Sighting in 22-250

[Ian426]

Hey everyone,
Just got set up with a new 22-250 Tikka with Vortex Diamondback HP 3-12-42 BDC reticle. I’m curious where you all sight in. Friend of mine has his 2” high at 100yd which brings him in even at 300yd. Most ammo/scope recommendations is zero at 200yds. My boresighting got me on paper and with one adjustment I was sub MOA about .5” high. That was with PPU 55gr soft point, I switched to Hornady 50gr vmax and it seemed to consistently pull to the right and the grouping spread. So my second question is what factory ammo / weight do you generally find the best groups with? I ask for factory as I’m not yet set up for reloading. Thanks!
Ian

[Dick284]

Originally Posted by Ian426

Hey everyone,
Just got set up with a new 22-250 Tikka with Vortex Diamondback HP 3-12-42 BDC reticle. I’m curious where you all sight in. Friend of mine has his 2” high at 100yd which brings him in even at 300yd. Most ammo/scope recommendations is zero at 200yds. My boresighting got me on paper and with one adjustment I was sub MOA about .5” high. That was with PPU 55gr soft point, I switched to Hornady 50gr vmax and it seemed to consistently pull to the right and the grouping spread. So my second question is what factory ammo / weight do you generally find the best groups with? I ask for factory as I’m not yet set up for reloading. Thanks!
Ian

Your rifle will tell you what it likes best. Mine digested the 45gr. White box Winchester’s, but a buddies rifle hated them(same make and model)
Looks to me like the PPU stuff is a better brand for your rifle so far.

Every rifle is unique unto its self. Test drive a few, and decide from there.

As for the silly ring a ding reticle in your scope(waste of R&D if you ask me) I got nothing, give me a crosshair or a 1/8 MOA dot any day, and I’ll figure my own come ups for distance. Or I’ll zero for MPBR.

[Smokinyotes]

On my 22-250 I have a zeiss conquest 4.5-14. For gophers I zero at 100. For coyotes I zero at 200.

[Ian426]

Originally Posted by Dick284

Your rifle will tell you what it likes best. Mine digested the 45gr. White box Winchester’s, but a buddies rifle hated them(same make and model)
Looks to me like the PPU stuff is a better brand for your rifle so far.

Every rifle is unique unto its self. Test drive a few, and decide from there.

As for the silly ring a ding reticle in your scope(waste of R&D if you ask me) I got nothing, give me a crosshair or a 1/8 MOA dot any day, and I’ll figure my own come ups for distance. Or I’ll zero for MPBR.

That's what I was starting to think. I guess I should be thankful that for some reason it shoots a cheaper one better. I'll try a few more as well. As far as the reticle, it's what was available. I forget what the other one was but it was worse than the bdc in my opinion. I don't mind it that much. The scope has different options for where to zero for what cartridge. I'll spend more time with it and get to know it. Thanks for the input 👍

Smokinyotes, that's a good idea too. I'll play with some distance so I know what #MOA to adjust to change zero from 100-200 and then can do it on the fly.

[obsessed1]

I have mine zeroed at 270 with a mpbr of 330 on a 7" diameter vital zone. Works out to be 2.7" high at 100 yds. Near zero is 32 yds
55 gr bt hand loads
I shoot a mil dot scope for coyotes but a bdc would work fine to. IIRC the bdc is 1.5 moa for the first hash mark and 2 moa each substention line vertically. And 2 moa for each windage hash mark

[tikka250]

I used to have mine sighted in an inch high but it never seemed to help me. If you really pay attention to yourself and other shooters you will notice that %90 of misses on coyotes are high coyotes are a small target and through a scope they always seem further than you think. I sight in for 100 yards and if a coyote appears far away in the scope I hold on the hair on it's spine which gives you a mpbr of 275 yards depending on your load.

[fps plus]

If your using the BDC system in the scope , read the instructions as it will recommend where to sight in with that system. If not using it I would sight in 2 inches high at 100

[Ian426]

Originally Posted by fps plus

If your using the BDC system in the scope , read the instructions as it will recommend where to sight in with that system. If not using it I would sight in 2 inches high at 100

Did some research on my scope. Vortex has a great bullet drop calculator with lots of variables you can input. Bullet type and weight, temp, elevation, etc etc And it will apply it to my reticle marks for zero at 100 and give yardage for each drop point

[Fordevr]

I have a .204 Ruger which is similar to a 22-250 and have a 200 yrd zero on it. 0.8 inch high at 100 and 5.1 inch low at 300yrds. 95% of my shots are under 200yrds weather it is coyotes or gophers. Factory rifle and factory ammo and it is reasonably easy.

[elkhunter11]

Originally Posted by Ian426

Hey everyone,
Just got set up with a new 22-250 Tikka with Vortex Diamondback HP 3-12-42 BDC reticle. I’m curious where you all sight in. Friend of mine has his 2” high at 100yd which brings him in even at 300yd. Most ammo/scope recommendations is zero at 200yds. My boresighting got me on paper and with one adjustment I was sub MOA about .5” high. That was with PPU 55gr soft point, I switched to Hornady 50gr vmax and it seemed to consistently pull to the right and the grouping spread. So my second question is what factory ammo / weight do you generally find the best groups with? I ask for factory as I’m not yet set up for reloading. Thanks!
Ian

Your rifle is telling you that it prefers the 55gr PPU over the v-max load, and the only way to know if it likes other ammunition even more, is to try other ammunition. As to the zero, you need to look at the data provided with your scope and see what zero would best match the trajectory of the load you choose.

[Ian426]

So I tried some federal 50gr and the Winchester 45gr both with reasonable accuracy. Not as tight as I’d like just yet, but with only 32rds fired through it, I’m chalking a little bit up to my own ability. The rifle just feels a little different than my others and I’m still getting used to the trigger as well. All my others have a slight take-up or “creep” in the trigger. I definitely prefer the crispness of the Tikka, but I’m just getting used to it. Going to shake out my pants and turn over some couch cushions and go buy some higher end stuff in 55gr to try too.

As far as zero, I’ve found what works. Doing some calculations and running data through Vortex LRBC, most of what I’ve shot so far hits the 1.5MOA notch on the reticle at about 250yrds if I zero at 100. Now that I have some saved, it’s easy enough to compare trajectories of the different loads.

Thanks for the input, always appreciated

[coyoteman]

I have a Sako in 22-250, and a good case and point of guns "likeing" certain ammo. For this one I use the remington Accutip 50 gr boat tail.Performance good. The hornadys well not so good at all---same day--same place.
The CZ Hornadys .
Range time is time well spent, when everything starts to click,and you get a yote hanging up at medium range, you know he is dead before you squeeze the trigger.