40 gr Bullets in short barreled 22-250

FairChase93

Active member
I have this Rem 700 Varmint ADL 1 in 14 that is nearing the end of its life or at least theorticaly it should be. I have long toyed with the idea of a short barreled 22-250 and decided to take the plunge last spring had a local smith chop it to 16" and have been experimenting ever since. I figured id burn up the rest of the barrel with some real world terminal performance testing of coyotes and seeing just what kind of performance can be squeezed out of the short barrel.

I have played with lots of different 52 and 55 grain bullets and am going to try some 40,45s next. Way back at the start of this rifles life i worked with the 40 gr vmax. The 40 Nosler BT and 40 Sierra varminter both intrigue me i will probably work with one of those next.

Mostly I'm curious what 40 t0 45 grain bullets others have used and liked based on their performance on game and what people think of the lightweight all coppers?
 
45gr TSX work great on coyotes, DRT and small entry and exit as expected. Barnes recommends them for deer and antelope. 45gt TSX are sometimes hard to find, 50gr works great too of course.

40gr Vmax and 40/50gr NBT work great at regular 223 velocities. The lead free 40/50gr NBT is said to be effective but some of these longer lead frees may not stabilize in your 1:14.
 
My 22/250 is longer but what I find is:
All the Barnes will work very well but you have to leave them off the riflings as prescribed by Barnes. Push them as fast as you can for best performance.
My rifle is a TC preditor and a 1x14 I find the 40's way more appt to splash on a shoulder bone around 4000 fps.
45's and up not so much.
I use a 60 gr ttsx for wolf and antelope with great performance.
All that said my coyote/prairie dog bullet is a 53 gr Berger.
 
I tried stabilizing 45grn TSX in my 1:12 22:250 and it did not like them. I switched to 35grn Nosler ballistic tip lead free as well as their 40grn. They both shoot 2/3 inch in my rifle now. I have shot two coyotes with 35grn Noslers and it was lights out, pin hole entrance and no exit. If you are not limited to lead free I would give the standard 40grn Nosler ballistic tip a try as well as the 40grn Vmax.
 
40 gr. Nosler black tip. Using 22-250 on P.D. to reach out and touch them. Accurate and deadly. I use IMR 4064 in my 22-250. Always performs for me. Rudy
 
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