SmallCaliberCentral

I shoot them both and accuracy is essentially a toss-up (at least in my guns). The 22-250 is flatter shooting (about 300 fps faster with a slightly heavier bullet) but costs more to load and heats up a barrel faster. Either is a fine choice for varmint hunting in my book.

I've been using my 17 HMR for ground squirrels lately and past 100 yards it makes hitting much easier than with a 22 LR. It is also quite a bit less wind sensitive than the 22. My own personal opinion (which is worth what you are paying for it) is that the 17 HMR is not powerful enough to be a relia...

For target shooting and military applications, the 308 is likely the choice. For hunting in thick cover, it may be a better choice. For general hunting in mixed cover or open terrain, the 270 is the better choice. I've hunted mule deer, elk, pronghorn antelope and bighorn sheep with the 270 and I'm ...

My 22-250 works best with W760. In a 24" bbl I'm getting 3700 fps with a 55 grain Rem HPPL and 42.0 W760. That's a max charge so work up to it. My rifle also does well with H380, but gets better accuracy and higher velocity with W760.

AThe finish of the scope should match the finish of the rifle.

Depends on the rifle. Many rifles (Win M-70, Mauser M-98, Ruger M-77, to name a few) have the bolt release separate from the trigger mechanism.

I've had success with Winchester Brass in the 204. I have some that have been loaded 10 times now and the primer pockets are still good. Decided to run them them through the Redding body die last time around (just been neck sizing) and glad I did. No signs of failure so far...

I was given a 3-9 for Christmas last year. On first glance I thought it was a "cheapie" but experience prooved otherwise. The optics seem quite clear and the adjustments have been right on. I think it is a good value in a lower cost scope.

Lyman and RCBS both have good books on bullet casting. Think about spending the extra to get a Magma Star lubri-sizer. It is so much faster and easier than any other it is worth the price. My experience is that wheel weights are fine up to about 1000 fps and can be pushed faster if hardened by dropp...

As long as you remember to start low and work your way up, data for just about any jacketed bullet of the same weight will be usable. Different bullets (and different barrels) will prefer different powders and charges and experimentation should show what your rifle prefers.

For deer (and antelope) hunting with the 243 I have had better success using the Hornady 100 grain BTSP than I have with the Nosler Partition. I'm using a max charge of H450 which is no longer available, but 4831 (both Hodgden and IMR) work equally well.

Wrangler John - thanks again for sharing your experiences. I'm running some more experiments with a tighter neck bushing and checking against RCBS loads as a base line. Also got my hands on a (non-bushing) neck sizing die and checking that out too. I did clean the bushing die and found the bushing w...

Wrangler John - Thanks for your reply - many good insights there... "Did you try tighter bushings, say .221" or .220"? The Redding die should leave the sized neck the same OD as the RCBS after sizing. Take the RCBS expander stem out and resize a case without expanding, mike the neck, ...

My Savage LRPV likes the Berger 35 HP.

Lately I shot my 204 (Savage M12 LRPV) on paper and over the chronograph for the first time in a while and got an unpleasant surprise. My load (Berger 35 HP, 27.0 H335, CCI450, Winchester brass) which shot 3/8" 5 shot groups when I worked it up was now shooting 1 1/4" groups with velocity ...