Thinking about a 223 should I go 7 or 8 twist?

D

daroccot

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I'm thinking about a 223 rifle, it will be used almost exclusively at the range. I'm looking at probably a Tikka T3 varmint or a savage 12. The tikka comes with a 1:8 and the savage with a 1:7. If I want to shoot heavier bullets 80+ grains what would you go for? Which rifle is going to have a longer throat so I can seat these longer bullets out there to retain case capacity? I had considered other .224 bullet cartridges (22-250, 223ai) however I'm pretty much decided on the .223 rem. I also see I can get a savage with a 30 inch factory barrel. Do I really need something that long to burn all the powder I could cram into a .223 case?
 
"at the range"...

The distance I would be shooting at would make my choice easier.

If you are only going to shoot out to 300 yards why use long bullets? Lighter bullets = less recoil = less money.

- 9" for bullets up to 70gr.
- 12: for bullets up to 63gr.
- 14" for bullets up to 55gr.
 
If it were me, I would go with an 8 twist. These will stabilize 75 and 80 gr. no problem. 7 is almost too much twist if you get into having fun with the shorter, lighter bullets that can be a hoot to shoot.
 
Maybe some one with one of those ballistic programs can figure the difference out to 500 yards between a 12 twist using 55 grain bullets and a 9 twist using 69 grain bullets and an 8 twist using 80 grain bullets...
 
Friend shoots a Sako 223 1/8 twist and the 80gr bergers or sierras don't work, he uses 73 gr berges, Go with th 7 twist then you can shoot the high BC 90gr bergers
 
Dennis, there is an almost exact 50% increase in wind drift between the 55gr and the 80 gr at 500 yards. That's 21" compared to 31" with a breezy 10mph 3 o'clock wind. I suggest the 7 twist, it can shoot whatever the 8 twist can and if you want to explode 55gr bullets your good. 3400 fps X 60 seconds in a minute X 12" per foot / 7" per twist = 350 000 RPM.
 
manitou210 said:
Friend shoots a Sako 223 1/8 twist and the 80gr bergers or sierras don't work, he uses 73 gr berges, Go with th 7 twist then you can shoot the high BC 90gr bergers
Click to expand...

Thanks guys, this is the kind of info I'm looking for... Anybody know about throat depths on the Savage 12's? I know I would be better off to go custom but that's not in the cards right now...



Thanks
 
The factory Savage barrel may shoot well or extremely well, luck plays a part here. You will not have trouble seating high BC bullets. Since they are pointy, they have a shorter bearing surface and therefore do not need as long a throat as people assume.
 
I started off with a Savage 12FV... great rifle... good out-of-box accuracy... in fact I had been shooting it (1/9 twist) to 600 yds no problem with 75gr A-Max's...

I upgraded to a Shilen Stainless Select match from Mysticplayer... the accuracy difference was noticeable... but the 12FV or any model 12 is a great place to start.

EB
 
I've been shooting 50gr V-Max out of my 1/7 twist Model 12 and they seem to be quite accurate. I haven't tried the heavier bullets yet.
 
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