Good day to all members.
Please be so kind as to give me your opinion regarding the correct bullet weight/type to shoot accurate in a 7.62/.308 Israeli Mauser with a 1:14 rifling twist?
All opinions/suggestions will be welcomed. I am struggling to get this rifle to group and shoot accurate.

If your headspace checks out, you will be fine with any .308 Winchester or 7.62x51 Nato load. Your 98K can handle the pressures of either of them. Check the reloading pages for .308 loads. I have shot 150gr and 168gr Sierra boattail bullets. Both shot well. My loads were with H4895 in Remington brass and CCI primers. Good shooting.

quote:

Originally posted by Gert Odendaal:
Good day to all members.
Please be so kind as to give me your opinion regarding the correct bullet weight/type to shoot accurate in a 7.62/.308 Israeli Mauser with a 1:14 rifling twist?
All opinions/suggestions will be welcomed. I am struggling to get this rifle to group and shoot accurate.

You haven't mentioned what bullets you have unsuccessfully tried. With a 1 in 14 twist that is going to be a slow twist and may not stabilize heavier bullets. Are you handloading or shooting factory ammo ? I would suggest you try some 125- 130 gr. If they group try moving up to 150 gr. With that 1-14 twist you may not get any good groups with 165 & 180 gr and heavier bullets.

If you look under the long range shooting header, you will see that I had the same post a few months ago. I had good luck with up to and including 175 grain Sierra match kings. There was some good info given from other posters.

The length of the bullet is more important than the weight as far as stability is concerned, the shorter, the better. For this reason, avoid boat tail bullets and bullets with long ogives. A flat base round nose of a given weight is your best choice.

Members, all input and advice is much appreciated. Why will a short bullet stabilise better /more accurate than a long bullet with a 1:14 twist? Why will a round nose flat base, round nose group more accurate than a boat tail /long ogive work better?

a longer bullet needs more rotational stability.
so you either speed it up or you tighten the twist.
this is why 30 cal rifles come with 1-10 twist rates the maker just doesn't know what the buyer will use.
I find it ironic that a 30-30 will stabilize a 170gr flat nose at 2200 fps in a 12-1 twist barrel but a 308 generally comes with a 1-10.

if you really have a 1-14 twist barrel I myself would just get a 160-170gr cast bullet mold and work a load of about 36-37grs of 4895.

if you don't want to cast then buy some Sierra 130's, or the Speer 125 gr TNT's and shoot those.

Thank you Lamar, I think I will go the light , fast bullets...I have 130 gn Impala bullets, maybe if I give them some speed ..it will start to group well...

I'm not familiar with the Impala bullet, but if it is a monometal (no lead core) then it will be somewhat longer, weight for weight, than a lead core bullet. This means that a monometal has to be even lighter than a lead core bullet to be stabilized.

Savages in caliber .300 Savage (just a bit slower than the .308) originally used a 1-14" twist. This successfully stabilized conventional lead core spitzers of 150 grains and round nose bullets of up to 180 grains.

I'm sure you would find any conventional lead core bullet of 150 grains, and probably up to 165 grains, will shoot just fine in your 1-14 barrel. But use conventional lead core and lead-tipped (not poly-tipped) bullets.

It was no doubt made to shoot NATO 147gr M80 ball ammo. If you look around on the internet you will have no problem finding M80 surplus ammo, including Israeli IMI FMJ.

For reloading I would suggest 145-150 grain lead core bullets. There are also some nice 130-140 grain lead free/mono-metal bullets that should do well in the rifle.

you don't need a ton of rotational stability just enough to do the job.

Savage makes their F-class rifles with a 1-13 and they are pretty much set up for 150-155 bullets over distance.

like I mentioned the 1-14 twist is actually a benefit for shooting cast at higher velocity's.

Members, thank you kindly. Yes , it seems I am on the right track when looking at 130-150 gn bullets for this rifle? Here is a link to the Impala bullets I will try as well...
Impala bullets

Here is an option I have to look at?????
https://www.sierrabullets.com/...0/308-dia-150-gr-SPT

Question: Will it be possible to purchase Remington Core -locked bullets from the Remington company?

I decided to use the Sierra .30 CALIBER/7.62MM (.308) 150 GR. SPT bullet. It is a beginning to some re-loading exercise but I am sure I am not too far off the road..

Any update?

The Israelis are squared away when it comes to small arms, so I'd be amazed if it didn't shoot very well with mil-spec 147-grain FMJ ammo or a handload that's anywhere close to that.

A lot of .30-caliber cartridges use a 1:10 twist because it was standard for the 30-06, which was originally the 30-03 and used 220-grain bullets. No need for that much twist these days unless you want to shoot super-heavy bullets.


Okie John

Update: I am in for a lumbar infiltration procedure tomorrow..will be out of the gun shop for two weeks at least . I will get to shooting /reloading the rifle then and give feedback..