What .22 caliber round can move upwards of 4,000 Feet per second and is perfect for hunting small game? The .22-250 Remington! When I saw MarkandSam After Work’s video featuring a custom rifle built slinging .22 caliber rounds into 2×2 foot targets at 1200 yards, I fell into the rabbit hole of high-speed varmint hunting cartridges.
HISTORY OF 22-250 REMINGTON
Remington officially launched the .22-250 Remington round in the 1960s though wildcat versions had existed since the 1930s. A competitor to the .220 Swift, which was adapted from an older 6mm Lee Navy cartridge. With .22-250 hot on the market in the ’60s, varmint hunters started buying it and shooting it en masse. The round exploded in popularity and did not burn through rifling as much as .220 Swift did. .22-250 has been in production ever since, and the round maintains a large following among .22 purists, hunters, and people who love to make little bullets move really fast.
After some research, I concluded that the .22-250 has some disadvantages, such as a lack of range and the fact that the round becomes unstable in most older rifle setups after passing the 60-grain weight mark. The problem with this situation was that I was watching two people shoot .22-250 effectively at up to 1200 yards with my own two eyes! When .22-250 was created, varmint rifle barrels were mostly manufactured with twist rates of 1:12 or 1:16. These slow twist rates forced manufacturers to produce the caliber at sub-50 grain weights. I witnessed on MarkandSam’s After Work channel a highly thought-out modern precision rifle build that is head-and-shoulders above what your Grandpa was shooting in the sixties.
Mark and Sam have quite a bit of experience in long-range shooting, as you can see on their channel. Pushing .22-250 at long distances through wind and other performance-impacting atmospheric conditions is a daunting task. With a Howa Model 1500 short action, precision trigger, Krieger 26” 1.7 twist barrel, Nightforce NX8 4×32 optic, and a 4AW 3 port muzzle brake, this rifle is an epic hunting and long-range build. The 1.7 twist precision barrel is one of the main reasons this rifle is so capable from longer distances. With the 1.7 twist rate, this rifle can push heavier .22-250 rounds to further distances.
Mark and Sam built a really unique 22-250 Rifle.
Additionally, the Nightforce optic paired with this build is an excellent choice for the application. Bringing all of these parts together is the MDT Oryx Chassis. Free-floating the barrel and providing a stable foundation for the action of this build is exactly what it needs to perform well above average compared to other bolt action .22-250 platforms.
I personally love to see better bullets, faster twist rates, temp-stable powders, and high-end optics used to maximize older calibers like the 22-250.
BUILD RESOURCES FROM MDT
- Upgrading the Bergara B14
- Building a Custom Bergara B14 for Competition
- Building a 308 Tikka Rifle
- Building A Training Rifle – Part1 and Part 2
- Building a General Purpose 300 Win Mag Rifle
- Building a 6mm GT for Competition
- Re-building a 308 Winchester from a Remington 700 SPS Tactical Part 1 and Part 2
- Ultimate Reloader – 7MM PRC Freedom Rifle Build
Check out the MarkandSam After Work YouTube Channel. Click here for more information about the ORYX Chassis System!
