sierra. Ok, now I can relax.
 
Maybe get you some JB Bore Shine or some IOSSO bore paste and use according to instructions, paying particular attention to the throat, and you may see a turnaround in the accuracy if the barrel is only badly fouled rather than shot out.
 
I've had two Rem 700, .22-250s, but didn't shoot them much at the range, only enough to make sure loads were shooting well and to check sighting-in. Then it was off to the chuck fields or turkey shoots. I never wore out a barrel, but my first one didn't get cleaned after woodchuck season one year and it got pitted. I almost cried when I looked through the bore, after finally cleaning it. I never leave my CF bores dirty since that day.

IMHO, the .22-250 is not a cartridge to shoot hundreds or thousands of rounds at targets. I think of it more like a super drag car that may only run a few miles, but does so exceedingly fast. Why burn a car like out driving to the store to buy beer?

The cartridge does very well at varmint hunting due to velocity, but The .223 Rem or .308 Win are much better range cartridges, loaded lightly for accuracy and long barrel life. My turkey shoot loads were very mild, but we rarely shot more than 10 shots a day at those matches, so barrels lasted about forever.
 
If it starts out shooting 1 MOA at 100 yards, it'll last 2500 to 3000 rounds before you notice accuracy degrading by 50%.

If it starts out shooting 1/4 MOA at 100 yards, it'll last 800 to 1000 rounds before you notice accuracy degrading by 50%.

The .22-250's a way overbore cartridge. A larger overbore cousin, the .243 Win. got about 1400 rounds of barrel life starting out at 1/4 MOA at 100 yards in match rifles.

Oh, one other thing.... the less accurate one shoots any cartridge, the longer apparent barrel life it will seem to have.
 
22-250 is generally a barrel burner but there are many variables to consider.

low velocity and cast bullets will do little to erode your rifling while jackets with high steel content and high velocity rounds will erode much more quickly.

there are also very well made barrels and not so well made barrels. perhaps taking it to a gunsmith to be gauged may be prudent?
 
Thanks for all the comments guys... my intention of use, the barrel should last a while, but I have no idea how much, or how hot the rifle has been shot previously... hope to get it to my buddy this week, for a look over...

BTW... this is our other 22-250 ( which I've also not shot yet ) belonged to my FIL's buddy, who was a champion shooter in the State Patrol... no idea how many rounds this has had through it, but there are a lot of reloads specific to this rifle, in with the 22-250 ammo

attachment.php
 
Last edited:
Just left my buddies house... I guess I never checked the front guard screw, & it was pretty loose... so that may have been some of the accuracy issue... rifle barrel & crown look nice, however, the throat & start of the barrel are starting to go... 1/2 life or beyond... so I guess my thoughts are to re-barrel, & know I'll have a rifle that will last me the rest of my life, while I have a buddy that can do the work for me...

I'm thinking I'll re-chamber the Remy 700 to 6.8 SPC, as I have all the stuff but a barrel & reamer, which are both available... then I'll just re-a lot the ammo to the custom rifle pictured above ( I think there was only 20-30 more ro8unds left, that were specifically loaded for the 700 anyway )

who knows what the political climate will be like if I finished shooting this barrel out in 7 or 10 years ??? I think better to do it now...
 
Do we need full strength loads in our 22-250's?

I have an old Savage Model 12 that has lots of rounds through it. The standard prairie dog load I use is 40 gr. BK over 35 gr. IMR4064. These chrony just over 3800 fps. They could be cranked up to over 4000 fps, but the change in effective range isn't worth it to me. This old rifle shoots great groups, and it is not uncommon to pop doggies to 300 yards off a bench. It would be nice to use this gun for a few more years. Why wreck the barrel to gain a few yards of point blank range? :D
 
shooting fast works on barrels

shooting a dirty barrel left to get cold works on barrels as propellant residue is carbon and when it gets cold it gets hard and becomes an abrasive.

heavy bullets and slow propellant works on barrels.

Generally cannelured bullets won't give best accuracy.

The Army Marksmanship Unit replaces 5.56 match barrels every 700 rounds and they are not nearly as hot as 22-50.

You might consider when it is time to rebarrel going to 260 Rem. and 107 grain MK bullets for a longer life and mild recoil.
 
My first bench rest rifle was a 22 250. Between load work ups, practice, and matches, I figured it was around 3500 to 4000 rounds when I realized that my bigger groups were the rifle and not me.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top