What is twist in my 1981 vintage Mini-14, .223?

[toolmaker]

Looking to buy a good weight surplus load that would perform well (reliability and acuracy) in my 1981 vintage Mini-14 .223. I read that different twists are best for different weight slugs, but I have no idea what weight to look for . Have twists been changed in 23 years on the Mini-14 in .223? Thanks.

 

[Gordon]

1 in 10" I used to shoot the 70 grain Speer round nose semi spitzer out of mine OK. I don't think the 68 or heavier match bullets would work.

 

[Bigfoot]

Right, the original twist was 1/10 it changed to 1/7 in 86. And from 1/7 to 1/9 in 95. 86-AWB ban was the sweet spot for using heavy bullets. Here's Rugers page. http://www.ruger.com/Firearms/SE-H-RI-Mini14Ranch.html

 

[toolmaker]

Thanks to each of you. Are you saying all other things equal, a heavier slug is better for my twist?

 

[TODD3465]

I have a 181 series. Try some flat based bullets from 60 to 70 grs.

You'll be amazed, trust me.

 

[toolmaker]

Excellent. Now on with the search...

 

[rbernie]

Are you saying all other things equal, a heavier slug is better for my twist?

I'm not reading things this way. I would expect that a 1-10 twist (which is what you have) will work best with mid-range bullet weights (say, between 55gr and 62 gr) but will be too fast for 45gr and too slow for 65+gr.

 

[Gordon]

The 70 grain Speer semi spitzer kicks butt at 2800-2900fps. This load takes deer cleanly, breaking a shoulder and going almost all the way thru.Shouldn't use .223 on anything over 50 pounds over 200yards IMHO. You can imagine what it would do as an anti personnel round!