.308 rifling for 150 grain

[SniperJon]

I'm looking at buying either the Remington 700 SPS Tactical or the 700 SPS Tactical AAC-SD in .308 soon, the only thing holding me back is the difference in rifling between the 2 barrels. I really want the AAC-SD version for the silencer cabability or muzzle brake, etc. as it comes with a threaded muzzle out of the box and I simply like the color of the stock better. However, the AAC-SD comes with a 1:10 rifling twist to help stabilize heavier bullets, 168 to 220 grain. The regular SPS Tactical comes with a 1:12 twist made for 150 grain bullets. I plan on hunting and paper punching with it but 90% of what I shoot out of it will be 150 grain bulk ammo for fun and target shooting simply because I have a lot of it and it's affordable. Will the 1:10 barrel twist have an effect on accuracy at distance or make the bullet unstable because it's lighter? I've read a few threads that say the faster the rifling the better but just curious if anyone has experience with 150 grains out of 1:10 barrels. Thank you for your help ahead of time!

 

[Coal Dragger]

150's shoot great out of a 1:10 bbl, don't lose any sleep over it. Today's bullets are generally so well made that over stabilization is not a major concern especially at .308 velocities.

My last .308 was a heavy barreled 1:10 twist, and it shot 150gr-155gr bullets just as well as most others, which is to say very well. Did it shoot better with 168gr and 175gr bullets? Maybe, but the difference was really hard to tell on any given day. It could have just been me.

Plus the faster barrel gives you the option to stabilize heavier bullets if you want to shoot them.

 

[jpwilly]

1:12 or 1:11 would be fine up to 168 to 175gr but most 308's are 1:10 twist so they are good up to 210gr pills.

 

[rozziboy18]

i have owned to many 308s to count now, most in 1-11 and 1-10 twist. all shot sublimely with 150,155,168,175 with good to great accuracy.

 

[LoonWulf]

Im with the others 1-10 is fine, my .300 is 1-10 and at 3400fps 150s go in under 1"....to bad they dont come out the other side of animals that size.

 

[Ranb]

I like my 1-10 twist better than my 1-12 twist 308. I gained nothing by putting on a 1-12 twist barrel, but I lost the accuracy potential with 175 hpbt supersonic and 220 RN subsonic.

Get the 1-10 twist.

RAnb

 

[madcratebuilder]

The Greenhill formula and many bullet makers well tell you 1-12 for 168-175gr bullets. I went with a 21" 1-10 for a precision .308 and do not regret it.

 

[NCsmitty]

The venerable old 30'06 has been using 1in10" twist for the last 100+ years, and the 308 Win can run close to factory '06 ballistics with the 150-165gr bullets.

Don't handicap yourself with the slower twist, because you'll be hard pressed to see any difference in accuracy between a 1in10" and a 1in12" twist when shooting the lighter 150-155gr bullets, and you'll have the ability to handle the heavy bullets without worry, should you want to do that.



NCsmitty

 

[rcmodel]

Traditionally 30-06 was 1/10, and the 7.62/.308 was 1/12.

The M-1 Garand National Match rifles were 1/10.
The M-14 National Match rifles were 1/12.
Both won a lot of gold shooting 173 grain National Match ammo at 800 & 1,000 yards.

Either one will be fine

rc

 

[GCBurner]

I've got a 1:10 and a 1:12 .308, and with loads of 147gr. to 169gr., I really can't tell any difference in the accuracy. I'm either shooting them equally well, or equally poorly.

 

[helotaxi]

Twist is an "at least" proposition. As long as it's fast enough, you're good to go.