22-250 velocity question.

I was thinking of trying Sierra 55 Blitzkings in my 22-250 this Spring, with an opening day of like 35.0, 35.3, 35.6, 35.8 and 36.0 of Varget w/Fed210gm match primers @ 2.350".

H380 seems to be the velocity leader with 50's in my books, but in addition to Varget - I also have Reloader 15 and Benchmark. Both of these 2 powders look pretty amazing too.

A 50BK or 50V-MAX either one at 3900 would be pretty sweet. But I see folks shooting 37-37.5 of RL15 up over 3700 with 55 weight bullets. Would be curious to see what others are doing with either RL15 or Benchmark. I know Benchmark has been wonderful in a couple of 204s I load for.
 
I to have bad luck with h380. At 39gr and blitzkings in 80 degree weather had the bolt lock up tight in my savage axis. Never tried in my savage THXP. Tried benchmark and ended up with best results with varget. Also had good results with IMR 4064.
 
I have had excellent results with R-15. Speed+accuracy=
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Well I shoot 40 grain bullets with Varget and easily am getting 4000fps out of a 22 inch barrel with no pressure signs at all. I would try it for 50 grain bullets. It has been very accurate for me.
 
I'm getting under half inch groups with a 50 grain Nosler ballistic tip out of my T/C venture. I'm using CFE223 powder and getting right around 3950 f.p.s. and I have been reading that if you use the Barnes varmint grenade 36 grain bullet you can reach velocities of 4400 f.p.s. with the IMR8208XBR powder.
 
Loaded up some more test loads today. A few 40 gr vmax, a few 50 gr vmax, using h380 and RL15. Also loaded up more of my good shooting 36.5 gr of h380 and a 50 gr blitz king. That load will shoot 1/2 MOA, I don't know why I'm not just happy with that. Another 100 fps doesn't gain me tht much on the ballistics anyway.
 
I've decided to stick to my Varget/Fed210GM match primer plans with the Sierra 55 Blitzkings, but for the 50 weights I think I'll go with either Reloader 15 or Benchmark. And probably RL15 where I'm nearly out of Benchmark and it may be needed in a 204.

I'm thinking my first day will probably be Reloader 15 w/50BK and CCI BR-2 primers at 2.350", with charges 35.0, 36.0, 36.2, 36.4 and 36.5, making the first group 5 shots (for good fouling), and the last one, 36.5, five full shots. Will probably just go with 3's in the middle, just to safely check pressure as well as point of impact shifts.

As I looked at the differences between manuals for various different charge levels w/50 weight bullets for Varget versus RL15, it looked like the swing was from a minimum of just +.1, to maybe a max of +1.5, so I figure if Varget with a 50 says 36.4 or 36.5 is the max....

36.4+ .1 = 36.5 (my Max Load for Day 1 testing), and
36.5+1.5 = 37.9 (I may work up to this later in the year, when we are into the high heat & humidity of summer time).
But I'll just chrono as I go after 36.5 and see if I can't get these little 50's up to 3900 fps with good accuracy.

I went up to about 35.7 on a first day out with Reloader 15, and 52 Berger Match Target hollow points - back when I first bought this particular rifle. Any of the groups would have been completely acceptable, so I'm pretty sure something will come together for me with the 50's now.
 
IMO, velocity is over-rated. When I first started reloading the .22-250 I went thru manuals and old magazines to see where to start. H380 was the "it" powder at the time and loads were in the neighborhood of 35-37 grs. IIRC. It didn't take long to find a load my Savage liked. Fast forward a few years to the internet. I was seeing published loads pushing the .22-250 up to 4000 fps and was excited. I tried many but none of the faster loads gave me the accuracy of my original load and critters didn't seem to care one way or the other.

Now I'm not saying to go and leave a bunch on the table but spending much time in the quest for the hottest load is really a non-starter. If you have a load that your gun likes just use it. The .22-250 at 3600 fps does just fine.
 
cherokee305, I finally got around to testing my 50BK's yesterday. Best groups were 36.4 and 36.5 of Reloader 15 using CCI BR-2 primers at book COL (2.350"). I'll retest 36.3, 36.4 and 36.5 but I think 36.4 is going to be the one.

Didn't have time to chrono, but mine is a 24" barrel and if you're getting 3700 out of 36.0, well... plenty fast enough for me.

I also shot up to 36.2 of Varget with Fed210gm primers and 55 Blitzkings. 35.8-36.0 looked best though... same POI. I'm going to load up 35.9, do 36.0 (again), and 36.1 on the next outing. But what was really neat was my 36.4 RL15/50 load, had virtually the same POI as the 36.0 Varget/55 load. Pretty convenient!

Anyway, thanks for the input everyone.
 
Sbranden, if you decide you don't want some of those 50sbks I know of a good home for em! Also have a new box of Sierra 40gr varminters (100) that I'd trade if you want to check em out.

Waiting for a scope repair makes a guy think too much when he should be loading and pulling the trigger lol.
 
You just gotta try different things. Years ago, best accuracy in one 22-250 with the chosen 55gr load was only 3550-3600....that's just where it was. But your 36.5gr/380 load is very light. You find best accuracy and velocity will be whatever it is. For years I shot Winchester 760 in that case and it's a good one. But RL15 is even better in my guns, more accurate and faster. The 22-250 load is RL15 and a 50@3925.

Also Minnesota is cold this time of year.
 
Ackman, I know I have more head room on the RL15/50BK load. My thinking though is that I am probably pretty close to the true 'max load' on the other 36.0 Varget/55BK load. So if I am at 36.5 lets say today with RL15 and a 50, how much further up can I safely go up to achieve 3,900 fps? I figured my max for Reloader 15 and the 50's would probably be up around 37.9, but rather than "guess" - just tell me what yours is if you don't mind please. Also, what primers, what COL, what length barrel are you shooting, etc. I had figured 37.9 would get me about 3805 but I wasn't planning to go there until summer time.

There isn't a lot of good load data out there for Reloader 15.
 
sbranden,

There's a problem when you start comparing one loading manual with another and trying to interpolate in relation to your gun and components....they don't always list the powder you're using. When they do, their lot of powder is different from yours and that stuff can vary.

To answer your question...I don't know how much more RL15 you can use or if your load will be at 3900. That's a nice number and if it happens, it happens. But all guns are different. Just go for best accuracy and then look for highest velocity. If best accuracy is also fast that's great.

I don't like posting loads because every time, some armchair critic says "that's too hot, you'll blow yourself up" or "impossible, the chrono is bad, my gun won't do that" or "my computer program says that's a no-no," or other such stuff.

But, this rifle is a stock Savage 22-250 sporter barrel 24" from one gun on a different short action, in a Savage plastic stock. It's just a budget put-together. In this gun W760 wasn't very accurate. But with 50BT and RL15, 36.5gr=3806, .840"group.....37.0=3877, .785" group.....then 37.5gr=3926, group sucked down to .305", and that's the load I shoot. The only time it's ever put on paper is to check zero, and it shoots in the .3"s. Also, this is a sporter barrel truck gun those are 3 shot groups. Brass is W-W, CCI250 primer. I don't measure COAL, bullets are .010" off the lands. This has a surprisingly tight chamber for a factory barrel and bullets seat well into the neck. That load is over max or over velocity according to a couple loading manuals. So you just go by what the gun tells you.

Others have posted 3900+ with 50's and it's realistic. But again, don't be trying for a particular speed. And those loads are just for this gun.
 
I'm not a fan of H380. I tried it and discovered how sensitive it is to temperature. Within 6 months I switched to Varget.

For some reason I can't hit book velocities with Varget. My manuals show 3700 fps with a 52 gr bullet and 36.5 gr of Varget. That only yields 3400 fps in my rifle and a friend's.

I worked up to 38.0 gr of Varget with that bullet for 3700 fps. No pressure and it is listed in my Lyman manual.

I'm also experimenting with RL15 but haven't had a chance to shoot it yet.
 
Well, back to recommendations.

Last year a friend worked up a great load for the Kimber 22-250 I sold him. 50 gr V-Max and IMR 8208 XBR. It shoots extremely well in my Sako, too. Work up towards max. The published max load is too hot for any of my 22-250's but I get sizzling velocities just a little under max.

Another good and often overlooked powder for the 22-250 is Benchmark. I get great groups with Benchmark and 50 gr Berger MV's.
 
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wise Old Turtle
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