after alot of talking, i have decided that a t/c encore, 22 bench rest rem.(lapua or norma), and with a 24" mgm barrel. now come the hard part. which rifle twist do you use? 1 in 14", 1 in 12", 1 in 8". i plan on using 40 to 55 grain bullets, maybe a few 60-65 grain thrown in.

thanks for your help!!!

1:9. roger

12 twist is plenty fast enough.

+1 per Butch

If you are going to shoot 60 grain bullets then plan your twist for the longest 60 grain bullet available. Of those you mentioned I would go with 1:8 just because I am a firm believer that it is extremely hard to "over-stabilize" a bullet.

It is a commonly accepted theory that the greatest accuracy is obtained when using the slowest twist, that will still stabilize your bullet. I have never seen anyone shooting an 8 twist PPC, win a match.

DocEd,
With a TC Encore I doubt this will be a match gun.
I am not a match shooter but I can do a fair job under 1 MOA. The best group I ever shot was with a 1:10 twist 24" 358 Winchester firing 158 JHC Sierra pistol bullets at 2508 fps to a 0.3" five shot group at 100 yards.

I seriously doubt that the twist matched that pistol bullet for "best accuracy" but it worked well. That gun will also accurately shoot bullets up to 250 grains.

PaulS, and what does that have to do with my response to the OP's question? I don't care if it's a match gun or not. The theory stands.

Listen to DocEd.

Do not intend to argue with mathematics but here are some results I've had through the years.
With more than one .223 with 1:9 twist barrels 34 grain cup and core bullets at 3650 fps. shot 3/4 " groups and better. The same rifles performed the same or better with 75 grain bullets at 2850 fps..
A 22-250 of mine with a 1:14 twist did great with light bullets but was a little marginal ( somewhat larger than MOA ) with 70 grain Barnes' 1966 originals.

Personally I prefer the twists that can stabilize the long bullets and still do fine with the shorties. This has more meaning in California in areas where no lead, longer bullets are required. roger

quote:

Originally posted by DocEd:
PaulS, and what does that have to do with my response to the OP's question? I don't care if it's a match gun or not. The theory stands.

DocEd,
I am not arguing with the theory - just stating that the theory computes the MINIMUM twist required to stabilize a bullet of a given length. Nowhere does it say that you can't use more. My experience has shown that it is a lot harder to have "too much" twist than it is to have too little.
You may have evidence of what is used more often in match winning rifles but you only offered a statement with nothing to back it up.
It might be interesting to find the facts and list what twist was used with what length of bullet in the winning guns over the last 20 years in competitions. I don't have that information, do you?

DocEd,
Does have that info, but I will say the short range benchrest rifles(100-300) use 13.5, 14, and 15 twist barrels for 6mm. Bullets are in the 62-68 grain size. The few that shoot the 223 size bullets use a 14 twist and 53 grain bullets. The 30 cal shooters use 17 and 18 twist barrels and use 112 and 118 bullets.
Being a competition gunsmith, DocEd probably has info on some of the other shooting disciplines.

Just a data point FWIW. I have tried a lot of 50-55gr bullets in my 14" twist, 225Win. But it's most favorite bullet is the 63gr Sierra.

In a hunting rifle terminal ballistics is at least as important as bullet placement (accuracy) and terminal ballistics favor higher spin rates for deeper, straighter penetration, at least in my experience. That is where target shooting and game shooting separates.

Do I have a lot of 225 ammo and no longer have a rifles to shoot them.
I guess that we do not know for sure what the OP is going to use it for, but he should be able to shoot the 69Grain bullets with the 12 twist in 22BR. Remember he said he will use a 24" barrel also.

groudhogs, foxes, 'yotes, and informal ranges. i don't want a 22-250, and i have a 223 rem, i just want to know which rifle twist is better. 50-55 grains are better, but 40 - 65 grainers(different bullets) will be used. 24 or 26" mgm barrel may be used

Ain't nothing wrong with 12 twist.

quote:

Originally posted by butchlambert:
Ain't nothing wrong with 12 twist.

Butch, do you really think there is a problem here with a 1:9 twist barrel? There might be but I never saw it. roger

Roger,
Using the size bullets that he says will be handled by a 12 twist just fine. If it is a tincan shooter, the 9 twist would be fine. I do have an 8 twist on my AR. I shoot mostly 77gr. bullets in it. It was the slowest twist that Shilen had that day for an AR.