223 70+ grn barrel twist question

[sako.308]

i am building a bolt gun in 223 to shoot FACTORY ammo 70grns and up only. my issue is am getting conflicting info about the desired twist.

I was told by so great shooters 1:7 then some other great shooters also said 1:8 so what one is best given my setup?

TIA

 

[Xander3Zero]

I think there was a recent thread regarding this... probably only a page or two back in this section of the forums. To answer your questions, both "great shooters" are correct; a 1:7 or a 1:8 would work. 1:8 will be good up to about 77gr depending on the bullet. A 1:7 would definitely be overkill for 70gr bullets but I am not sure if you would see any negative effects shooting 70gr through the 1:7.

What barrels are you looking at? If you are getting a bartlein, you can get their 5R barrels in a 1:7.7 twist which should shoot up to 80gr bullets well. There is a good selection of .224 cal bullets available in the 70-80gr range.

Here you go, check this thread for more information: https://www.snipershide.com/shootin...63004-223-5-56-trainer-build-barrel-selection

 

[sako.308]

What barrels are you looking at? If you are getting a bartlein, you can get their 5R barrels in a 1:7.7 twist which should shoot up to 80gr bullets well. There is a good selection of .224 cal bullets available in the 70-80gr range.
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not 100% sure but that exact one has my eye also looking at Braux m24 1:8

 

[308pirate]

When I competed in Highpower I burned through 3 or 4 barrels in those 12 or so years. Half were 1/8 half were 1/7. WOA, Wilson, Rock River (probably Wilson or Green Mountain). All of them stabilized 80 grain Sierras and Noslers all the way to 600 yards, and I'm sure would have been fine to 800 - 900 (though I never tried them)

These were 20" AR-15 barrels.

You'll be fine with either one, though a 1/7 will guard against a nominal 1/8 that may actually be 1/8.25 or 1/8.5 (everything has a tolerance).

 

[padom]

I have 3 26" 1:7 223 barrels and 1:8 223 barrel on the shelf that I've tested for a barrel review. Shilen 1:7, Mullerworks 1:8, 2xCriterion 1:7 and a Bartlein 1:7 arriving next week.

I've shot 75 ELD-M AND 80 Amax out of them and they all shoot sub 0.5moa with velocities in the 2850-3050 range.

Doesn't make a difference. Pick what you want and spin it up.

 

[sako.308]

I have 3 26" 1:7 223 barrels and 1:8 223 barrel on the shelf that I've tested for a barrel review. Shilen 1:7, Mullerworks 1:8, 2xCriterion 1:7 and a Bartlein 1:7 arriving next week.

I've shot 75 ELD-M AND 80 Amax out of them and they all shoot sub 0.5moa with velocities in the 2850-3050 range.

Doesn't make a difference. Pick what you want and spin it up.

ok thank you sir. that was kinda what I had figured just wanted to make sure I was not missing something, ive never played in the 223 world only larger calibers

 

[Supersubes]

What everyone else said. It does happen, as 308 pirate noted, where you gr a barrel that is slightly slow of the advertised twist. I just chambered a 6mm blank that was supposed to be 8, but based on my measurements, its about 8.2. The barrel shoots great, as long as you stay under 100 gr bullets(so it just became my varmint barrel). It will shoot 105’s, but not consistently well. In certain conditions thay’re yawing at100m.


My .223 bolt gun is an 8 twist. Works great up to 80gr smk’s (heaviest ive shot), but i regularly shoot 50 gr ballistic tip armint bullets from it at 3350 fps with no issues whatsoever. Several inches of twist faster than it needs to be for the 50’s. Its got 4k rounds down it and it’s never grenaded a bullet and is very accurate! In other words, you could err on the fast side (7, 7.5, 7.7) with no detrimental effects to the heavies in my opinion.

 

[308pirate]

My .223 bolt gun is an 8 twist. Works great up to 80gr smk’s (heaviest ive shot), but i regularly shoot 50 gr ballistic tip armint bullets from it at 3350 fps with no issues whatsoever. Several inches of twist faster than it needs to be for the 50’s. Its got 4k rounds down it and it’s never grenaded a bullet and is very accurate! In other words, you could err on the fast side (7, 7.5, 7.7) with no detrimental effects to the heavies in my opinion.

This too. I regularly used cheap bulk Winchester 45 gr varmint hollow point ammo for 100 yard position practice and even some 100 yd reduced xtc matches and not only did every one of them arrived at the target intact they shot pretty damned well. I just LOL at all the 223 Remington barrel twist drama on the internet.

If there is one question I would ban forever it's this: what's the best twist for X? WTF as long as it's fast enough there is no such thing as a "best" twist.