Is 40 grain to light for a 1 in 9 twist for a .223, or will it "over stabalize" it? How much better (if at all) would 1 in 12 twist be? Thanks for opinions. kcihak

Also, what would you say would be the maximum grain for 1 in 9 and 1 in 12 twist? Thanks. kcihak

40's will work, but i believe you will find 60's will work better

I don't see a real problem unless you plan on using maximum loads. The higher your velocity, the more rotational torque you'll be putting on that bullet -too much and the bullet will come apart somewhere around the 75 yard mark. Heck, both my 22-250 and 220 Swift will drive 45 grain pills fast enough to blow them up, and they have the standard 1:14 twist. With their thin jackets varmint bullets can be driven fast enough to come apart without being over stabilized, and that's why Hornady recommends <3600f/s on their 55 grain SX bullet.
Remember, faster twist = heavier bullet, but you can slow things down and probably get away with it...

The 12BVSS(1to9twist)will put 34gr. Hps.( Varmint Nite Mares) and 40 gr. Bergers well within 1" at 100yds. all day long. At 300 yds. they are still spot on. roger

Bartsche, how fast are you runnng the midsouth bullets.Good Luck

Right at 4k. with a .223 roger

While there is theoretically some potential deterioration of accuracy when the rifling twist is faster than necessary for a given bullet, such accuracy deterioration is very small and frequently undetectable. A "good" 1-9" barrel may shoot a 40 grain .224" bullet much better than a mediocre 1-14" barrel. I wouldn't worry about the twist -- just load them up and shoot to find out how they do.

By the way, I have a friend that I load for who mail ordered some 60 grain Nosler Ballistic Tips without my knowledge for his 1-12" .223. Although they specify on the box "for 1-7 to 1-10" twists only", I loaded some as a trial in my 1-13" gun. They grouped in less than an inch with no signs of keyholing. I think you can say that twist rates are somewhat theoretical and that you don't really know until you try the given bullet in the given gun.

I have a 1:8 .223 Remington barrel in Contender format. It's my 2nd of the same type (like a fool I parted with the first one ), and both shoot a wide range of bullets -- from the 40 grain Ballistic Tip to the 75 grain A-Max -- with gilt-edged accuracy.

The only word of caution would be to avoid thinly-jacketed projectiles such as the Sierra Blitz Varminter and the Hornady SX.

I've run about a jillion 40 Bal Tips thru 1-7" and 1-8" barrels and haven't lost one yet. I thought I had when I first used them as short range prone practice bullets because the hole in the x-ring of my target didn't change after several shots!

BTW, I moly all bullets for target or varmint rigs - less friction heating and jacket scarring on thin jacketed bullets in quick barrels.

Mark

quote:

Originally posted by Bobby Tomek:
I have a 1:8 .223 Remington barrel in Contender format. It's my 2nd of the same type (like a fool I parted with the first one ), and both shoot a wide range of bullets -- from the 40 grain Ballistic Tip to the 75 grain A-Max -- with gilt-edged accuracy.

The only word of caution would be to avoid thinly-jacketed projectiles such as the Sierra Blitz Varminter and the Hornady SX.

Yeah, load those for your buddies, when they want to shoot your 223 at the rane.. I keep a bag of 25 loaded SPSXs with my 223 ammo for just such occasions...

They usually can't figure why they can't hit the target...( well I only do this to the poumpous or wiseass ones...)

You can kind of see a "vapor" trail for a while.

Thanks everyone for all the responses! kcihak

quote:

The only word of caution would be to avoid thinly-jacketed projectiles such as the Sierra Blitz Varminter and the Hornady SX.

Do you consider these bullets more fragile than, say the V-max? Why is this so?