Suppressing a 22-250

Wyoming Drifter

New member
I'm going to cut down a factory Tikka 22-250 for a backup calling and truck gun.
I realize I'll be loosing velocity and maybe a tad on accuracy. Other than that is 20" the norm ? Right now I'm running the 55gr Nosler BT's at 3715.
Anyone willing to share experience would be greatly appreciated.
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Hopefully Skinney will answer all your question. He runs 22-250 with his VAPR-224 suppressor. I think his barrels are 16" or 18" length. Has no problem putting them down.
 
I run a 20" with 50 gr Nosler ballistic tips at 3700 fps. No issues with accuracy. Rem700. I do not run a suppressor.
 
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One factor in the rating of a suppressor is barrel length. So make sure the suppressor will handle the cartridge and barrel length you want to use. I would think a 18-20" sporter contour would work well as a truck rifle 22-250. I want my 55 gr bt 3600+, that would be my main concern, since can't shoot from truck, and certain road right-a-ways.
 
Had my 22-250 chopped down to 18in and 100% of the time it is run suppressed shooting 53gr Vmax. Mine is a 12tw. They are definitely louder and you're going to lose velocity when you shorten them up, even suppressed, but IMO it is easily worth the trade off for the better handling, particularly when they have a can on them.
 

Cutting a barrel back could potentially improve accuracy, as the barrel will be stiffer.

Essentially a twin to the 22-250, but I built a 22x47 with a 12" twist specifically to shoot suppressed, so it was cut & crowned at 18".

Current load is 52 Bergers at 3800.

Unfortunately, it's still a virgin........

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Tons of guys running short barrels suppressed, all the way down to pistol length. Nothing special at all about a 22-250 being cut down, its like any other caliber.

You will loose about 20fps per inch that you cut it down and honestly for hunting you won't notice the difference in loss of velocity but the gun will handle way better being cut down. Potential accuracy increase as well.

Every rifle i own is suppressed and IMO 18" or 20" is the sweet spot.
If your running a suppressor that's 7" or less 20" is ok but any longer I definitely would go 18".
 
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Originally Posted By: lockrotorHopefully Skinney will answer all your question. He runs 22-250 with his VAPR-224 suppressor. I think his barrels are 16" or 18" length. Has no problem putting them down.

Thanks man! Yes we were doing it well before the manufacturers were offing shorter threaded barrels. We often got questions and concerns about defeating the purpose of the cartridge by cutting the barrel down. I still get tons of questions and comments concerning this.

Usually per my chrono readings I'm getting approximately 25fps decrease in velocity per inch I take off, sometimes depending on your can, you can get a freebore boost, which is usually a nominal number (either way).

As stated above, be sure your can is rated for the shorter barrel which is going to expose it to more radical unburnt particles that are high wear on the initial blast baffle. Especially out of the case capacity of a 250, Creed or Swift as opposed to the little 223's.

I'm somewhere in the realm of having 15-20 different Rifles built, most of them 22-250's, two swifts, and one 22-Creed, 3 with 16" barrels, which I did not like. 2 with 20" barrels that I do like. The rest are all 18", I've personally found that to be the sweet spot, ever since developing the CR-MOD 0 with LRI, it's been the go to with the 8 twist heavy contour barrels.

The second Rifle I ever suppressed was my 22-250, about 20 years ago, since then I've worked on specializing them as Caliber specified Suppressors.
 
Originally Posted By: alf
For reference, my 6x47 Lapua was circumcised from 25" to 18", and lost exactly 200 fps.....

Yep, depending on the barrel, I'm usually at 25-30.
 
Originally Posted By: alf
For reference, my 6x47 Lapua was circumcised from 25" to 18", and lost exactly 200 fps.....

That sounds about right. My 6mm Creed wears a 20in tube and I get about 170-180 fps slower then the guys I know shooting the same bullet but with 24in barrels.
 
Wow! Thanks a lot guys ! I follow Skinny, love his pod casts and youtube vids. I've even asked him a few questions via FB messenger which he and Keith have always responded to. I really appreciate everyone's responses.
 
Originally Posted By: Wyoming DrifterWow! Thanks a lot guys ! I follow Skinny, love his pod casts and youtube vids. I've even asked him a few questions via FB messenger which he and Keith have always responded to. I really appreciate everyone's responses.


Thanks for the support brother! It's much appreciated.
 
Originally Posted By: ErmineI’m gonna get a 22-250. Plan to run a Suppressor. I’m debating 18 or 20 inch

My vote would be for the 18.
 
Originally Posted By: crapshootThe balance and maneuverability of the 18" will be more noticeable than the velocity of the 20" IMHO. YMMV

I was on the fence between 18 and 20 when I was getting ready to have my 22-250 chopped and threaded. I asked my smith what he thought and he just gave me that, "really", look and said just cut it down to 18 so you're not back in here in a month having me cut off another couple inches because you realized the convenience of a short suppressed setup out weighs the tiny bit of difference in velocity.

My gunsmith has become a good friend of mine over the years and he knows when I need that subtle push in one direction or the other and because he knows me pretty well now, he knows when that subtle push needs to come in the form of a sledgehammer to the head.
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