Been playing with this cartridge since 2004, but mostly have shot the heavier 75-80gr bullets through it. The 1-8" twist Douglas barrel is pretty much on it's last leg at this point with 8-10 inches of alligator skin forward of the chamber, but the damn thing continues to shoot good groups.
Decided this year I was going to save a little money and load up some cheaper 50-53gr bullets rather than my typical 80gr Nosler's. Most of my shots on groundhogs are inside of 300 yards so I can't really justify the need for the longer/higher BC bullets around here.
So to start out I'm trying some Barnes 50gr Varminator's loaded over H4895. Think it was the Sierra manual that listed this combo with a max load of 37.2 grains, so I'm starting with 10rd batches of 36.6, 36.9 and 37.3 grains, and a 5rd batch of 37.5gr (fewer bullets to pull if it proves to be to hot). This rifle has regularly allowed me to load well over book max without pressure signs, so I'm fairly confident I'll probably be able to go a little hotter yet. At this point I'm just wanting to see how they group and get some chrono data to see how consistent the powder/bullet combo is via the ES and SD.
Brass: Lapua
Primer: CCI BR-2
Powder: H4895
Bullet: Barnes 50gr Varminator
Trim Length: 1.895"
OAL: 2.376"
Ogive: 2.040"
First time trying the Varminator bullets so no clue what to expect from them. Also have a decent supply of Nosler 50gr BT's and a couple of boxes of the Sierra 53gr Match bullets to try if the Barnes don't pan out.
Hoping to hit the range tomorrow if it's warm enough and the wind isn't too crazy. Bad part of living in NW Ohio - it's flat as a pancake and all open farm ground so the wind is a real nuisance. Closest thing we have to hills are highway overpasses.
"Life' is tough. It's even tougher if you're stupid." ~ John Wayne
“Under certain circumstances, urgent circumstances, desperate circumstances, profanity provides a relief denied even to prayer.” —Mark Twain
Never used them either. Curious how they do with the AI velocity and fast twist. Should be humming pretty good.
Were you able to reach the lands with that bullet? Assuming since it’s a fast twist it’s throated long, not to mention throat wear if it’s on its last leg.
Not much of a Hornady fan but they just released a 62gr ELD-VT (varmint / target)
You being a NW Ohio flatlander; Anything near Lake Erie to keep it interesting ?? I'm only
3 miles away from it here in Erie Pa., and keep spare shingles in the garage.....LOL
Keeping my bad Karma intact since 1952
I gave up trying to stretch bullets to reach the lands in this barrel probably 6-7 years ago. haha I have a micrometer seating die that I "zeroed" with the 80gr bullets way back when so I just return it to zero when starting load development and then once I find a decent charge weight I'll start playing with seating depth to see if I can tighten up the groups a bit more.Originally Posted by pdog06
Pretty safe to say I'm not one of those anal-retentive reloaders who has to get everything dialed in to the Nth degree to be happy. If it will shoot 1/2" groups consistently when I do my part that's plenty good for me and my needs.
"Life' is tough. It's even tougher if you're stupid." ~ John Wayne
“Under certain circumstances, urgent circumstances, desperate circumstances, profanity provides a relief denied even to prayer.” —Mark Twain
I wanted to try out those new Hornady's but couldn't find them in stock anywhere to order a box or two.
I'm roughly 2 hours drive south of Toledo in the Lima area, but can't say I get up to Lake Erie very often. Used to go up to Marblehead once or twice a summer to go walleye fishing on my great uncle's boat, but that was back in the mid-late 1980's.
"Life' is tough. It's even tougher if you're stupid." ~ John Wayne
“Under certain circumstances, urgent circumstances, desperate circumstances, profanity provides a relief denied even to prayer.” —Mark Twain
Makes sense Jim and I'm of the same opinion. While I appreciate the level of detailed attention in crafting ammo, some things are just too over the top for me. Besides, my shooting skills aren't good enough to see the difference anyway. LOL.Pretty safe to say I'm not one of those anal-retentive reloaders who has to get everything dialed in to the Nth degree to be happy. If it will shoot 1/2" groups consistently when I do my part that's plenty good for me and my needs.
Me neither Jim. And I don’t shoot competition unless something small at a local range(haven’t done it a few years).
I have two LRPV 22/250 barrels on their last leg. Shooting 55gr vmax.
-(1) I have on an action now with almost 2k rounds on it. Firecracking for the first 6” and throat wear. Has always shot 1/2” or better but last fall accuracy fell way off. Noticed I was almost .040” further off the lands than my previous measurement. Luckily I was still able to hit the lands and seared them .030 further and accuracy came right back, but sure it won’t last long. It’s going on a prarie dog trip in June!..lol
-(2) other one is a friend of mines barrel with over 3k rounds in it. Same condition but more throat wear. Trying to reach the lands on that one pushing the 55gr bullet out of the case entirely…lol, but surprisingly it still shoots 3/4” groups! However it is a 9 twist so I may screw it on something and try some longer heavier in it and see how it shoots. Just for the heck of it.
Amazing how these old Savage barrels still hold a heart beat! Maybe good enough for some groundhog work
I mostly just paper punch for fun and pop the occasional groundhog these days so as long as I'm getting minute of groundhog I'm good. Really debating on what to do with this gun once I retire the barrel as I have my Axis in .223 Rem, and I have a factory 22-250 sporter barrel from another gun I parted out a few years back. Stock on this gun is setup for a heavy barrel so the sporter would look a bit odd in it. Have my 6x47 Lapua for target shooting and long range work, so really don't need another .22-250 Ackley. Thinking maybe another .222 Rem barrel since I already have brass and dies, or maybe revisit the .204 Ruger.
In any event, doesn't look like I will be testing out this first batch of loads today in this wind so need to find something else to occupy my time. Maybe I'll finally do some spring cleaning with the "spare parts" drawer and post some stuff up for sale in the classifieds.
"Life' is tough. It's even tougher if you're stupid." ~ John Wayne
“Under certain circumstances, urgent circumstances, desperate circumstances, profanity provides a relief denied even to prayer.” —Mark Twain
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