22-250 20" 1 in 12" twist

2ndtimer

Handloader
Sep 26, 2004
268
5
My son and his buddy recently purchased Howa rifles in 22-250. Interestingly enough, they have short 20" barrels with a 1 in 12" twist rate. They think they have the ultimate truck gun for coyotes. I picked up some 60 gr Nosler Ballistic Tips and wonder if anyone has tried them in a short barreled 22-250 with the 1 in 12" twist rate and if they are sufficient to stabilize this rather long bullet. The short barrel does rob some of the velocity from the 22-250, so I may have to drop down in bullet weight. My son's shoots the 50 gr Ballistic Tips well, but he is enamored of a heavier bullet for longer range effectiveness. Anyone?
 
60gr should stabilize in a 1:12... that's probably near the upper limit. The 69gr and up bullets are most likely not going to work that well at that rate.
 
I have a 223 bolt gun. 1:12 twist. It shoots 62 grain federal fusion into 1/2 group at 100 yards with a leupold mark AR 3-9 scope. It doesn't shoot 55 or 50 ballistic tips as well. Just my wxperience

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Thanks for the replies. I was concerned that the short 20" barrel might not generate enough velocity to stabilize the long 60 gr Ballistic Tip with only a 1 in 12" twist. Guess I will find out tomorrow for sure, as I loaded up 10 rounds with 38.0 gr of H-380 and another 10 rounds with the same powder charge with a 62 gr Hornady SP. The Hornady bullet is shorter than the Ballistic Tip, and I am pretty sure it will be stabilized out of the Howa, not as confident about the Nosler.
 
I will be interested in the outcome with the 60 grain NBT's. I have a custom savage striker with a 1 in 12 16" barrel in 22BR and it shoots the 55 grain NBT's into about 1/2 MOA or just over from 100 to 500 yards but I have never tried the 60 grain NBT.

Bruce
 
Well, I tested 6 each of the rounds with H-380 and the 60 gr Nosler Ballistic Tip and the Hornady 62 gr SPBT. Good news is they were stable at 100 yards and grouped okay. 3 shot groups averaged under 2" for the Nosler with the Hornady doing under 1.5". Considering it was a first attempt with a single powder charge and standard overall length, I believe the bullets will work. Velocity was measured around 3300 fps for the Nosler and 3250 for the Hornady out of the 20" barrel. I believe with some tweaking, we can get down around MOA and velocity over 3300. Should work fine for coyotes, and maybe antelope in Montana if we get drawn next year.
 
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