IMR 4064 for 22-250?

I guess BWB, if your shooting paper the temperature sensitive issue is something to consider. Now in my .22-250 with a ball type powder H-380 and it's -10 below like it was last weekend and some nut like me is going out coyote killing, and I drive to my cabin 3 1/2 hours away. I would think some nut like me trying to hit one of those yotes can miss them on a good day let alone when it's 10 below and your hold is off the sticks cause the darned coyote doesn't know enough to go where the sticks are aimed and not on the side of me. I think all of the above are relative to what is available in your area as a .22-250 of for that matter a .243 are not too fussy. Just my .02 cents.
 
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I guess BWB, if your shooting paper the temperature sensitive issue is something to consider. Now in my .22-250 with a ball type powder H-380 and it's -10 below like it was last weekend and some nut like me is going out coyote killing, and I drive to my cabin 3 1/2 hours away. I would think some nut like me trying to hit one of those yotes can miss them on a good day let alone when it's 10 below and your hold is off the sticks cause the darned coyote doesn't know enough to go where the sticks are aimed and not on the side of me. I think all of the above are relative to what is available in your area as a .22-250 of for that matter a .243 are not too fussy. Just my .02 cents.



I was having some issues with my Ruger when I was putting a new scope on it, several years ago. The temps were about 45 degrees and my groups were running around 1" at 100 yards. Normally, at 80 - 85 degrees, they would be under 1/2" for 3 shots. I was using H380 at the time.

I tried all sorts of things, changing scopes, checking bedding, all the pertinent screws in the scope mounts, rings and elsewhere were checked. I tried changing powder amounts, primers, bullets. They all resulted in the same substandard performance.

Then ........ I borrowed a friend's Archery Chrony and chronographed the loads. There was extreme spreads of nearly 200 fps. I had some SR4064, and worked up a new load and the improvement was immediate.

H380 worked great in warm temps, but it fell flat on it's face in cold temps.

Later I read an article in "Precision Shooting", where a fellow did some testing of the effects of cold on different loads and calibers. In that one, he tested H380 in a .22-250 and it was giving extreme spreads at the lower temps of nearly 130 fps.
 
CDR...did your point of impact change as well? H380 shot real good for me in summer heat. Tried to use it in the cold weather and POI changed 3" (lower) for me. So I adjusted the scope. Didn't see a lot of accuracy difference though. Then in the summer, it's shooting 3" high again.

I didn't chrony the load in the cold, but I suspect the velocities were much lower. I've since switched to Varget in the 22-250 and have little problems hot to cold.
 
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I guess BWB, if your shooting paper the temperature sensitive issue is something to consider. Now in my .22-250 with a ball type powder H-380 and it's -10 below like it was last weekend and some nut like me is going out coyote killing, and I drive to my cabin 3 1/2 hours away. I would think some nut like me trying to hit one of those yotes can miss them on a good day let alone when it's 10 below and your hold is off the sticks cause the darned coyote doesn't know enough to go where the sticks are aimed and not on the side of me. I think all of the above are relative to what is available in your area as a .22-250 of for that matter a .243 are not too fussy. Just my .02 cents.



I'm just trying to get the best groups right now for the dog towns this summer. Getting any powder isn't a problem here, I have yet to find a powder I can't find locally. I'm just trying to find a good powder for the 250 that will perform well this summer as well as now. So far the Benchmark is looking pretty good but I'm always up for trying something else... Thanks for all the info.
 
CDR, thanks I will try the 4064 as I have loaded much of that powder for the kids 30/30's over the years and it had always worked well with then. I have a couple of pounds of it in the basement and will load some.
 
Looks like I'll have to try some 4064 in my 250 next time I load. And that will have to be this year if I want to hunt next predator season. I also have to load for 220 Swift and 243 Win. I have to admit gentlemen, I hates reloading!
Reminds me to much of what I do for a living, machining.
But I do it for the accuracy. Grizz
 
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CDR, thanks I will try the 4064 as I have loaded much of that powder for the kids 30/30's over the years and it had always worked well with then. I have a couple of pounds of it in the basement and will load some.



Some guys go to Magnum primers for shooting in very cold weather. I've never done that, but you might want to consider them.

Martyn
 
I have been using imr 4064 in a rem 788 and in a tikka t3 with nosler 50 gr bt, absolute tack driver in both.
Just this past weekend i was doing load development in the tikka , using the barnes 45 gr tsx, with imr 4064, it was a success!
 
I really like IMR 4064 and 3031 in the 2 fiddy. I live in the warmer south and have no seasonal issues with H380. Works great.
I've been stocking up on Superperformance and H4350 but I haven't loaded any 2 fiddy with them
 
I'm about out of IMR4064 and want to try it in my 22-250. I went to the local reloading store and they wanted $69.95 for a pound of IMR4064. Nope...need to try something else. I looked at a burn chart and Accurate 4064 is just a tad slower and data for date only about 30FPS slower in velocity. Not enough difference for the $20 difference in price. So we shall see how the Accurate powder works.
 
IMR 3031 and 4064 are both fantastic 22-250 powders. I stick with 3031. I’ve always gotten the best velocities and accuracy from 3031 and 40 to 50 grain bullets. I’ve tried most powders mentioned above and 3031 has proven to be the best in my 22-250’s
 
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