Which Scope Mount

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rlandry6
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Which Scope Mount

Post by rlandry6 »

I just picked up my new Remmy 700 in 22-250. It's going to be a short to mid range gun, at least for the time being because that'a all my range offers. Hopefully later on, some varmint shooting. Would you go with a standard scope mount or a 20 MOA base?
I already have the scope for it, a Sightron S-TAC. I've looked at all brands in all price ranges and I just keep going back to Sightron. It just seems to be the most for the least.
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Re: Which Scope Mount

Post by rebel »

20 moa - because you never need more 'down'.
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rlandry6
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Re: Which Scope Mount

Post by rlandry6 »

would you have the same recommendation for a .308?
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Re: Which Scope Mount

Post by Mike7.62 »

IMO, the .22-250 with a 1/14" twist is going to be range limited due to lack of bullets in the weight range that the rifling will stabilize. About the best that you will find is a 55 gr BlitzKing with a G1 BC of .271. At a muzzle velocity of 3500 f/s and a 200 yard zero, this gives you an effective range of about 450 yards before it starts to seriously drop. Like 35 inches at 500 yards. The velocity starts to decline pretty rapidly too, decreasing to 2000 f/s at 450 yards, so if your contending with any wind, it's going to blow that 55 gr bullet way off.

As was stated by Rebel, the 20 MOA incline will allow you the extra drop adjustment-and you'll need it for anything over 450 yards. I don't know if the desired use is target shooting at long range, or varmint shooting, but either way at anything over 500 yards, you're going to be contending with serious elevation adjustment. If the intended use is varmint hunting, then your effective range is about 400 yards, and I don't think that a 20 MOA incline is necessary for that.

If you want to use the 22-250 at long range-meaning 600+ yards, there are quite a few guys who have re-barreled them with a 1/8 or 1/7. This allows them to use the 80-90 gr match bullets which do have better ballistic performance than anything you can shoot with a 1/14.

The 22-250 is a great varmint cartridge, but it's not a long range cartridge with the standard 1/14 twist.
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Re: Which Scope Mount

Post by Mike7.62 »

rlandry6 wrote:would you have the same recommendation for a .308?
For the .308, yes, especially if you have a 1/10 twist. I have a 20 MOA Badger rail on my M40 because the .308 with 155 gr Palma Match bullets and the 175 gr Match bullets have the BC's to warrant the use of the .308 at long ranges. It's a proven long range cartridge-meaning 600-1000 yards. There are better ones of course, but the .308 is still a good one with the right bullet/twist/shooter.
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Re: Which Scope Mount

Post by rlandry6 »

I know I'm limited to the 55gr bullets and maybe even the 52gr because of the 1:14 twist. The .308 is also limited by the 1:12 twist to probably 168gr and lighter. Remington seems to run slow twists on all of their guns. I have one in .223 that's 1:12. I don't know why they do that when all of the other makers are running much faster twists. If I ever re-barrel, I certainly will go faster.
Long range shooting is not in my plans and the best I can hope for is varmint hunting. The only available long ranges are at clubs and private ranges where membership fees are over the top. My club only has a 200 yard range, so that's where I will be most of the time.
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Re: Which Scope Mount

Post by Mike7.62 »

In that case, I would highly recommend a BlitzKing bullet from 50 to 55 gr, or the Nosler Ballistic Tip. You can push velocities up well over 3600 f/s with the lighter bullets, and the SBK's have very good coefficients for that weight class bullet, as do the Nosler BT's. I have used both, but my Ruger shoots the Blitz better than anything else.

Nosler was calling the BT the Solid Base Varmint back when I did my initial testing, and it didn't have the plastic tip, so I probably need to retest with the current offering and different powders too. VV N140 will give velocities past 3700 f/s with a 50 gr Nosler BT according to Load Data. VV N140 works very well in the .308 too, especially with the 155 Nosler Comp and the Sierra 155 TMK.
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Re: Which Scope Mount

Post by rlandry6 »

I'm interested in your test results for the TMK. I think 155-168 is going to be my bullet range with my 1:12 twist.
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Re: Which Scope Mount

Post by Mike7.62 »

So far, the 155 is giving 5 shot groups at 100 yards averaging .75 inches. My go to test in that rifle is factory Federal Match 168 gr SMK, which reliably shoot into .50 all day. I have a couple of cases of that lot number. The only problem with the 168 SMK is that anything over 600 yards is iffy because the bullet de-stabilizes around 700. That's why I have been experimenting with the 155's, as they are stable to 1000+.

I have had excellent accuracy with both the Sierra 155 TMK and the Nosler 155 Comp at 100 yards, with the Nosler slightly better. This is using VV N140. Surprisingly, IMR 4064 and IMR 4895 also give good results, but the velocities with IMR 4895 lag by 100 f/s behind the VV N140 and the IMR4064. I haven't yet tried them at longer ranges, as squirrel/pheasant/deer/duck seasons have arrived, and also the season of Advent. Too busy to mess with load testing at this time of year. In February I will start again.
Last edited by Mike7.62 on Sat Dec 15, 2018 4:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Which Scope Mount

Post by Mike7.62 »

I looked at my (very) old records for the .22-250 in my Ruger #1V with a 24" factory barrel, and these were the two best loads:

Nosler 52 gr Solid Base HP at approx. 3700 f/s (No chrono in those days).
40.0 gr H414 Max
CCI BR2
Group size 1.039" at 100 yds for 5 shots.

Sierra 50 gr Blitz at approx. 3800 f/s.
36.0 BLC(2) Just under max
CCI 200 LR
Group size 1.072" at 100 yds for 5 shots.

There was virtually no difference in accuracy so I used mostly the Sierra's as they were cheaper and available locally. There was no internet then, and catalogs were sometimes out of date on what was in stock at Valentine's or Midway. They were death on ground squirrels and prairie dogs though.

I am going to have to break that rifle out and work up some loads using newer design bullets, this time with the LabRadar for accurate data.
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