223 Rem 1 in 9" - 1 in 12" ?

[PigBoy Crabshaw]

I may be looking for a 223 handi in the future. One question.
Whats the main reason for people wanting a 1-9 or 1-12 twist rate? Is it as I remember that the faster or slower twist rate will stablize the heavier weight slugs. I remember reading this about the early m16's and the newer AR's.

-g

[PowPow]

yes; 1:9 shoots the bigger bullets.

[skarke]

55 or lighter, 1 in 12, 62 and heavier, except for the pencil bullets, 1 in 9.

[sk330lc]

1-9"    you can shoot 36gr  Barnes V-grenades.   all the way up to 75gr Hornady BTHP ..       
The 1-12"  will not stabalize the Longer bullets say above 55gr.  ( I know there are rifles that will shoot 62gr in a 1-12" ok )    But few and Far  between will.
The 1-9" is the way to go.   I have two that Love the 45gr HP Winchester white box stuff   

[Dand]

I have a Ruger 1 that is supposed to have a 1:10 twist. It likes the 52-60 gr bullets best. But with the range of bullets and ammo out there I'd go with the 1:9 to have more options. I think you have to go even tighter if you want to shoot the mid 70's to 80+ gr bullets.

[drdougrx]

You really need to decide what the primary purpose of the gun will be.  I have an AR Match Rifle 1:9 and generally shoot bullets greater than 60gr....68 or 69gr really.  It's a target paper punching gun.  I have another AR..A Car15HB and it's also a 1:9 and I shoot 50-60gr bullets in it...it's a game gun for 3 gun matches.  I have a Rem700 lite varminter...1:12...didn't realize it and assassinated a sky screen on my chrono because the 68gr bullet tumbled...so...I shoot only 40gr nosler BTs and they shoot nickel sized groups at 100....this is my designated varmint gun.

I'd recommend a 1:9 unless you are clear about its purpose.

[skarke]

Call Shilen or Douglas or Lilja or Hart and ask them.  Tell them what bullet you want to shoot at what velocity, and they'll tell you what combo works.

[BCB]

I have always lived by the philosophy that it is better to have too steep (fast twist...1-9 or less) as opposed to a flat twist (slow twist...1-12 or greater)...

The only problem with the fast twist is the fact that it might be hard on lighter bullets at fast velocites.  The bullet may "slide" and not grasp the rifling as well as a slower pushed bullet...

Good-luck...BCB

[PowPow]

The only problem with the fast twist is the fact that it might be hard on lighter bullets at fast velocites.  The bullet may "slide" and not grasp the rifling as well as a slower pushed bullet...

I wondered the same thing, so I tried a slower powder. It help the accuracy of the lighter bullets in my 1:9 223 handi. 

[skarke]

Velocity matters.

[LaOtto222]

As has been eluded to here, twist rate is a personal thing and should be dictated by the bullet you want to use. In 223 I prefer lighter bullets and have 2 custom - 223 barrels that are 1 - 14" twist on Stevens actions. I also have a Handi barrel in 1 -12" twist. The 1 - 14" do great on bullets 50 grains and lighter. The old school said to not over stabilize a bullet, in other words do not use a faster twist than needed. This was because (I believe) bullet quality was not as good in the old days as now. If you have an imperfect bullet and it spins faster than needed to stabilize, it would take erratic bullet paths causing accuracy problems. Now days, the bullets from the major manufacturers are much better in the quality department, so over stabilization is not the problem it once was. I have just built a 22 BR with a 1-8" twist rate. My goal is to shoot VLD bullets 75 - 80 grains. Bottom line, if you are not sure what bullet weight you are going to shoot, get the faster twist rate, chances are it will shoot light bullets acceptably well and shoot the heavier ones well. If you are going to shoot heavy bullets get a fast enough twist rate to handle them and if you know you are only going to shoot lighter bullets, get a slower twist barrel. Good Luck and Good Shooting

[Lloyd Smale]

to me it would depend. If i was building a varmit rifle it would be a 1-12 or possible even a 1-14 because i dont think the 223 has the ablility to push bullets heavier then 55 grain at high enough velocitys for varmit hunting. If i was going with a preditor (large varmmit) or an ar id give serious conideration to a 1-8 twist. Ive got 1-9 ars and 1-7 ars and have come to the conclusion that about the best compromise would be a 1-8.

[stimpylu32]

I may be looking for a 223 handi in the future. One question.
Whats the main reason for people wanting a 1-9 or 1-12 twist rate? Is it as I remember that the faster or slower twist rate will stablize the heavier weight slugs. I remember reading this about the early m16's and the newer AR's.

-g

The key word here is Handi , from most all reports their 1 in 9's don't do any better than the 1 in 12's with heavier bullets , thats part of the reason why H&R & Marlin couldn't make up their minds as to which to use .   

stimpy

[necchi]

I'm completely content with the 1-12 bull on my handi. 55grn shoot's great and then it just a matter of bullet type,
 FMJ/Soft point/frangables/Barnes TSX,,there are sooo many bullets to try
If I want to shoot a bigger bullet, I just use a different cal Swap out barrels and away ya go!

[stimpylu32]

necchi

I agree , if I need a heavier bullet than 55g in the 223 , I grab the 243 , and if I need more than 100g its the 45/70 ! 

stimpy