Post by RAF on Dec 13, 2004 15:01:32 GMT -5
About 7 years ago I acquired my first Varmint rifle, a Remington 700 BDL chambered in 22-250 from a friend. It came with a fixed 8X Leopold scope. First thing I did was trade the scope for a Bosch and Lomb Elite 4200, 6 – 24 power with a ¼ minute target dot. I took it to my gunsmith to redo the trigger. He took it down to 2 lbs and pointed out that there was a lot of copper fouling. I spent a lot of time cleaning it with Copper solvent and got it sparkling clean.
Now came the job of making some ammunition. Checked my reloading manual and saw the classic 22-250 load of 38 grains of H380 and 55 grain bullets. It seemed like the right place to start. I also tried a couple of load up and down, but they were right, it shot best with 38 grains. I could shoot just over ½ inch groups. Was using 55 grain Sierra HP’s.
Now was the time to test it on game. We have lots of gophers, Richardson ground squirrels, around here and they were the target of the day. I went out with my Outers Varmint rest, proned out on the ground and waited. They’re obliging little rascals and they kept popping out all over. I was amazed how they would flip into the air, 3 or 4 feet, and do fantastic summer salts when the bullet hit. It tore them up pretty good too.
Crony said these were moving at about 3500 FPS. Figured I could do better. I bought some 50 grain Sierra Blitz Kings and went back to work. Couldn’t make those shoot worth shucks. Contacted Sierra and they explained the bullet wouldn’t stabilize in the twist of my barrel. OK. I haven’t quite grasped the principal yet, but these folks know more about bullets that I do, so I accepted it..
I was reading the Hornady site one day and came across a testimonial by a shooter who raved about the 40 grain V-max. Had to give those a try and picked up a box. Worked up a load and the best for my rifle was 40.4 grains of H380. Again I got groups in the ½ inch range. Tried it at 200 and groups of 1 ½ inch. Rifle probably could do better, but not with my old eyes. I tried to crony these but it was getting late in the day I was out and was losing light. Either the crony couldn’t pick them out in the lower light, or they were going too fast. Anyway, I estimate that they’re somewhere between 4000 and 4100 FPS.
Now was the time to test them out on the gophers. Went to my same spot and set up. Once again the gophers cooperated. I was disappointed. The gophers no longer jumped in the air when the bullet hit. All I saw was a little red cloud where the gopher had stood. Checked the kill site and found blood, some guts and hair. Most of the gopher had vaporized. Wow. I should add that most of these were under 100 yds. I did shoot some at 200 and not as much damage. Pretty sure they didn’t know what hit them. I’ve had a few crows come by to check out the gut piles. They sure make a nice cloud of feathers. I’ve also tried these on coyotes. Was amazed that under 100 yds these little bullets just flattens them. Where I shoot, not many shots available at longer ranges, so I don’t know how they’ll do.
I sure do enjoy this rifle. Haven’t had a chance to shoot it much this past year but look forward to going out this winter with my call.
Now came the job of making some ammunition. Checked my reloading manual and saw the classic 22-250 load of 38 grains of H380 and 55 grain bullets. It seemed like the right place to start. I also tried a couple of load up and down, but they were right, it shot best with 38 grains. I could shoot just over ½ inch groups. Was using 55 grain Sierra HP’s.
Now was the time to test it on game. We have lots of gophers, Richardson ground squirrels, around here and they were the target of the day. I went out with my Outers Varmint rest, proned out on the ground and waited. They’re obliging little rascals and they kept popping out all over. I was amazed how they would flip into the air, 3 or 4 feet, and do fantastic summer salts when the bullet hit. It tore them up pretty good too.
Crony said these were moving at about 3500 FPS. Figured I could do better. I bought some 50 grain Sierra Blitz Kings and went back to work. Couldn’t make those shoot worth shucks. Contacted Sierra and they explained the bullet wouldn’t stabilize in the twist of my barrel. OK. I haven’t quite grasped the principal yet, but these folks know more about bullets that I do, so I accepted it..
I was reading the Hornady site one day and came across a testimonial by a shooter who raved about the 40 grain V-max. Had to give those a try and picked up a box. Worked up a load and the best for my rifle was 40.4 grains of H380. Again I got groups in the ½ inch range. Tried it at 200 and groups of 1 ½ inch. Rifle probably could do better, but not with my old eyes. I tried to crony these but it was getting late in the day I was out and was losing light. Either the crony couldn’t pick them out in the lower light, or they were going too fast. Anyway, I estimate that they’re somewhere between 4000 and 4100 FPS.
Now was the time to test them out on the gophers. Went to my same spot and set up. Once again the gophers cooperated. I was disappointed. The gophers no longer jumped in the air when the bullet hit. All I saw was a little red cloud where the gopher had stood. Checked the kill site and found blood, some guts and hair. Most of the gopher had vaporized. Wow. I should add that most of these were under 100 yds. I did shoot some at 200 and not as much damage. Pretty sure they didn’t know what hit them. I’ve had a few crows come by to check out the gut piles. They sure make a nice cloud of feathers. I’ve also tried these on coyotes. Was amazed that under 100 yds these little bullets just flattens them. Where I shoot, not many shots available at longer ranges, so I don’t know how they’ll do.
I sure do enjoy this rifle. Haven’t had a chance to shoot it much this past year but look forward to going out this winter with my call.