which barrel twist for 338 lapua

veeramani

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Jan 26, 2013
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I have an AI AWSM 338 with the non CIP length mag ( 3.625"), that I want to get rebarreled as the barrel is quite eroded. Which is the best twist to get for this system ? Stick with 1:11 , or go for 1:10 or 1:9.375 ?

I'm intending to stick with the 250 grain bullets due to lack of seating depth options

thanks
 
I'd say run a ~9.5" twist that way if you get a wild hair to shoot some 300's it will do it very well. It will spin the 250s just fine also. I leave some room for improvement, that way you have it if you want it.

xdeano
 
The faster twists have been slowly evolving in popularity as we've been moving to heavier bullets in recent years. I personally found that sometimes 1:10 doesn't shoot 300s well and sometimes it does just fine - no rhyme or reason. A factory gun from a company with lots of military contracts may be less keen to adopt a faster 1:9.4 twist for example and instead try to hit a middle road "best of both world" twist like 1:10. There's a great barrel maker here in NZ who offers a 1:7 twist .338 barrel, but that's designed specifically for subsonics.

ETA: if we see .338 bullets get longer (most likely from CNC solids), expect faster twist rates like 1:9 to become more common.
 
I vote 1/10. you may plan on only shooting 250's but I've learned that unless I buy a lifetime supply of something sometimes you can't find what you planned on using. (I haven't seen H4350 in a long time for example)
 
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If you can get your rifling cut to any specs, and you intend on using a particular weight for the most part, then what I do is use the twist rate formula. It's pretty simple, just search for that in google or wikipedia. If you intend on using a certain brand and weight, it may be good to also call the bullet maker and ask them what they have best results with too.

That'll theoretically optimize it to the weight (the formula uses geometry, but you'll determine the geometry of the bullet by choosing the weight you intend on shooting and measuring that with calipers). It'll give you a good hard number to work with. Just know from experience, that some bullets of different weights work just as well, while some of the optimized weight may not work well at all. So it isn't a catch all, solve all, but it is a good place to start. In physics, we'd start with that, and then run tests to collect data that may point to a tweak in the twist rate, for example.

The formula works with just about any, if not any, small arm out there. Even if you go by anecdotal evidence as above (which with shooting isn't such a bad thing really, since the science of it has so many variables as outlined by the physics experiments we'd run) it's still good to know what number is theoretically optimum, and you do know that you want to be somewhere around that number, give or take.

Cut rifling may give you the most latitude with selection of custom twist rates due to the process. I like 'em for other reasons too, but that's certainly one of them. Good luck with your barrel!
 
I'm looking at a new bartlein (found one in stock) but the twist is only 1:9.5 and I tend to shoot only 300 gr bullets. Will that get the job done or should I place an order with bartlein direct?

@Dogtown - if you may shed your wisdom once more my friend I'd appreciate it.
 
You're fine.

1:9.4 is also a popular twist rate for 300s, and while you can shoot them in 1:10, it's not ideal. The older .338LMs like the TRG-42s were 1:12 so they could only handle 250s.
 
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I have an AI AWSM 338 with the non CIP length mag ( 3.625"), that I want to get re barreled as the barrel is quite eroded. Which is the best twist to get for this system ? Stick with 1:11 , or go for 1:10 or 1:9.375

I'm intending to stick with the 250 grain bullets due to lack of seating depth options

thanks
Off hand I would consider the 1`:9.375 but you should run the Berger Stability Program and see what it comes up with. Lighter bullets need faster twists.