.22-250 Remington | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Type | Rifle | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Place of origin | US | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Production history | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Designer | Grosvenor Wotkyns, J.E Gebby & J. Bushnell Smith | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Designed | 1937 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Manufacturer | Remington | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Produced | 1965–present | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Variants | .22-250 Ackley Improved | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Specifications | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Parent case | .250-3000 Savage | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Case type | Rimless, bottleneck | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Bullet diameter | .224 in (5.7 mm) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Neck diameter | .254 in (6.5 mm) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Shoulder diameter | .414 in (10.5 mm) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Base diameter | .470 in (11.9 mm) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Rim diameter | .473 in (12.0 mm) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Case length | 1.912 in (48.6 mm) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Overall length | 2.35 in (60 mm) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Rifling twist | 1-12, 1-14 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Primer type | Large rifle | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Maximum pressure | 65,000 psi (450 MPa) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Ballistic performance | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source(s): Hodgdon [1] |
The .22-250 Remington is a very high-velocity, short action, .22 caliber rifle cartridge primarily used for varmint hunting and small game hunting. It is capable of reaching over 4,000 feet per second. Some jurisdictions prohibit the use of cartridges smaller than 6 mm (e.g., .243 Winchester) for deer hunting. This cartridge is also sometimes known as the .22 Varminter or the .22 Wotkyns Original Swift. [2] Along with the .220 Swift, the .22-250 was one of the high-velocity .22 caliber cartridges that developed a reputation for remote wounding effects known as hydrostatic shock in the late 1930s and early 1940s. [3] [4]
The .22-250 started life as a wildcat cartridge developed from the .250-3000 Savage case necked down to take a .224 caliber bullet. In the early days of cartridges there were several different versions that varied only slightly from one to the next, including one developed in 1937 by Grosvenor Wotkyns, J. E. Gebby and J. B. Smith who named their version the 22 Varminter. [2]
The .22-250 is similar to, but was outperformed by, the larger .220 Swift cartridge. However, it is in much wider use and has a larger variety of commercially available factory ammunition than the Swift, making it generally cheaper to shoot. The smaller powder load also contributes to more economical shooting for users who load their own ammunition. Due to its rimless case the 22-250 also feeds from a box magazine more reliably than the Swift, a semi-rimmed cartridge susceptible to rim lock.
In 1937 Phil Sharpe, one of the first gunsmiths to build a rifle for the .22-250 and long-time .220 Swift rifle builder, stated, "The Swift performed best when it was loaded to approximately full velocity," whereas, "The Varminter case permits the most flexible loading ever recorded with a single cartridge. It will handle all velocities from 1,500 ft/s up to 4,500 ft/s." [5]
Sharpe credited the steep 28-degree shoulder for this performance. He insisted that it kept the powder burning in the case rather than in the throat of the rifle, as well as prevented case stretching and neck thickening. "Shoulder angle ranks along with primer, powders, bullets, neck length, body taper, loading density and all those other features," he wrote. "The .22 Varminter seems to have a perfectly balanced combination of all desirable features and is not just an old cartridge pepped up with new powders." [5]
Accuracy was consistently excellent, with little need for either case trimming or neck reaming, and Sharpe pronounced it "my choice for the outstanding cartridge development of the past decade." He finished by saying he looked forward to the day when it would become a commercial cartridge. [5]
In 1963, the Browning Arms Company started to chamber its Browning High Power rifle in .22-250, at the time a wildcat cartridge. This was a historic move on Browning's part as there was no commercial production of the .22-250 at the time. John T. Amber, reporting on the development of the Browning rifle in the 1964 Gun Digest , called the event "unprecedented". "As far as I know", he wrote, "this is the first time a first-line arms-maker has offered a rifle chambered for a cartridge that it—or some other production ammunition maker—cannot supply". Amber foresaw difficulties for the company but "applauded Browning's courage in taking this step". He said he had his order in for one of the first heavy-barrel models, expected in June 1963, and added, "I can hardly wait." [5]
Two years later, in 1965, Remington Arms adopted the .22-250, added "Remington" to the name and chambered their Model 700 and 40 XB match rifles for the cartridge along with a line of commercial ammunition, thus establishing its commercial specification. [6]
The .22-250 was the first non-Weatherby caliber offered in the unique Weatherby Mark V rifle.
Both the British Special Air Service and the Australian Special Air Service Regiment used Tikka M55 sniper rifles chambered in .22-250 for urban counter-terrorism duties in the 1980s, in an attempt to reduce excessive penetration and ricochets. [7]
Typical factory-loaded .22-250 Remington can propel a 55 grain (3.56 g) spitzer bullet at 3,680 ft/s (1122 m/s) with 1,654 ft⋅lbf (2,243 J) of energy. [8] Many other loads with lighter bullets are used to achieve velocities of over 4,000 ft/s (1,219 m/s), while still having effective energy for use in hunting small game and medium-sized predators. CIP [9] lists the performance as: Transducer method pressures (energies): max average Pmax = 4,050 bar, PE (proof pressure) = 5,060 bar, EE (Min proof energy) = 2,370 joules
It is particularly popular in the western states of the US, where high winds often hinder the effectiveness of other varmint rounds in prairie dog hunting. Many states in the US have minimum-caliber restrictions on larger game such as deer, although most states do allow the cartridge to be used for big game.
The .256 Winchester Magnum is a firearms cartridge developed by Winchester, and was produced by necking-down a .357 Magnum cartridge to .257 diameter. It was designed for shooting small game and varmints.
The .460 Weatherby Magnum is a belted, bottlenecked rifle cartridge, developed by Roy Weatherby in 1957. The cartridge is based on the .378 Weatherby Magnum necked up to accept the .458-inch (11.6 mm) bullet. The original .378 Weatherby Magnum parent case was inspired by the .416 Rigby. The .460 Weatherby Magnum was designed as an African dangerous game rifle cartridge for the hunting of heavy, thick skinned dangerous game.
A wildcat cartridge, often shortened to wildcat, is a custom-made cartridge for which ammunition and/or firearms are not mass-produced. These cartridges are often created as experimental variants to optimize a certain ballistic performance characteristic of an existing commercial cartridge, or may merely be intended as novelty items.
The .243 Winchester (6×52mm) is a popular sporting rifle cartridge. Developed as a versatile short action cartridge to hunt both medium game and small game alike, it "took whitetail hunting by storm" when introduced in 1955, and remains one of the most popular whitetail deer cartridges. It is also commonly used for harvesting blacktail deer, pronghorns and mule deer with heavier rounds, and is equally suited to varmint hunting with lighter rounds. The .243 is based on a necked down .308 Winchester, introduced only three years earlier. Expanding monolithic copper bullets of approximately 80 to 85 grains or traditional lead rounds of 90 to 105 grains with controlled expansion designs are best suited for hunting medium game, while lighter rounds are intended for varmints.
The .25-06 Remington was a wildcat cartridge for nearly half a century before being standardized by Remington in 1969.
The 7mm-08 Remington is a rifle cartridge that is almost a direct copy of a wildcat cartridge developed around 1958 known as the 7mm/308. As these names would suggest, it is the .308 Winchester case necked down to accept 7 mm (.284) bullets with a small increase in case length. Of cartridges based upon the .308, it is the second most popular behind only the .243 Winchester. However, the .308 is more popular than both. In 1980, the Remington Arms company popularized the cartridge by applying its own name and offering it as a chambering for their Model 788 and Model 700 rifles, along with a limited-run series within their Model 7600 pump-action rifles during the early 2000s.
The .204 Ruger is a centerfire rifle cartridge developed by Hornady and Ruger. At the time of its introduction in 2004, the .204 Ruger was the second-highest velocity commercially produced ammunition and the only centerfire cartridge produced commercially for bullets of .204 inch/5 mm caliber.
The .257 Weatherby Magnum is a .257 caliber (6.53 mm) belted bottlenecked cartridge. It is one of the original standard length magnums developed by shortening the .375 H&H Magnum case to approx. 2.5 in (64 mm). Of the cartridges developed by Roy Weatherby, the .257 Weatherby Magnum was known to have been his favorite, and the cartridge currently ranks third in Weatherby cartridge sales, after the .30-378 Weatherby Magnum and the .300 Weatherby Magnum.
The .300 Winchester Magnum is a belted, bottlenecked magnum rifle cartridge that was introduced by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company in 1963. The .300 Winchester Magnum is a magnum cartridge designed to fit in a standard rifle action. It is based on the .375 H&H Magnum, which has been blown out, shortened, and necked down to accept a .30 caliber (7.62 mm) bullet.
The .338 Winchester Magnum is a .338 in (8.6 mm) caliber, belted, rimless, bottlenecked cartridge introduced in 1958 by Winchester Repeating Arms. It is based on the blown-out, shortened .375 H&H Magnum. The .338 in (8.6 mm) is the caliber at which medium-bore cartridges are considered to begin. The .338 Winchester Magnum is the first choice among professional brown bear guides in Alaska to back up clients where a powerful stopping caliber is required on charging bears. It is also the most popular medium-bore cartridge in North America and has the most widely available choice in rifles among medium bore rifles. The action length is the same as a .30-06, and most major rifle manufacturers in the United States chamber rifles for the cartridge including the semi-automatic Browning BAR Mk II Safari, making it a very powerful combination against charging dangerous game. The cartridge was intended for larger North American big-game species and has found use as for the hunting of thin-skinned African plains-game species.
The .220 Swift (5.56×56mmSR) is a semi-rimmed rifle cartridge developed by Winchester and introduced in 1935 for small game and varmint hunting. It was the first factory-loaded rifle cartridge with a muzzle velocity of over 1,200 m/s (4,000 ft/s).
The .222 Remington or 5.7×43mm (C.I.P), also known as the triple deuce, triple two, and treble two, is a centerfire rifle cartridge. Introduced in 1950, it was the first commercial rimless .22 (5.56 mm) cartridge made in the United States. As such, it was an entirely new design, without a parent case. The .222 Remington was a popular target cartridge from its introduction until the mid-1970s and still enjoys a reputation for accuracy. It remains a popular vermin or "varmint" cartridge at short and medium ranges with preferred bullet weights of 40–55 grains and muzzle velocities from 3,000 to 3,500 ft/s (915–1,067 m/s).
The 8mm Remington Magnum belted rifle cartridge was introduced by Remington Arms Company in 1978 as a new chambering for the model 700 BDL rifle. The 8mm Remington Magnum's parent case is the .375 H&H Magnum. It is a very long and powerful cartridge that cannot be used in standard length actions, such as those that accommodate the .30-06 Springfield.
The .224 Weatherby Magnum (5.56×49mmB) is a sporting cartridge that was developed in the 1940s by Roy Weatherby, and commercial ammunition was produced starting in 1963. At the time it was the only belted magnum varmint cartridge. It is a proprietary cartridge with no major firearms manufacturers chambering rifles for it other than Weatherby. It was originally called the .224 Weatherby Varmintmaster when it was introduced alongside the Weatherby Varmintmaster rifle, but the rifle was discontinued in 1994 and the cartridge was renamed.
The .223 WSSM is a .224 caliber rifle cartridge created by Winchester and Browning based on a shortened version of the Winchester Short Magnum case.
The .257 Roberts, also known as .257 Bob, is a medium-powered .25 caliber rifle cartridge. It has been described as the best compromise between the low recoil and flat trajectory of smaller calibers such as the 5 mm and 6 mm, and has more energy, but is harder recoiling, similar to larger hunting calibers, such as the 7 mm and 7.62 mm.
.22 caliber, or 5.6 mm, refers to a common firearms bore diameter of 0.22 inch (5.6 mm) in both rimfire and centerfire cartridges.
The .416 Remington Magnum is a .416 caliber (10.57 mm) cartridge of belted bottlenecked design. The cartridge was intended as a dangerous game hunting cartridge and released to the public in 1989. The cartridge uses the case of the 8 mm Remington Magnum as a parent cartridge. When the cartridge was released in 1988, author Frank C. Barnes considered the .416 Remington Magnum to be the "most outstanding factory cartridge introduced in decades".
.30-06 Springfield wildcat cartridges are cartridges developed from a 30-06 Springfield "parent cartridge" through narrowing or widening the cartridge neck to fit a smaller or larger bullet in an attempt to improve performance in specific areas. Such wildcat cartridges are not standardized with recognized small arms standardization bodies like the SAAMI and the CIP.
A varmint rifle is a small-caliber precision firearm or high-powered airgun primarily used for both varmint hunting and pest control. These tasks include killing three types of pests or nuisance animals that spread diseases or destroy crops or livestock: