twist rate question

[marcoman]

What do you think is going to happen out that far.
Will it be as stable as heavier bullet? .
Will it be as accurate as a heavier bullet?.

The OP asked and I gave an opinion as to what would preform best . Do you disagree ?

How did varminters ever manage to hit anything with those 40-50gr bullets out to 600+ yards for all those years before heavy for caliber bullets and fast twist barrels became the norm.

I used to have a 10 twist .243 that was more than capable at 700m with Nosler 55gr BT's (at 4100+fps!)

 

[Suputin]

What do you think is going to happen out that far.
Will it be as stable as heavier bullet? .
Will it be as accurate as a heavier bullet?.

The OP asked and I gave an opinion as to what would preform best . Do you disagree ?

I know what is going to happen.

Longer (heavier) bullets are harder to stabilize. Flight stability increases with distance making stability a moot issue.

Accuracy at 500+ yds is much more related to atmospheric conditions and the shooters experience and ability to read and and compensate for those conditions.

Spin rate as it relates to accuracy is only really important at the very top end of the accuracy equation. That is the last tenth or two tenths in group size.

I shoot lightweight bullets to 500-700 yds in several of my rifles and they perform quite well.

 

[Alpheus]

A couple of points:
1) over-stabilized bullets, eg lighter bullets shot in fast twists, experience less drag when passing through the transonic zone.
2) fast twist barrels will produce poorer precision with unbalanced bullets than if they were shot in a slow twist.
3) marginally stabilized bullets (SG between 1.0 and 1.5) have a depressed BC. About 3% for each 0.1 below 1.5
4) twist rate has no significant influence on muzzle velocity. IIRC it is about 3-2 fps per inch of twist.

I always go for the fast twist barrels. Gives you the most options with respect to bullet choice and you don't need to worry about stability at all.