crm3006
Well-Known Member
Lead sled for a .22-250?
Those 69gr bullets are Monsters!Lead sled for a .22-250?
*690 grain maybe! No wonder they won't stabilize!!!Those 69gr bullets are Monsters!
I use my sled for swapping scopes & cleaning. Not much good for anything else. Maybe a boat anchor but I don't have a boat. I honestly believe that was the biggest waste of money I have ever spent. And that is really saying something. Because I have wasted a lot of money on dumb stuff.Lead sled for a .22-250?
Try IMR 4895Hello guys, I'm a newbie to reloading and I'm trying to get some heavier bullets for my 22-250. All the factory ammo I can find is 55gr and with the 1:10 twist of the ruger American I'd like to shoot the 69gr sierra matchkings. Sierra says 1:10 or faster so I figured I was on the right track. I was able to find IMR 4350 on the shelves at most local stores so I'd really like to make that work.
I looked up sierras load data for 69gr mk's and it shows a range of 5 different powder charges, so I loaded 5 rnds of each charge and went shoot.
All once fired nosler brass fully prepped and sized, seated .020 off the lands. CCI large rifle BR primers.
So 35.3gr shot the best. 5rnds @ 100yds 1" group. I went up a grain and it looks like the group opened up. I went down a grain a still no improvement.
I've tried weighing the bullets for consistency, measuring all the brass for uniformity and still not getting better than a 1" group.
Is there something else I can do to improve my load or should I abandon the IMR 4350 and try another powder? Or a lighter bullet?
You funny… and exactly correct!You have received numerous excellent response to your issue, from some truly knowledgeable rifleman. I'm sure you appreciate their input. If it were me, I would START the process of correcting your Accuracy/ Precision issue by having the rifle professionally bedded. That would Step one for me. In this way, no matter what new load, new bullet , new cases , you may develop going forward, it will shoot its best in a properly bedded rifle. Second, I would stop using the Lead Sled. Its not helping . You can get a good cast Iron front rest and rear support bag . Sometimes, you can find good used rests. {Becnh rest guys are constantly upgrading stuff. } and lastly increase /decrease powder charges by 2/10th to 3/10ths of a grain. Increase COAL AND OGIVE lengths by 3/1000 th. to 5 /1000 th at a time. You will find the sweet spot your rifle likes the best. Listen to your Rifle. Just a parting thought here, but respectfully you should not set performance expectations far beyond what your factory rifle was ever designed for. We all have rifles that shoot SUB MOA, and we all have rifles that shoot 1 inch to 1 and 1/8th inch and in their present stock form will never be a 1/2 or 3/4 MOA rifles. At some point you must come to accept that fact. If it's your 150 yard Whitetail deer rifle, that may be just fine for its primary use. Shoot it and Enjoy it. However, you do still have two choices. #1. Modify and customize that rifle until its everything you want/wish it to be ,( Ex: Blue Print the Receiver and Bolt, New barrel, New trigger ,ect) or # 2. buy a new rifle that is Guaranteed to shoot Sub MOA top it off with a great scope and enjoy that. Welcome to the rabbit Hole!! Good Shooting Buddy!!!
I recently moved and went through everything. I found an old box of rifle bullets I had loaded more than 40 years ago. I had written on the box "H4350". My memory of reloading back then was to create inexpensive ammo, that was it. I just loaded by the book, tested by hitting a paper plate at 100 yards, and went hunting. Good'ol H4350!The very best powders for my 22-250 have always been Benchmark and Varget. Same is true in my 22-250AI, but with the heavies, 79g and above, I found best performance with H4350 in the AI version.
Cheers.