Will 22-250 cartridge feed out of 6.5 CM Detatchable Mag?

[hnts4fun]

I recently bought a Savage Model 11 in 6.5 CM. I haven't received it yet but by looking at the ad photos I can tell it has a detachable magazine and a bottom bolt release (both of these features are "firsts" for me. I am most familiar working with Savages that have blind, stagger feed magazines, however, I'm trying not to let new experiences throw me for a loop:)! I already have a rifle chambered in 260 Remington so I plan on swapping out the CM barrel for one chambered in 22-250 Remington. Members who have experience with these two cartridges; do you think a 22-250 cartridge will feed smoothly out of the CM magazine? The two share the same case head diameter; and both are similar in length, but both are new to me.

I'm also curious about the functional reliability of this magazine system. I don't know yet if the bottom metal is actually metal, but I will know around this time tomorrow. Thanks in advance for sharing your collective wisdom.

[CFJunkie]

Well, the .22-250 will fit in a 6.5mm CM Savage magazine, but the tip will be a long way from the end of the mag.
I tried it and it will fit into the magazine but I guess you knew that since the .22-250 and the 6.5mm cartridges both had .30 caliber origins before they were necked down.
My Savage 6.5mm CM 12 LRP magazines have an internal length of 3.008 and will mount a 2.890 O.A.L 6.5mm CM cartridge with plenty of length to spare.
My Savage .22-250 11 VT magazine internal length is 3.030 so it is actually longer internally than the 6.5mm mag. (the VT mags have the mag release catch on the mag while the regular Savage mags have the mag release on the bottom metal).

The SAAMI base to tip max measurement for a .22-250 is 2.350 and the SAAMI recommended cartridge trim length is 1.900.
I generally load mine at 2.352 with 52 grain bullets and out to 2.370 with heavier bullets.
That puts the bullet tip from 0.678 to 0.660 from the end of the mag.
That is a surprisingly long distance.
With the 52 grain bullets the bullets would fall out of the cartridge neck will before the O.A.L. would ever get to the end of the mag.

My Savage 1:12 twist barrel isn't going to be able to stabilize much more than 65 grain bullets so even the heaviest bullets are not long enough to achieve an O.A.L. that will approach the internal magazine length.
Because you will be loading shorter bullets with the .22.250, you will never be able to match the O.A.L. of the heavier, high BC bullets from a 6.5mm Creedmoor.

The SAAMI base to tip max measurement for the 6.5mm CM is 2.825 with SAAMI cartridge recommended trim length 1.910.
The cartridge lengths are similar but the Overall lengths are very different.
I generally load from 2.880 to 2.915 O.A.L depending on the bullet weight and where the ogive is.
That puts the bullet tip from 0.128 to 0.093 from the end of the mag.

When the bolt pushes the cartridge out of the mag, the tip of the cartridge tips up to feed into the chamber.
If the cartridge gets out of line as it closes the gap before it reaches the chamber, you will have problems.
If it tips up too soon and rises too far, it will jam into the top edge of the barrel instead of feeding.

That said, my 11 VT feeds .22-250 cartridges just fine out of a very long magazine even though even the heaviest bullet tips will be at least .60 inches from the magazine front edge when the cartridge is fitted into the mag.
The only way to find out is to try it, but my guess is that should work.

[hnts4fun]

CFJunkie,
You rock and thank you! Deep down, well ok, maybe not really that deep I knew this was what it would come down to; "The only way to find out is to try it, but my guess is that should work." Your first hand experiences with both cartridges and cartridge specific rifles/magazines is invaluable in making your explanation. To top it off my 22-250 barrel is 1:12 and my bullet stash ranges from 55 to 62 grains, which makes your explanation even more relevant to my situation. Thank you again!