Rebarreling Savage 12 -.22-250?

[Birddog75]

I'm wanting to rebarrel my Savage 12 .22-250 into a caliber for deer hunting. What caliber would be the best for doing this?

 

[rscott5028]

With the right ammo and conscientious shot placement, 22-250 can be a respectable deer rifle. But, it's probably not the best if you're talking about larger deer and/or longer ranges.

So, I beleive you're basically looking for a short action cartridge with a .473" bolt face.

I believe your choices include among others:
243 Winchester
260 Remington
7mm-08 Remington
308 Winchester
338 Federal
358 Winchester

You might want to avoid long action (270, 30-06...) and borderline cartridges such as 6.5x284, unless you want it to be a single shot rifle.

308 is a proven all around cartridge with readily available ammo including match grade. Get the right twist rate so that you can shoot high BC bullets if long range is what you want.

If you can be more specific about the type of hunting, I'm sure others will make some more specific recommendations.

Happy hunting!!

 

[cowboy]

rscott5028 pretty much hit it on the head - he also gives good advice to consider on the 308

 

[geargrinder]

Add a bolt head swap and turn it into a single shot 338 Edge.

 

[liltank]

I'll throw the plain 284 Winchester in the mix, and second the 308. But the 260 is going to be a bit better at distance due to the higher BC bullets available for the caliber and the speeds you can push them. That brings the 7mm-08 into contention as well, but then the better option would be the 284 Winchester. So it's up to you. I will add to the .308, there are some decent BC bullets now that will perform admirably to longer distances. The JLK 175 and 180LBT, Hornady BTHP 178, and the Berger 185 top the list.

Tank

 

[rscott5028]

down side - a lot to choose from

up side - all good cartridges suggested

Given the ease and cost of rebarreling your Savage, you can shoot one for a while and then switch again. Unless you're a really avid shooter, you'll probably never wear out any of these barrels.

Good Luck!
Richard

 

[James H]

I'm in the process of putting together a 6.5 Creedmoor on a Savage action. So of course that is my suggestion my next choice would be a 7-08, it is a very underrated cartridge.

James

 

[johnnyk]

I'd do the bolt head swap also but turn it into a .270WSM. JohnnyK.

 

[Birddog75]

Johnnyk, I have considered the bolt swap to get into the short mags. I've also thought about 6.5-284, but don't know that much about it,besides it's a great match round. Anyone know how it fairs in a hunting enviroment?

 

[rscott5028]

6.5x284 Norma is an excellent hunting cartridge.

I beleive you have a short action based on the 22-250.

If you use the high BC VLD type bullets for long range performance in order to exploit the 6.5x284, you'll have to single feed your ammo as they won't fit in the magazine well.

It also doesn't have the best barrel life. But, that's not usually an issue for most hunting rifles.

 

[Birddog75]

rscott, I figured I wouldn't have room for vld's, but would I have enough for standard bonded bullets or ballistic tips?

 

[liltank]

rscott, I figured I wouldn't have room for vld's, but would I have enough for standard bonded bullets or ballistic tips?

You could get your smith to short throat the barrel so that it fits your mag well. That is a pretty common caliber to be redesigned in many configurations for as many people use it for multiple purposes. I'm sure somebody has an adjustable throat cutter in 6.5x284. That would let you run the long VLD's in your short action w/o issue.

Tank

 

[rscott5028]

You could get your smith to short throat the barrel so that it fits your mag well.

Tank,

I had a smith offer to do that for me on a slightly used palma barrel that I want to set back, chop down, and stick on a hunting rifle. But, I was a little concerned about limiting case capacity by seating the VLDs deep into the case. So, I decided to hold out until I pick up a long action reciever.

I guess you don't consider that to be too big of an issue or you wouldn't have suggested it.

Is it a valid concern? Or, just marginal, or not at all?

Would you go to a different powder from say h4831sc to rl22?

I load 142gr SMKs in my Savage 12F and they sit way out there. It's not a compressed load with 4831, but it's a fairly full case.

Thanks!!
Richard

 

[liltank]

Tank,

I had a smith offer to do that for me on a slightly used palma barrel that I want to set back, chop down, and stick on a hunting rifle. But, I was a little concerned about limiting case capacity by seating the VLDs deep into the case. So, I decided to hold out until I pick up a long action reciever.

I guess you don't consider that to be too big of an issue or you wouldn't have suggested it.

Is it a valid concern? Or, just marginal, or not at all?

Would you go to a different powder from say h4831sc to rl22?

I load 142gr SMKs in my Savage 12F and they sit way out there. It's not a compressed load with 4831, but it's a fairly full case.

Thanks!!
Richard

It will definitely limit some of the capacity, but wouldn't drastically change it. You may have to change the speed of powder you choose to use. If you are using RL22 and 4831, you could drop to RL17 and H4350. These would give you equal speeds and work better in lower case capacity issues. Like anything you need to work up your loads. I kind of dropped the idea of choking case capacity after going to Williamsport and talking to some of the guys shooting 1000yrd bench.

Some of those guys sink 210 Berger's .080 to .100" in the case for accuracy. They swear by it and place in competition. Who am I to tell them they are wrong. I have a feeling that if you short throat the barrel you are not going to lose that much capacity. Right now you are probably seating to the base of the neck. With a short throat you will seat to the base of the shoulder. You can always set the length you want and give the smith that prototype round and he can set the throat accordingly. Talk to your gunsmith and see what they tell ya. I sank the 208's in my 300WSM and it worked just fine. I had to back down a grain or so, but the velocity was still there.

Tank