I bought a new (to me) toy yesterday – a Remington 700 VSF SS 22-250. The gun is about 3years old and had 20 rounds through it. I want to start hand loading for this rifle (this will be my first attempt at hand loading), and I was wondering;
1. Is it better (or cheaper) to buy factory ammo and reuse the brass or should I start from scratch and buy used brass?
2. Is certain brass higher quality so it will last longer?
3. Do any of you have any experience with this particular rifle and have figured out what would be a good starting point for hand loading, brass/power/bullets? I was searching Midway’s web site and could not believe the number of options for bullets. The price difference is astonishing from one to another. I saw bullets from .79 cents each to under a dime each.

I was thinking about loading for two different purposes, one for practicing at the range and the other for varmint hunting, mostly coyotes. So;
4. Can I (or should I) buy cheaper bullets for paper and better bullets for critters?
5. Recommendations?

TIA

Many people start with factory loads, and then reload the brass. Others buy unfired brass, and start with that.
The advantage (if there is one) with starting with factory, is that you can measure the expansion ring on factory fired brass and get a reference point as to comparative pressure. That's a subject you can write long essays on, so I'll leave it there.
Some brass is better than others ( and opinions on which vary, too). The old adage 'you get what you pay for' works here. All the brass on the market works, but the more expensive stuff has better quality control, IMO. It might or might not last longer, but the higher quality stuff is more consistent, hence, slightly better accuracy. Most will agree that Norma, Lapua, and Nosler make very high quality brass.
How long brass lasts is largely determined by how hot you load it.
After having loaded for the 22-250 for a long time, I can tell you what I'd do with a new rifle: I'd pick a 55 grain bullet, either a Nosler BT, a Sierra, or a Berger. Then I'd get a can of H380 powder. For brass, I'd use one of the aforementioned brands. If I didn't wnna pay the price for high priced stuff, I'd get Winchester unfired.
Bullets,too, fall under the 'you get what you pay for' rule. Within reason. If a 1 inch group at 100 yards is good enough, many bullets will do that. If you want to get under 1/2 inch, then you need to use the good stuff.
As far as different loads for different uses, by the time you work up 2 or more loads, using up components for each, you've probably lost any saving you might think you gain by using cheap stuff. And complicated things by having two different points of impact. Work up one good load and stick with it.
That's my opinion, and worth exactly what you paid for it. :)

To start with - welcome to the world of reloading.

Purchasing reloadable factory ammo (not the cheap Wolf type stuff) to get the once-fired cases out of your own chamber is a great idea. Don't necessarily have to buy the real expensive stuff - white box Winchester or standard Remington will do. Regular soft pointed bullets, not the premium ones. This way, the brand new cases are formed in your particular chamber and you can start right off neck sizing only and save wear and tear on the cases.

I've used all brands of brass at one time or another, including the expensive Lapua and Norma. To tell the truth, one is about as good as the other. Lately, my preference has been Federal Match cases. Would imagine they are the same as what they use for their lower cost ammo, but I like to think they are the top of the line. :D

To determine the best bullet for your particular firearm is something you will have to determine by finding which brand and type the rifle likes best. According to my twist rate sheet, your M700 should have a 1:14 twist. The slowest of the slow. You should verify this by running a cleaning rod into the bore with a tight fitting patch and count the inches of rod it takes to make one revolution upon withdrawing. That will tell you the rate twist.

A slow twist normally stabilizes lighter bullets the best - in your case, 45 to 55 grains. Selecting a bullet(s) that works best is trial and error. Same with powders. Look in the reloading manuals and see what combinations they recommend. There's nothing wrong with standard flat base soft points or hollow points for both paper and varmints. Your rifle will tell you which it prefers.

Good luck.

you're on the right track, pick a good bullet (there are many) and develop one load. i use the hornady 55 gr spire point(bulk packed) in my 250. it shoots great so thats what i use. you don't need a fancy bullet just to shoot paper and whack a few coyotes. in fact if you are gonna save the hide i'd stay completely away from the tipped bullets. besides for learning to reload you just as well keep your costs down, use the more expensive stuff later after you've got the technique down. there are a lot of good powders for the 22/250, what i would do if i were you is see what is most commonly available in your area and go that route. it's wide open, i've got a buddy in iowa that loves 3031 another that uses H380, i use 748 winchester, i get some curious looks when i tell people that because 760 is supposedly the better WW powder for the 250 but 748 just flat shoots and the velocities are close enough that it doesn't matter. i guess my point is to just find what you can always get locally that works good in your rifle.
as far as brass is concerned, it's all pretty good. i've kinda gotten away from the winchester stuff lately. the last couple of bags that i bought had a few pieces that never should have made it to the bag and as far as i'm concerned with the way that the prices keep going up i want every piece i pay for. if it's good brass it doesn't matter who made it. lately i've been using a lot of remington brass and have no complaints. most likely the winchester brass that soured me was a fluke as i've used a boatload of winchester brass and have had great luck with it.
for primers i'd just use a standard large rifle primer, again go with what is most commonly available. primers are given entirely too much credit in the accuracy(or lack thereof) of a load. from my experience if a load won't shoot it's the bullet/bore relationship. if you get verticle stringing in your groups it needs more powder, if it's horizontal then you need to double check your technique for holding and bagging the rifle, if you still get a lot of horizontal most likely the gun doesn't like the bullet but if you have some different primers on hand you can try them if you have some time to kill. who knows it might actually make a difference.
bullet seating depth is all over the map, i'd start with the cartridge loaded to the length that the manufacturer of the bullet lists.
any more questions, just holler we'll help ya out.

Wow, great information – thanks for all the help.

Is it just as good to buy hand loading supplies locally (Bi-Mart, Wal-Mart, etc.) or is the saving great enough to warrant buying via the internet?

bullets and cases may result in a savings if bought thru places like Midway and Cabela's, but powder and primers are usually best bought locally to avoid the hazmat charges for shipping.

Over the years I shot a 22-250 I liked the 50 to 55 grain bullets best for a 1 in 14 twist barrel. Like kdub I've shot about every kind of brass on the market and found Remington and Winchester bulk works well.

I do suggest annealing your brass every 4th or 5th firing. This is dirt simple and increases brass life a bunch. Just stand your cases in a shallow pan of water about a half inch deep and heat just the necks red. Tip them over with a screw driver (there hot). Let dry and load.

Another thing that will greatly increase brass life is to neck size. I like Lee's deluxe die set that comes with both a full length sizer die and a collet neck sizer die. The neck sizer die works the case very little an that makes the last longer. Some of my 243 cases have 20 firings on them.

I do suggest annealing your brass every 4th or 5th firing.

I was a little confused about this suggestion so I did a search on it and saw what you were talking about. I think even I could do that - I will give it a try.

Some of my 243 cases have 20 firings on them.
Wow, I didn't know any brass would last for so many firings. Can 22-250 last close to that many firings with proper care?

I shot a 22-250 for better than 30 years and have had some long case life with the methods outlined above. Your mileage will vary depending on individual cases and how hot you load them. Loading really hot shortens case life, stretches primer pockets and certainly shortens barrel life.

Often you can load 10 percent under top loading manual loads and you'll only loose 2 percent of that top velocity. The difference between 3650 fps and 3750 fps won't be noticed by any coyote or ground squirrel or rock chuck I've killed, but it will make a big difference in case life.

The 22-250 is a great varmint gun and I don't know any reloader that isn't tempted to see just how much velocity they can get out if it, but I recommend taking a deep breath when you get to thinking those thoughts and consider what happens when we do the same thing with a vehicle. Hot rodding a rig usually shortens the life of the vehicle and it works the same way with a rifle.

Having a chronograph will really help with load development and there are several out there for around a hundred bucks.

My accuracy load is a Speer 52gr hollow point power by W-748. I was shooting some Hornady 50gr V-max powered by Benchmark it seemed to like okay too. I have a Savage 11F with a 1/12" barrel, so your results may be a little different. I've found I get the best accuracy if I stay 1-2 grains below max.

I've tried quite a few combos in my Ruger #1 in .22-250.

My rifle's favorite combo is Nosler 50 grain BT's with 36.7 grains of RL 15. I use standard primers (CCI, RP, or Win) in my .22-250.

Enjoy,

Matt

critrgitr, if you don't have a chronograph, I'd suggest one. Beta chrony is a good one for reasonable price.

Firing a variety of factory ammo over it will tell you what you can expect when reloading, in terms of both accuracy and velocity. You may find a factory load that your gun likes. It is a little more expensive to buy 3,4,5 different factory loads, but it could save you some time later.

Oh and keep a log of all the shooting and loading you do. Dates, temp, load recipe's velocities etc. That way you won't have to 'member everything.

Don't get hung up on velocity. And don't shoot a barrel that's too hot to hold onto. I shoot 40 grainers for prairie doggin', at only 3500 fps. They blow up just fine! The dogs don't know or care, and the trajectories don't even care. But the rounds, rifle, and shooter do. Oh, and you use less powder. Just because you CAN drive a Porsche at 180 doesn't mean you should. Or have to.

My first custom rifle was a mauser 98 set up as a varmint rifle in 22-250. I love the caliber. Totally concur with the comments about loading a grain under max. Most rifles shoot better when you do that and last longer. An accurate rifle is fun. I have a different view on cases. While I broke in my barrel with a couple of boxes of factory stuff, I bought new unprimed cases and started loading with them. My money when further that way. I initially started with one bullet brand (Sierra) and weight (55 grains) until I got in the ballpark then I started to experiment. I tried a lot of different combinations but ended up going with the V-Max bullets. I have had good luck with 50 and 55 grain but less than acceptable results with 40 grain pills. The 40 grain bullets are not as accurate in my rifle.

My rifle has served be well and will continue to do so. I learned that it is often not components but how you assemble them that counts. Good luck and enjoy yourself.

BTW....I shoot what we call "urban varmints" around here. We the small plastic soda bottles (12 oz) with water and put them out at 200 yards. The idea is to hit the UPC code. Hitting one of these bottles of water at that range with a 22-250 is impressive. Water will sometimes shoot up in a fan 25 or 30 yards....great fun.

Good point on the 40's, MTM...barrel twist is important. There are lots of threads on that topic, but generally, a rifle built to shoot heavier bullets won't shoot the smaller ones well, and vice versa. Mine's a Rem 700. If you're after coyotes nearly exclusively, you'll be better served with the 55's anyway. And I only shoot Vmax's too. Fantastic pills.

My comments on the chronograph weren't in reference to building a hot rod, but in managing expectations.

I am strictly a paper puncher, I like to start with new brass full sized with 52gr sierra HPBT match king, drivrn by 35 gr RL15. After the first shooting I will neck size only. With my 40x this round is a 1 holer at 100 yard

I have another question but rather than starting a new thread, I'll ask it here. Can anyone tell me if the Nosler guide #5 has information for 22-250 using H380 with many of their bullets? I would also like to know if the #5 guide has .300WSM info in it?
TIA

You can find some info here:

http://www.nosler.com/index.php?p=15&b=22cal&s=163

http://www.nosler.com/index.php?p=15&b=22cal&s=162

http://www.nosler.com/index.php?p=15&b=22cal&s=161