22-250AI vs 22 Creed

Originally Posted By: SlickerThanSnotOriginally Posted By: Winny FanOriginally Posted By: GaryCNothing says you have to shoot heavy bullets out of a fast twist 22-250 or 22-250AI. I carry two 22-250's on a prairie dog hunt, one's a 9 twist and the other's an 8, and they both are shooting 55 gr ballistic tips into tiny holes. I have the option to shoot heavier if I want but you can't shoot a heavy out of a slow twist. I can't see any reason to go with the slow twist.

My reason for sticking with a standard 22-250 boiled down to costs. I have 500 cases for each rifle and didn't want to fireform, and something exotic like a 22 Creed would cost a fortune to buy 500 pieces, standard 22-250 stuff is available and cheap. Quantity has a quality all it's own and I'd much rather have 500 rounds of 22-250 than 50 rounds of 22 Mystical because I couldn't afford the brass. I have a 6BR for when the ranges get long, a 6mm shooting heavy bullets will reach out there better than any 22.

I didn't know that.............
laugh.gif


you come here to get all learned up on stuff. see, its working well.
smile.gif


laugh.gif
laugh.gif


Yupper........you come here and you get an extra-special education.

This place is kinda' like the Smithsonian for irrelevant gun facts.....tomato juice cans, etc., etc...........
 
It only comes down to personal choice.. There are so many options out there, it could confuse just about anybody. People really seem to get on the latest and greatest " cool-aid " and are not satisfied with what they have - "something new is better".. We shoot a fun match one weekend a month on steel from 235 - 1000 yards. My wife and I just set our personal bests last weekend with a straight 6BR norma 8" twist. My oldest daughter shoots a straight 22-250 w/8" twist running 80gr Sierra MK's at 3150fps. My youngest runs a 6BR Norma 8" twist. I have tried 338Lap/300winmag/308/6.5x47/223's... They are all fun/ They all have there own advantages as well as downfalls.. Just pick your preference and enjoy it. We are fortunate enough in America to have whatever we want.. Greatest nation on earth in my opinion.
That being said.. 22-250 or 22-250Ackley or 22 creed with a 95 would be super sweet... haha
Brien
 
22 creed has good factory brass from alpha and peterson and requires no fire-forming,i get 3475 from a 22 inch barrel with 75 amax, awesome turnkey coyote rifle
 
22-250, 22-250AI and the 22 Creed. To me there's very little difference, all things being equal. When there is a couple hundred feet per second difference in all three shooting the same bullets, the only thing one has over the other is a cool name. The animal won't know the difference. It all comes down to preference. I love my old slow twist 22-250AI, it shoots little bullets into very small groups really fast and usually makes a mess on the receiving end.
 
I have a Custom sporter 22-250AI and bought a used Tikka 22-250. Both are very accurate. Funny thing is I had the Tikka cut to 18" and threaded, and it is the one I carry the most of these two.
 
I have the cool coincidence to have a 223AI and a 22 Creedmoor that shoots their respective bullets at nearly the same speed.....

A 50gr at 3500 aint nothing compared to a 70gr at the same speed....Its a whole different world, especially when you start stretching things out.
 
Originally Posted By: liliysdadI have the cool coincidence to have a 223AI and a 22 Creedmoor that shoots their respective bullets at nearly the same speed.....

A 50gr at 3500 aint nothing compared to a 70gr at the same speed....Its a whole different world, especially when you start stretching things out.

Exactly... It amazes me more don't understand the concept. I'm personally a 22-250 guy, but if I can get the same velocity with a 22 Creed, that has readily available brass, using the same identical barrel, AND using a 25 grain heavier round... You stop trying to compare apples to apples, and realize you're comparing an apple to an orange.
It's not so much of a comparison difference with the AI, other than the option of fire forming.
 
Seems like a sweet caliber and a very nice gun. I’ve got a 1in9 22-250 running 65gr sierras at 3300fps and a 1in9 223 running 55gr hornady at 3100 and 69 sierras at 2800. Both get the job done very well for what I’m doing. There’s always room for improvement. Building them up, triggers, stocks and load work is the funnest part for me.

[beeep] glad I live in America.

Thanks past and present service members!
 
Originally Posted By: BearNEWMEXKID AND HOW LONG WILL THE BARREL LAST AT THOSE SPEEDS BEFORE IT BURNS OUT? Sorry I hit cap lock by accident.

Sorry, I just saw your question today. As far as how long the barrel will last...It really doesn't matter, I'll just have another one spun on.
 
I never have understood the fireforming problem with the 22-250 Ackley Improved. Especially when you’ve already got the Standard .22-250 dies. Buy 100 rounds of good Lapua .22-250 Brass load your favorite load in .22-250. I usually start at Max(35.5 grs RL-15 and 60 grain Bergers)Sight it in. Go out and kill Coyotes. After you’ve killed a bunch of Coyotes and have 100 formed 22-250AI cases I dump more of the same powder( 38.2 grs RL-15 and 60 grain Bergers) in the new cases. And go check zero and go hunting again and kill more coyotes. 100 rounds should darn near last you the life of your Barrel. 1500 rounds give or take.
 
Or..I can neck down 6mm Creedmoor brass with zero extra steps, and get full performance from day one. This got even easier now that .22 Creedmoor brass is available.

I have other Ackleys....and given the choice, fireforming is for the birds when you can get equal or better performance with a simple neck down.
 
I guess it’s all in how you look at it. I had been shooting a standard 22-250 for the past 25 years and reloaded for it all that time, once I rebarreling to 22-250 Ackley Improved, I just reloaded 100 standard 22-250 and went hunting like I did every time for the last 25 years. Once it was time to reload again this time I just used the Ackley dies and added more powder until I found the sweet spot. Haven’t thought about it again since. That was 7-8 years ago. Didn’t seem like a pain then and hasn’t been Since. In fact haven’t really even thought about it. But if it bothers you that bad the Creed is probably your better option.
 
Last edited:
Its not that its bothersome..its simply senseless. Why waste barrel time shooting loads at performance levels well under whats possible, when I can step on the gas from day one? If I wanted to shoot a hundred rounds at 22-250 levels, I would have just built a fast twist 22-250.

In a gun with about a 1000rd barrel life, I prefer to waste as little barrel as possible dicking around whether it be load development, fireforming, etc.. Not saying its wrong, but having experience with both avenues, achieving the same (or better) goal without fireforming is always the better choice.
 
It's like this for anything, some guys like it some don't. Whether you want to pay thousands for a rifle or hundreds, to each their own. If you want to fireform your brass with a reduced load compared to what your going to get once your case is blown to what it should be that's fine.
I've done that with a couple different parent cases, and IMHO in the long run it wasn't worth the time or effort (BECAUSE now manufactures make a case that meets or exceeds what I had to do in the fireforming process). IF I can get brass ready to rock right out of the gate, that's what I'm going for.
 
Originally Posted By: skinneyIt's like this for anything, some guys like it some don't. Whether you want to pay thousands for a rifle or hundreds, to each their own. If you want to fireform your brass with a reduced load compared to what your going to get once your case is blown to what it should be that's fine.
I've done that with a couple different parent cases, and IMHO in the long run it wasn't worth the time or effort (BECAUSE now manufactures make a case that meets or exceeds what I had to do in the fireforming process). IF I can get brass ready to rock right out of the gate, that's what I'm going for.

100% agree!

Everyone always says, fireforming is no big deal, and for the most part it isn't, and often, fireforming loads usually shoot very well. But, if I can avoid it all together because there is another cartridge available that is nearly, or even just close, to the same that doesn't require forming, AND, has top notch brass, well for me, that's an easy peasy decision.
 
Lucky for me, I’m getting about the exact same performance with the fireforming loads as I am with the Ackley case now. When I rebarreled my rifle 8 years ago I had it made with a 26” Shilen Barrel. So when I was fireforming the 60 grain Bergers I was getting around 3650 fps. I fireformed 200 Lapua brass and put 100 away haven’t shot them since. Started loading the other 100 for the Ackley had the 60 grain Bergers running 3800 fps. Shot it for a few years and decided it was time to get a Suppressor. So decided to cut 5 inches off the Barrel and thread. Now the Ackley is running around 3650-3680 fps. When this Barrel is toast I’ll get it rebarreled again to 22-250 Ackley and send one of the Ackley cases in with it. Then I’ll have a new Barrel and no fireforming.
 
Last edited:
Its almost funny. Years ago the Creedmoor didn't exist but the 22-250 or 250AI did. The 260 and the 6.5x55 did also. Any of these do the same thing or close to the same as the Creedmoor's but they don't have the cool name and weren't Tacti-kool. I'd wager that in a year or so, the CM will be old news and a new Whiz Bang caliber will come out and you won't be able to give a Creed away and everyone will be having the same conversation about the new Whiz Bang is better than the Creedmoor and the old PITA 22-250AI will still be kicking azz and killing stuff.
 
Originally Posted By: pyscodogIts almost funny. Years ago the Creedmoor didn't exist but the 22-250 or 250AI did. The 260 and the 6.5x55 did also. Any of these do the same thing or close to the same as the Creedmoor's but they don't have the cool name and weren't Tacti-kool. I'd wager that in a year or so, the CM will be old news and a new Whiz Bang caliber will come out and you won't be able to give a Creed away and everyone will be having the same conversation about the new Whiz Bang is better than the Creedmoor and the old PITA 22-250AI will still be kicking azz and killing stuff.

I was a .260 fan before playing with a Creedmoor. I think the Creedmoor is the new mainstay. I still love my .260.
 
Originally Posted By: pyscodogIts almost funny. Years ago the Creedmoor didn't exist but the 22-250 or 250AI did. The 260 and the 6.5x55 did also. Any of these do the same thing or close to the same as the Creedmoor's but they don't have the cool name and weren't Tacti-kool. I'd wager that in a year or so, the CM will be old news and a new Whiz Bang caliber will come out and you won't be able to give a Creed away and everyone will be having the same conversation about the new Whiz Bang is better than the Creedmoor and the old PITA 22-250AI will still be kicking azz and killing stuff.

So true, especially over the last ten years or so. As long as folks shell out the cash, you can't blame the gun and ammo companies for creating new cartridges that are 0.01% better than what have been around for decades.
 
Back
Top