.223 with 1-9 twist

[beemer]

I have a Savage .223 with a 20 in. 1-9 twist, I've shot some 55 gr J-words but have never worked with any heaver bullets. What is the heaviest bullet that will work reliably ?

Thanks
Dave

[JWFilips]

I have shot up to 62 grain cast boolits with my 1 in 9 Sportsman 78 Remington ( I only shoot cast boolits anymore) But I'm happier with the 55 grain boolits that shoot ragged holes at 100 yds

Not sure if you are asking only about j-words ( here on a CB forum)?

[Mauser48]

Most people don't go any higher than 69 but some people get away with 75 grainers.

[Greg S]

I've got a Rem 700 PSS in 223 with a long throat and 26" tube. Had a great load with Varget and Hornady 75gr Amax, Varget, and a Wolf SRM (556) primer and Lapua brass. Stable to 700+. During the bullet drought of 2012/3, moved to a Sierra 77 and H322 or xbr but got better results with a Sierra 80MK and H322 then ran outta both powders. The 80 was a recommendation from a guy on another forum who was launching them outta a Rem700 20" 5R 1-9 to 1k. Some will and some won't. Work up your load cause they'll need some speed. Watch for lot changes with xbr.

100-450 69s, 450-600+ 75Amax +.

[Scharfschuetze]

My Winchester Model 70 heavy barrel with a 1 in 9 twist will stabilize the 69 grain SMKs well, but it won't stabilize anything heavier. Hornady 75 grain match bullets show some wobble at 100 yards and the issue gets worse with distance. 80 grain bullets are out of the question for my rifle, which is a shame as I have it set up for National Match compitition with clip guide, Redfield Palma sights and an accessory rail.

[sghart3578]

Savage 12, 26" 1 in 9 barrel. Heaviest I've gone is 69 gr SMK's. But I limit my shooting to 325 yards.

[robg]

my tikka t3 has 1 in 9 barrel 69g sierra match kings work very well but it hate 50grainers.go figure.

[Beef15]

My 1:9 liked the factory 75gr Hornady TAP load. I tried some 68gr BTHPs and never got any group I was happy with. Made no sense to me, but I didn't pursue it beyond maybe 20 different loads. 60gr Vmaxs were very accurate.

[Tackleberry41]

Its gonna depend on the bullet, something flat based you can usually go heavier than a boat tail. I can run 68gr match in my mossberg w 1-9, havent tried anything heavier, but imagine its at the edge as is.

[wordsmith]

69 gr is generally the maximum in a 1:9. The most accurate way I've found to answer this question is to find the length of the bullet you're planning to use (frequently available on Midway, for example), and plug it into this calculator along with a rough estimate of velocity...

http://www.jbmballistics.com/cgi-bin/jbmstab-5.1.cgi

You're looking for a 1.5 or higher stability factor for standard supersonic rounds (2.0+ for subsonics). It's very accurate based on my extensive work with both subs and supers in 300 BLK and 308 Win.

[beemer]

Thanks to everyone for taking the time to reply, including the PM I was sent. I know this a cast forum but I know that there is a lot of experience here.

Several things were mentioned here that I haven't thought of.

Thanks again
Dave

[Lonegun1894]

I have tried this same experiment with several rifles, a couple of mine, and probably at least 10-15 different ones owned by friends, mostly shooting 5 round groups at 100 yards and looking for stability in addition to group size. All I can tell you is it just really depends on your rifle and load (powder type and velocity). Most did fine with 65-70 grain bullets, a couple liked 77s the best, and one oddball that we never figured out wouldn't stabilize anything over 60 grs, which I wanted to check the twist on the following weekend thinking it must have been slower than stamped on barrel, but the friend sold it before we could get together and find out for sure. The lest picky rifle I have ever seen, and I can't explain why, is a 14.5" Bushmaster XM-15 5.56mm with 1:9" ROT that will stabilize a 77gr out to at least 800 yards. I can't explain it because the twist isn't fast enough to do it, and the short (ish) barrel (with a AK-74 muzzle-brake factory welded on to bring it to a legal 16" OAL) doesn't develop the velocity of a 20+" barrel either, so it has both twist and velocity working against it but still does the job.