Case fill and the 22-250Rem.

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mrawesome22

New member
I've tried many, many powders in the 22-250Rem and have never found one that has given me full case fill plus acceptable velocity. For example, IMR 4350 has given me the best case fill but the velocity is terrible with this powder. Benchmark gives me the desired velocity and accuracy, but the charge barely comes to the shoulder of the case.

Is there a powder out there that I just haven't tried yet that has great case fill and great velocity in the 22-250Rem? I would love to find a ball powder that would go about 3/4 of the way up the neck, and also give me the velocity I crave!:D
 
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Jim Watson

New member
While "case fill" is a sign that you could expect uniform ignition and are getting all the energy possible in the case, it is not an end goal that the target will show. If you are getting good shooting with Benchmark, what does it matter where it comes to in the case?
 
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Mal H

Staff
By extreme spread, do you mean chrono'ed loads?

I'm with Jim in that you may be going after nits when bigger bugs are still in the works.

Have you tried H380? That is a favorite amongst 22-250 loaders and you get all the way to a compressed load without going over pressure. (You should use a LR Magnum primer with H380.)
 
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L Puckett

New member
I have not personally found case fill (within reason, 5% or so) to effect ES/SD nearly as much as neck tension followed by primer to powder matching. Assuming all of the normal anal case prep.

After saying that, I will admit that I too prefer to see a full case if not a small "crunch".

Good luck in your pursuit,

LP
 
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Scorch

New member
Mrawesome-
I have used several powders with the 22-250 over the years. H380 fills to the base of the neck, IMR3031 fills to base of the neck, WW760 comes to the base of the neck, IMR4320 fills to the base of the neck. In a case the size of the 22-250, and with the amount of body taper of the 22-250, I don't think you will see much difference in powder position between that and a compressed charge. Besides, ball powders don't compress very well. I use WW760 now for the 22-250, ES is 32 fps. What is the ES or SD for your loads?
 
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mrawesome22

New member
Mal H, yes I've tried H380. It's the best I've tried so far as case fill is concerned. 41gr goes about half way up the shoulder. And yes, I'm using a chronograph. I'm getting a ES of 43fps with this powder.

L Puckett, I would consider myself EXTREMELY anal when it comes to case prep. LOL

Scorch, I've found that with stick powders, they do appear to fill the case nicely. That is until you give them a little rap on the side of the bench. Then they go down a substantial amount. Basically turning what would be a compressed load in to a load with a 1/4" gap between powder and base of bullet. I averaged every ES from every powder I've tried and it is 38fps. Benchmark being the best at 22fps and IMR 4064 being the worst. Ironically, Varget is my second best even though Varget and IMR 4064 are basically the same burn speeds.

I know case fill isn't a huge deal. For example Benchmark. I get the lowest ES's and best accuracy with this powder even though case fill only comes to about the base of the shoulder. This is a 36gr max load.

Now imagine this. Take this fantastic load, but... have the powder charge go clear to the base of the bullet, or slightly compressed. Wouldn't you think it would stand to reason that accuracy could only improve even further?

I know I'm nit pickin', but this accuracy bug has a hold of me bad.

rwilson452, it's a 50gr Hornady VMAX. I know these aren't match grade bullets. But they're pretty darn close in my experience. And I like that I can shoot my critters with the same rounds that give me outstanding performance at the bench. The ground hogs and coyotes hate it I'm sure.:)
 
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Shane Tuttle

Staff
I just bought some Reloader10x from Alliant. Can't tell you if this will fill your need, but it is a new powder out on the market specifically designed for the .22-250 and .223 cartridges. Hopefully, when I get some more cases fireformed and other leftover recipes fired, I'll delve into this powder and see what the fuss is all about.

In my limited experience, I've found that compressing the powder doesn't necessarily bring the best accuracy. Neither does the fastest velocity. Maybe try Reloader 15 or 7. Those have provided great results for me also...
 
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mrawesome22

New member
I have tried RL15. Terrible ES's. That powder kind of turned me off of Alliant powders. I also believe RL10X is Alliant's equivalent of Benchmark. Don't they have similar burn rates? I wish I could find a brand spanking new burn rate chart with all the new powders on it i.e. RL10X, Benchmark, IMR4007SSC.
 
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crowbeaner

New member
I tried IMR 4350 and changed to H380 because some gun scribe said that if he had to live with just one powder it would be that one. For once he was right (just kidding). 4350 left a LOT of carbon fouling compared to other faster powders, so I stuck with the ball powders.WW 760, H380, and H414 are THE best powders for the 22/250. Top velocity, low ES and SD, and one helluva lot easier to measure. I'm kinda anal about case prep myself, and I want the best ammo I can get without a lot of extra hassle and trial. I stick to what works well in my guns and shoots like gangbusters. I like long case life too, and the more reloads I get out of my ammo the longer time period before I have to buy and prep more. IMR 4320 is the traditional powder for the 22 Varminter, but I bought 16 lbs. of H380 on sale and I'm still shooting it. CB.
 
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44 AMP

Staff
Its ok to be a nitpicker (to a point)...but..

You told us about case fill and extreme spreads, but you left out the real over-ridding thing (at least to me) how to the loads shoot?

You can try all the tricks to improve the "accuracy" of the loads, but the reat test is shooting. Some loads will benefit from taking the care to eliminate every last possible variable, and some seem not to care, shooting well (or not) no matter what you do or don't do, withing reason.

What kind of accurucy are youe getting now, and what are you looking for? It might help us to help you by knowing this.
 
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