.308 12 Twist Barrel

Libra

Libra

Member
EE Expired
Rating - 100%
1   0   0
I have a Savage Model 12 .308 with a 1 in 12" twist barrel. I am hoping to get into a little target shooting this summer and am wondering if the twist rate is to fast for 110 to 130 gr. bullets. I have read articles which state that the torque generated by faster twists on lighter bullets adversly affects accuracy. Any opinions or information?:confused:
 
Thanks. How about if I rechamber it for the 30BR that I read so much about? Will it still be accurate?
 
If you're planning on target shooting and keeping it as a 308 you may want to look at something heavier, in the 155 to 185 range. Personally I shoot 200gr Hybrids with 1:10 twist, but my barrel also shoots 155s quite well. An extremely knowledgeable shooter once told me that "it's hard to overstabilize a good bullet", and I tend to believe him.
 
Last edited:
Depending on what you have in mind for target shooting if it is short range like 100 - 200 yds use a flat base bullet 150 ish gr and use a 155-185 gr BT for past that.
 
You kinda need to figure out what kind of target shooting and what distances you'll be shooting at before you can pin down the best for what you want to do. Until then just about anything will work in a 1/12! Shoot all kinds of different loads/bullets and see what your rifle likes!
 
If you want to chamber a barrel for a 30 BR my guess is you want to shoot bug holes and shoot 100-200 yard bench rest and if that is the case, someone has to come in last, it might just as well be you.

Ideal accuracy comes from running the slowest possible twist rate for the bullet length and velocity you are driving them at. If you spin the bullet any faster than just enough the bullet speed wobble is increased and accuracy will always suffer. A 1 in 12 is fast for a 30 cal and well suited for bullets heavier that 185 grains.

It might shoot better than lots of guns, but not as good as a half decent bench rest rifle with an appropriate twist. Off the top of my head, my guess is they gotta be using 1 in 15 twist or so for 30BR.
 
BadAsMo said:
If you want to chamber a barrel for a 30 BR my guess is you want to shoot bug holes and shoot 100-200 yard bench rest and if that is the case, someone has to come in last, it might just as well be you.

Ideal accuracy comes from running the slowest possible twist rate for the bullet length and velocity you are driving them at. If you spin the bullet any faster than just enough the bullet speed wobble is increased and accuracy will always suffer. A 1 in 12 is fast for a 30 cal and well suited for bullets heavier that 185 grains.

It might shoot better than lots of guns, but not as good as a half decent bench rest rifle with an appropriate twist. Off the top of my head, my guess is they gotta be using 1 in 15 twist or so for 30BR.
Click to expand...

All true. I was shooting 168gr HPBT bullets in my 14" twist Sportco 308Win barrel with great accuracy some 20 years or so ago. 12" twist will give you all that 308Win is capable of and more. IMHO for bigger capacity .30 cal cases and 200gr + VLDs 10" twist is called for.
 
Your 12-twist barrel is "too fast" for 110-130 grain bullets, however it will work just fine.

The important thing to do, is to get out and do some shooting (of whatever kind first appeals to you). As you shoot more, you'll start to form better ideas of what you might want to change and what you might want to keep.

You could rechamber to .30BR, however you should not expect any better or any worse accuracy than with the gun in its existing .308 Win form. Your rifle's current accuracy is largely determined by how good the barrel is (factory barrels are highly variable; some are great, some are middling, some are lousy-for-target-shooting-but-still-in-spec) and how good the rifle's bedding is (depends on what kind of stock you have and how stress-free the fitting is between the barrel+receiver and the stock).

If and when you decide a .30BR would suit you, you'd probably be better off getting another barrel and having it chambered in .30BR; you'll get to optimize it accordingly (you'd probably choose a 1-16" or 1-17" twist, probably a relatively heavy and relatively short profile, etc).
 
Thanks all for the info. I think I'll try it for a while with the lighter bullets in .308 and see how that goes.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom