223 twist question

[jballs918]

ok guys i have hunted a round abit and i cant really get a good answer for this question. im looking into buying a 223 for me and the wife. i want a good paper puncher, one i can shoot a realy small moa with. well i have looked around and it looks like the savage fp10 maybe my choice. now the big question is how does the 1 in 9 twist effect bullets 55 grains and below. this will be a j bullet gun. that will have 55 bulk and 55 match run in it. now i may even go down to 40 grains not sure but i know that it will not be over 55 grain. can anyone tell me if a higher or lower twist rate will help this or hurt what in trying to do. also if so can anyone recommand a good 223 bolt action. thanks guys

[nighthunter]

jballs ... I recently purchased a Savage Mod 12 VLP in .223. It has the 1 in 9 twist also. The rifle shoots extremely well with all the loads I have used in it. It will shoot Sierra 52 gr match bullets into 3/8 inch at 200 yards. A lot of folks at the range I go to are shooting Berger bullets with very good success but I have not yet tried them. The rifle without a doubt is the best shooting unaltered factory rifle that I have ever owned.
I think the 1 in 9 twist is to give the ability to stabalize bullets up to around 70 grains for 600 yard target shooting. The 1 in 9 twist will be just fine with the 40 to 55 gr bullets.
Nighthunter

[Bass Ackward]

Accuracy depends on many things of coarse. And jacketed can be over stabilized, but that is more myth than fact. They throw more pressure so they will copper faster in the same bore finishes.

I have a 12 twist Howa sporter that is a 1/2" on a bad day. It's or mine. Many loads go down to 1/4" with anything from 60s on down. I just built one with a heavier barrel for HV lead. Break-in again to begin shortly.

That is a 12 twist also. But if I need more bullet weight, I go up in bore diameter so 12 is all I need. You want heavier than 60, I'd go the Savage myself.

[cherok9878]

jballs, you can't go wrong with the Savage mod 12 VLP that Nighthunter has. A young friend has the same rifle, also in 223. He is taking coyotes(sp) at 300 yd with ease. Told me it was the most accurate rifle he had ever owned. His loads are military ball ammo, pull the FMJ and seat a 55 or 60 gr bullet. Both work very well.

[mike in co]

1/8 does well with 50's but i'm not sure a 1/9 will do a 40.
i shoot a 1/14.....will do 45-55 no problem

[nighthunter]

I loaded and shot some 40 gr VMAX yesterday just to see if the rifle would handle them. They shot just fine. Group size was consistant with the 52 and 53 gr Sierra match bullets. I again think the faster twist is to stabalize bullets up to about 70 gr for longer range shooting.
Nighthunter

[Four Fingers of Death]

I wouldn't worry about a fast twist if you are only going to shoot 55Gns and below. I have a SAKO with a 1 in 12 twist and it shoots 55Gns like a house on fire. The tight twist is wasted on most rifles I feel. If you want to shoot heavy bullets I wouldn't be rebarrelling to a fast twist, I'd get a 243! INcidentially a gunshop in australia used to specialise in the 243 MYRA, a 223 case with a 243 bore. Nice little unit apparently. I will find a buggered SAKO 222 or 223 one day and rebarrel it to 243 MYRA, just to see what it is like. It should be good with cast boolits, :-) Mick.

I prefer the SAKOs because they have an excellent fixed mag and feed slicker than frog snot!

[Hip's Ax]

A 9 twist will allow you to shoot up to 69 grain Sierra MatchKings and maybe even the 75 Hornady, anything lighter will shoot just fine. An 8 twist will allow you to shoot 80's and they even have a 6.5 twist now for the 90's. If I were going to shoot cast I might investigate a 12 but for J bullets I think the 9 will make you very happy.

[krag35]

I have a Remington 700 in 223 that I have had for 20+ years. I don't know for sure, but its a 1 - 12 or 1 - 14 twist. I have shot the Speer 70 gr semi spitzers out of it often, and it works just fine once you get the velocity up past 2500 fps.
krag35

[felix]

Faster the twist, the better the bullets have to be for the same accuracy at any range. ... felix

[NickSS]

I own 223 rifles in 12, 9 and 7 twist rates and personally I like the 9 twist the best. All are very accurate rifles but the 9 twist gives me the best results with the widest selection of bullets. That said if you are never going above 55 gr a 12 twist is just fine. My old Sako in that twist will punch half inch groups with 52 gr match bullets all day long. But I have learned never to say never when it comes to rifles. I though that the 9 twist would do all I wanted until I took up long range target shooting. Then I had a rifle rebarreled to the 7 twist so I could fire 89 gr bullets that buck the wind better at 600 yards than the 75 gr ones do.