I'm going prairie dog hunting this year after 4-H nationals that I'm in. I'm borrowing a Howa 22-250 to take, so I plan on shooting all the ammo I buy before giving it back. I don't want to spend $20 a box for ammo all for one day, what cheap loads have given you guys good accuracy?

30 grains of RL 7, or 25 grains of IMR 4198, with a 55 grain SP...is pretty darn cheap to load...

quote:

Originally posted by Tyler Kemp:
I'm going prairie dog hunting this year after 4-H nationals that I'm in. I'm borrowing a Howa 22-250 to take, so I plan on shooting all the ammo I buy before giving it back. I don't want to spend $20 a box for ammo all for one day, what cheap loads have given you guys good accuracy?

Are you going to reload for it, or are you looking for cheap store bought ammo?

Don

For store bought ammo you will be hard pressed to beat the stuff that Winchester sells currently. It comes in a white box that holds 50 shells. It has a 45 grain hollow point bullet.

I have a number of friends who shoot this ammo in their 22-250 rifles and do not even bother to reload any more.

Yep, if you are not reloading, go with the Winchester White Box.

Bob

Sounds like this Winchester is the way to go. I won't start reloading for the 22-250 just for one day with a rifle.

I agree, Winchester.

My gun shot unbelievable with white box......

woods

What distance should I sight in the gun for? I will be shooting somewhere around Rapids City if that means anything, I know South Dakota is really flat. I'm getting the gun tomorrow or Friday, I'll be at a 550 yard range this weekend. I'm not sure what kind of scope this gun has on it, which could be a huge disadvantage. If I had to guess it's probably a cheapy 3x9, which will not be good for Prairie Dogs...oh well.

Well, I wouldn't call SD really flat. I mean, it's not Colorado, but there are plenty of rolling hills, small canyons, washes and arroyos.

I usually sight my 22-250's about 2.75 to 3 inches high at 100 yards, which puts them dead on, depending on the load, somewhere around 275 to 320 yards.

It is just an opinion, but on a varmint rifle without target knobs I like to sight in 1.5 inches high at 100.

If you sight in 2 or 3 inches high you will shoot over lots of dogs at reasonable ranges.

I have shot lots of times south of Rapid City near Hermosa and Buffalo Gap. You will have shots that are very close and you will have shots as far as you care to shoot.

With a borrowed gun and who knows what kind of scope, I would settle for shooting the prairie dogs at reasonable ranges. I have had a ball walking around with a .223 with a 4.5 X 14 on it and taking whatever shots came along. It was sighted in 1.5 inches high at 100.

You can learn from the gun and figure out how much to hold over as you go.

One thing you had better prepare for is lots of wind. The wind seems to blow there all the time. You will learn how much to hold off into the wind after a while.

Ah yes, getting a Simmons 6.5x20x50 while they are on sale. I've heard nothing but excellent reviews for a $100 scope. I got the gun today, it has a cheapo 3x9 Simmons 8 point, I have one that performs well on a 22, but I'm gonna go with the higher magnification and better optics of the 6.5x20. This gun has a set trigger though, I have to say it's the lightest trigger I've ever fired, at least half of what my Suhl 150 is, and it is set at 2 oz. When the trigger is set, it is almost unbelievably light. Without it being set it is still set off by a 1 lb dumbell. Also has an aftermarket thumbhole stock from Boyds on it. I don't understand why the farmer guy who owns the gun has done some really neat work on it, but then has such a low-dollar scope on it. He and his daughter have killed lots of deer with it though, guess they know what they're doing.