I am thinking about rebarreling my 308. I want to shoot bullets weighing between 150gr. and 170gr. I won't shoot anything bigger than those bullets..What would be the best barrel twist for those weights? I would really appreciate any advice that I will receive. Thanks.

1-10"

My 1-10" shoots 168's superbly.

If you're not going any heavier, I'd go with a 1-10".

Thanks fella's I will only hunt Louisiana whitetails with this rifle so I won't need anything larger than those bullet weights.

Yes, 1 in 10 but please do include the very good 180 grain weight in your loadings.

Just to be the odd man out here, if you're sticking to bullets at or below 170 grains, you can get superb accuracy from a 1:12 or 1:13 twist barrel. The 1:10 will be better if you want to load 180 or heavier bullets.

Palma guns, shot at 800, 900 and 1000 yards are all .308's shooting 155 grain bullets. The preferred twist is a 1 to 13 twist rate.

My .308 Winchester match rifle has a 1:13 Krieger. It handles the 155's and 168's superbly and surprised me by being very accurate with 175 grain match bullets as well.

On the other hand, if I was building a hunting rifle it would have the faster twist so I could count on stabilizing 180 grain bullets. Regards, Guy

Bang, Why are you going to re-barrel your .308 hunting rifle?

I've found excellent accuracy in .308's with as many as 5000+ rounds through them. That's a lot of shooting, and more than most hunting rifles will ever see.

If the accuracy has fallen off, try a really good cleaning. If that doesn't do it, consider having the crown re-cut, if it's damaged at all accuracy can really suffer. Regards, Guy

BANG,
Welcome to the site. Several companies offer the .308 Win. with a 1-12" bore. Others offer it in a 1-10" bore. I honestly donot know why, but I
think it is only because the 1-10" is the traditional 30 cal twist. I've heard many complaints about the 1-12" not stabizing the 180 grain bullets of spitizer design. I've also heard complaints that the 1-10" doesen't stabi;izt the 125 or 130 grain bullets of the spitzer design. If I had a .308 that stabilized the 150 and 165 grain bullets and was accurate, I'd have a little trouble changing barrels, unless I also wanted to shoot a third bullet. I'd let the third bullet determine which twist to go with. If it were a 180 grain then I'd select the 1-10" twist. If on the other hand it were the 125 grain, then I would go for the 1-12". I've bought a lot of different rifles over the years, and to be real honest, most of them were just something to play with and learn from.
I think many of us are like that. So, is it a matter of need, or curiousity? Which ever, go for it and have a ball. Good luck.

[ 09-30-2002, 09:35: Message edited by: BigBob ]

m700, I have an illness called short barrelitis. I have always preferred a 24 inch or longer tube; I have no idea why I just prefer lomger barrels. The 308 that I have has a 20 inch tube. Accuracy is good, I just don't like the short barrel. Which, in turn answers your question BigBob I guess that I just like to tinker also. I really don't plan on shooting anything less than a 150gr bullet. I may go over 170gr bullets, but I really doubt it. If I want a smaller bullet I can go to my Mauser in 7mm. If I decide to go after something big I can take my 7mm Mag. This rifle would basically be my deer rifle(my wife has laid claim to the 7mm mauser)here in southwest Louisiana. A big deer over here weighs about 200-240lbs. on the hoof(and that is rare)Thanks again guys I like hearing other opinions on these things.

I must have the opposite affliction ... I like my barrels short !! I have found that using a 1-12" twist works great for almost all bullet weights from 150 -175gr. In fact I am having great results at 1K with 155 AMAX with that short tube. To me, that rifle(Rem 700 VLS Shilen SS) is just "handy". Of course it isn't a lightweight not w/ a Leupold Vari-X II LR 4.5-14x50.

Anyway, 1-12" twist, 1-11.25" twist, and one shooter has a 1-1-" he swears by. If its a factory you may just have to be lucky (I was !!!) otherwise, amy top maker has a good barrel for you.

I had a pre-64 M70 Featherweight. These have 1/12" twist, and I shot all bullets up to and including the 220 roundnoses with great success from this gun. Anyone who tells you a 1/12" twist won't shoot 180-grain spitzers is full of it!! It'll also shoot 200-grain spitzers!!

I regularly shoot 190gr Sierra MK into sub .4 moa 5-shot groups with my 1-12 twist .308.

MM

1 in 10",good for all the bullets up to 220 or 250grs.,plus excellent gyroscopic stabilization for brush shots....

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Bang:
[QB]m700, "I have an illness called short barrelitis. I have always preferred a 24 inch or longer tube; I have no idea why I just prefer lomger barrels. The 308 that I have has a 20 inch tube. Accuracy is good, I just don't like the short barrel".

Okay - that makes sense, it's mighty hard to stretch 'em! Enjoy that new barrel, Guy