Are the .223 and .22-250 Barrels Interchangeable?

[cpurick]

Could I use a .223 as a donor to get a 9" twist barrel for a .22-250?

[Ranger3]

Yes you just need to get it reamed for 22-250 and away you go.

[stomp442]

Don't forget the bolt head change too.

[cpurick]

Yes you just need to get it reamed for 22-250 and away you go.

Is this so that the new cartridge will chamber in the barrel? The bullet caliber is identical, right?

[cpurick]

Are you saying I would not use the existing .22-250 bolt? (Don't worry, I'm not going to attempt this without a smith; I just want to know how doable it is. It just seems like the most economical way to get a 9" twist onto an Axis .22-250. Is that correct?)

[stomp442]

Yes the barrel will need to be cut and rechambered to fit a 22-250 or a new barrel custom ordered to your specs. The 22-250 will take a .473 bolt face same as a 243, 308 etc.

[cpurick]

On that last part, I already have a .22-250 with the 12" twist. Would I be able to use the same bolt?

[thirty06]

Yes, all you need is a .223-9 twist barrel, and a gunsmith to rechamber it.
Remove 12 twist and install and headspace new 9 twist barrel.
Done deal.

[Palmetto Savage]

Interesting, I hadn't realized the linkage of the .22-250 to the .473 bolt face. Means this same approach can be accomplished with my .308.

Buy a donor .223 barrel and re-chamber to .22-250. These Savages are like Legos for big kids.

[yotehunter]

will the 22-250 do better with a 1/9 twist?

[geargrinder]

The faster the twist, the heavier the bullet it will stabilize.

[trimble s6]

Ream that baby out to a 22-250 AI and take full advantage of that 9 twist!!!

[JRS350]

Would the increase in speed from the .22-250 shred the jacket on the bullet? Is 9 about as fast as you'd want to go with the 250? Seems like it would push it faster than it would want to spin in the case of 8s and 7s...

Serious question, kinda new to this...

[cpurick]

Would the increase in speed from the .22-250 shred the jacket on the bullet? Is 9 about as fast as you'd want to go with the 250? Seems like it would push it faster than it would want to spin in the case of 8s and 7s...

Serious question, kinda new to this...

If a rifle is faster you can get away with less twist, since the goal is spin over time rather than spin over distance. So in theory you can stabilize the same bullet with a 7" twist on a .223 and an 8" twist on a .22-250, and in practice the .223 will usually have faster rifling.

Also, as the bullet gets longer and heavier it naturally gets slower. Furthermore, a longer bullet will displace some powder in the cartridge. This means the the twist needs to be even tighter than the increased length of the bullet alone suggests, because less powder and more weight translate into lower velocities as well. You can launch a heavier bullet slower, but you still have to spin it at a minimum rate, and that rate is faster for a longer bullet.

You do hear occasional reports of jacket failures though, and .223 owners often look forward to longer barrel life. AccurateShooter.com says 9" is a good all-around twist for the .22-250 since it can push some of the caliber's higher-BC bullets, though the heaviest .224 bullets still require an even faster 8" twist. Sierra says their 90 grain SMK wants a 6.5" twist, and the Bergen 90 VLD requires a 7 twist. If we assume those values are calculated for .223 velocities, I'd consider investigating whether a .22-250 can get away with slower twist rates.

Where you really start to run into problems are the cases where a barrel is rifled for 90 grain bullets, and the shooter is using 4000fps 45 grain pills with it. This is where you're gonna find bullets disintegrating out of the barrel. The bullet was never designed for that much spin, and the barrel was never intended for that much velocity. The idea is that you generally don't buy a custom barrel to shoot factory ammo.

[scope eye]

For the longest time the standard of they industry was, 12twist for a 223 and 14 twist for a 22-250, as far as I know only Savage has strayed from this, and are offering 9 twist 223 and 12 for the 22-250 with a 9 twist option, as factory offerings, this due to they availability of heavy bullets up to 90gr, which was unthinkable for a 22 cal not that long ago.

Tanks Dean

[cpurick]

Wherever I see Savage offering the .22-250 with a 9 twist option, the corresponding .223 is available with a 7 twist.