Is it dumb luck, or...

[JDHasty]

Some may be familiar with my load development issues with a certain 22-250. I shot a 3/4 inch group last Sunday and it would have been <1/2 if not for a flyer. The flyer printed as tipping under a high powered magnifier. Way tipping and that suggests to me that it should have been way outside the group at a hundred yards. It printed an oval that was 1.25 times bullet diameter, but only < a quarter inch away from other hits. Go figure.

Is it luck that this errant bullet happened to end up in what is a respectable group? I was in my loading shop tonight and loaded ten more, but this is a new one on me. I have never seen an unstable bullet in a group before EVER. I shot ten and the first five looked to be perfectly round prints on the target when I looked at them tonight as did the next four. I

shot two groups and the second group I was really paying attention to and the tenth round made the errant hole in the target which was oblong. Nine holes were perfectly round. I only use the magnifier when I am looking for something and this errant hole was obviously oblong with the naked eye, so I got out my magnifier to look at the actual bullet print after smoothing out the tatters on the target.

I loaded another ten and will try them tomorrow. I think if all is well I will load another ten and shoot them at 200. If not for a tipping bullet print I would have said... let's load two hundred and move on to other concerns before chuck hunting season.

[DR Owl Creek]

Sorry, but I'm not familiar with your previous problems loading for your 22-250.

First, I have several questions. What is the twist rate of your barrel? Many, if not most, 22-250's have 1:14" twist rate barrels. This limits the length of the bullet that these barrels can stabilize. Some seemingly correct weight bullets, like the Sierra 50gr BlitzKings are so long, they are only marginally stabilized by many barrels.

Another question is what bullets weights you have tried? You may need to look at something lighter, like in the 40gr weight range.

How fast are you pushing your loads? Velocity can make a big difference too. These are all "issues" you need to consider.

Dave

[koger]

All the 22-250's I have had, 12 and 14 twist barrels, shot anything between 45,50, 52, 53, 55 grain bullets well, extremely well! Most will not shoot 60gr+ well at all. And I have had a friends custom built on a stole Panda action, Hart barrel, was very finicky, only wanted to shoot flat base bullets.

[JDHasty]

It is a 26" 1:14 barrel off a Mod 70 SA Heavy Varmint. It is on a 788.

The bullet is the 55 V-max which is a plastic tip flat base bullet. 33.5 gr IMR 4895. I have shot mostly Sierra 55 gr sp boat tails through all of my other 22-250 barrels. Mostly 36" Lilja 1:14 twist. This one doesn't seem to care for a boat tail bullet though.

Velocities are most likely just shy of 3,500, but I have not set up a chrono yet - we have Oehlers and they are not something you just fold open and slap on a tripod.

Shot ten this morning at 200 yards into a sub 2" group in a fairly stiff wind and will take a look at the prints on the target for bullet tipping under my kids' Nikon Field Microscope this evening.

This bullet has been very accurate in this barrel, but there have been unexplained flyers from time to time with it. I was measuring the groups last night before filing my targets from last Sunday and noticed that one hole looked a bit oval and when I smoothed the ragged edges of the paper a little better (I use Mountain Plains targets) I noticed the print from the bullet was most definitely oval and by about 25%.

I should have another five-hundred of these bullets about mid-week and am going to load and shoot fifty to see if any more show this tipping before calling it good and loading up a couple hundred for the chuck season. I have another 22-250 and a couple 243's that I need to get out to the range with soon too. It has been a mild winter and a very mild spring and I think the chucks will be up quite early this year.

[Dan Cash]

At the velocity you are driving the bullet and the weight of the bullet which seems to be the upper limit for your twist, i would suggest that one bullet was less than perfect and just starting to really tip at the target. A tipping bullet does not necessarily leave empirical evidence of its failure at the muzzle.

[JDHasty]

Yea, that is what I am thinking. I just got back home from my loading shop and looked at the prints the bullets made on the target paper and they are all perfectly round at two hundred yards.

I have a stand mounted magnifier there.

I live at sea level, so shooting these in central Washington and Montana - if they aren't tipping here they probably are going to be just fine in the thin air at higher elevations.

I went through all my targets while there and can find absolutely no evidence of any other bullet tipping except this one particular bullet. I'm now guessing it was a defect in the bullet.