22-250AI Build

[duckhunter175]

Im a southpaw and working on a rifle that will be a mirror image of the Remington 700 VS-- it'll be a copy of the Gen 1 in short action which lots of folks still call 'sendero' but they aren't technically.

Anyways-- cartridge is 22-250AI, barrel length will be 26" @ .830 (Remington Varmint Contour) planning to shoot 75s, 80s and maybe try out the 90s if they'll magazine feed (if I need to add a wyatts extended internal box I'll do that).

Barrels that are available:
Brux 1-8
Krieger 1-8
Bartlein 1-7.7 or 1-7 (5R rifling)

Talk to me on advantages / disadvantages.

[lancetkenyon]

Bartlein 1:7". Set it up to shoot even the new 95 SMKs, and everything else will shoot great. The Berger 90 VLD should still shoot well with the velocity you should get. Or a 78gr Cutting Edge MTH. Anything else will shoot lights out from 55gr and up.

 

I have thought about a .22-250AI or .22-243AI fast twist for quite a while.

[duckhunter175]

Bartlein 1:7". Set it up to shoot even the new 95 SMKs, and everything else will shoot great. The Berger 90 VLD should still shoot well with the velocity you should get. Or a 78gr Cutting Edge MTH. Anything else will shoot lights out from 55gr and up.

 

I have thought about a .22-250AI or .22-243AI fast twist for quite a while.

 

Do you think the 95gr will have problem feeding from a 700 SA box? I know the 90gr is 1.17" any idea on the 95?

[dse]

I talked to someone at Sierra a few days ago they told me 1.240 on the 95 gr and said optimum twist would be 1 in 6.5 but a 7 twist would likely work.

Don't know if you already have the action but I would really recommend building a 22-250 ai on a Savage model 10. The action has more room for the long bullets and you can avoid feeding issues when switching from fire forming loads to full Ackley loads. A 308 or 6.5 creed mag feeds the 22-250 ai perfectly. Pretty hard to make feed rails on a 700 feed both well with the huge difference in case taper.

My last one was set up with a rem varmint contour Douglas air gauge 1 in 7 twist and was awesome with the 80 gr Berger vld. Rl-22 gave 3420 fps and sub 1/4 moa to 1000 yds. I would recommend using lapua brass to form, I had some problems with the Nosler primer pockets.

I have a pair of 22-250 Ackley imp rifles in the shop right now, on the first one I didn't want to stop shooting long enough for it to cool off.

[STOMP442]

That should be a sweet rig. I would opt for the 7 twist for sure. That will allow you to maximize the cartridges potential and still shoot the lighter stuff just fine if you wanted to.

[Big or Bust]

I ran a .22-250 Ackley for a good while. I'd endorse what the guys above said, anything more than 80's I'd want a skootch more twist than 8"....

 

Lots of good powders these days and Lapua brass...

 

Really fun cartridge that is basically a .243 twisted fast with heavies...

[lancetkenyon]

 

Bartlein 1:7". Set it up to shoot even the new 95 SMKs, and everything else will shoot great. The Berger 90 VLD should still shoot well with the velocity you should get. Or a 78gr Cutting Edge MTH. Anything else will shoot lights out from 55gr and up.

 

I have thought about a .22-250AI or .22-243AI fast twist for quite a while.

 

Do you think the 95gr will have problem feeding from a 700 SA box? I know the 90gr is 1.17" any idea on the 95?

 

The .22-250AI is a fairly short case compared to other SA cartridges. I think seating the bullets long would not be a huge issue. 90 VLD OAL is 1.25". 90 SMK is 1.171". I would think the 95 SMK would have to be around 1.20-1.25"?

 

Most SAAMI COAL are in the 2.35 range. Case length is 1.9079 max.

 

Factory R700 SA magazine box is 2.865". A Wyatt's box will get you another .130", for a total of 2.995" inside.

 

My 6.5 SS (case length of 2.035" IIRC?) pushing a 150 SMK seated WAY out is at 2.9895". 150 SMK bullet length is 1.46" OAL.

[WampusCat]

In the next year or two I will own one of these or a 22 Creedmoor.

 

Concur with the 1/7. I think the new 95 SMK calls for a 1/6.5" but all the other heavies will spin with a 1/7.

 

Keep us posted.

[duckhunter175]

I talked to someone at Sierra a few days ago they told me 1.240 on the 95 gr and said optimum twist would be 1 in 6.5 but a 7 twist would likely work.

Don't know if you already have the action but I would really recommend building a 22-250 ai on a Savage model 10. The action has more room for the long bullets and you can avoid feeding issues when switching from fire forming loads to full Ackley loads. A 308 or 6.5 creed mag feeds the 22-250 ai perfectly. Pretty hard to make feed rails on a 700 feed both well with the huge difference in case taper.

My last one was set up with a rem varmint contour Douglas air gauge 1 in 7 twist and was awesome with the 80 gr Berger vld. Rl-22 gave 3420 fps and sub 1/4 moa to 1000 yds. I would recommend using lapua brass to form, I had some problems with the Nosler primer pockets.

I have a pair of 22-250 Ackley imp rifles in the shop right now, on the first one I didn't want to stop shooting long enough for it to cool off.

 

It's going to be a Rem 700 SA-- I'm building a South Paw clone of their gen 1 VS-- which most folks would call the Sendero. Have the correct stock already so now need LH SA, jeweled bolt etc... it will be slightly more modern (Timney trigger, cerakoted- but color matched to the "matte finish" and the barrel will be threaded but with a blended thread protector.

[cjl2010]

What would a 22-250ai or 22 creedmoor be used for? Just varmints? Deer?

[lancetkenyon]

Varmints, javis, antelope, Coues, long range prairie dogs, Mulies, lions, meth heads, etc.

[duckhunter175]

What would a 22-250ai or 22 creedmoor be used for? Just varmints? Deer?

 

After my first full hunting season here in Texas they shoot dang near everything with .22 centerfires here--- deer, hogs, turkeys (legal), coyotes, etc etc. There is a specific round to Texas called the .224TTH (texas trophy hunter) which I think is a 22-6mm hybrid.

 

I think I'll get lots of use on varmints, hogs and plinking around here for sure. I toted my 7RUM around this year and it accounted for 2 bucks and 2 does but a .22cf would have done the job just fine with much less muzzle blast and recoil... With the size of deer here I would be fully confident shooting a deer with a .22 centerfire and a quality bullet I watched several fall victim to a standard 22-250 with 55gr bullets. The places I have access to coyote hunt have long sight lines that will allow a fast .22 to show its stuff.

[cjl2010]

Would 500-600 yards be doable on a coues?

[duckhunter175]

I don't see why not-- ballistic tables indicate plenty of velocity for expansion and ft/lbs of energy at those distances with the heavier for caliber bullets. Although it is purely anecdotal i feel I always heard about coues deer being small but very tough. Compared to TX deer which, from the 9 I watched get shot this year, seem to tip over in a stiff breeze.

 

Factually, since I would be willing to shoot a Texas whitetail (same size as a Coues) with that 22-250ai I would say, yes I would do it for a Coues as well.

 

In reality-- since a Coues is a long trip/rare occurrence for me, I'm leaving nothing to chance and have no problem with 'overkill' and bringing my 6.5 or 7RUM.

[dse]

Would 500-600 yards be doable on a coues?

 

My brother used mine on a Coues 2 years ago 596 yds dropped like struck by lightning.