Twist rate for 223 rem

I have only had one rifle in 1-12 twist, hard to find a slower twist than that other than custom screw-ons. That rifle was a browning micro-medallion, and it loved 52gr amax the best. I tried a half box of the 36gr grenades, and it had average accuracy. 0.9" to 1.1" normally. BUT, with the 52's, it shot .35"- 0.5" max . There is no rule that says any particular barrel or twist rate will favor one bullet over another.
With the uniqueness of each and every barrel, no 2 are alike. (exact metal composition, wear and tear, machining and tooling marks that cannot be duplicated from one barrel to the next, barrel crown evenness, chamber jump to rifling, bullet weight and concentricity, powder charge, blah blah) So , just because you buy a super slow twist barrel, It may still end up liking 55 gr FMJ cheapies the best.
So don't go buying 10,000+ 36gr bullets until you know the barrel will like em. Sometimes, even when you "get all the right options" in a barrel to up your chances of liking smaller bullets, it may still tell you what kind of dinner it likes.
 
I just don't understand why anyone would intentionally limit themselves to about maximum 55gr bullets? My 1-12 Browning would barely stabilize 62 grainers, going slower to a 1:14 would really keep your shooting distances rather short due to the abysmal ballistic coefficients of the tiny .22 pills you would be forced to shoot. To each their own, I just wouldn't intentionally get one. (I got the Browning before I knew what kind of twist it had, I assumed 1:9" but I was wrong. )
 
I'd want a 1-12 as 1-14 is usually reserved for .222 etc. By tightening up the twist on a .223 for shooting heavier bullets doesn't make it a better killer by a long shot..........Harold
 
For 223, I have personally limited myself to a 1:12 twist. My rifle will clover leaf 50 gr v-max moly's and the 40 gr noslers not far behind. I have shot 35 grainers, but am not impressed with bullet shape nor performance.

My advice would be to stick with a 1:12. If I want to use a heavier bullet, as some suggest, then I go to a caliber which provides a flatter trajectory. For instance, I shoot 70 gr bullets - and my caliber of choice for that is the 243.
 
The only downside with a very fast twist is that some thin skinned bullets might come apart prior to reaching the target. My 1:7 Gaillard .222 would shoot 52 gr MKs pretty much into the same hole at 100 when I was on my game, but .22 Hornet bullets like the Hornady SX and Sierra Blitz, frequently wouldn't get there. The funny thing about fast twist barrels is that they'll do anything a slow twist barrel will, and a lot that it won't. With .224 bullets running up to 90 grs in weight and with VLD or ULD profiles, to say nothing of 70 gr mono-metal game bullets, the slow twist barrels have seen their day. If long range spin drift is a concern, there are calculations for that, and unlike wind, spin drift, like the force of gravity, is a constant.
 
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