.308 Barrel twist rate on m700vls

[orsogato]

It seems the folks at Remington have put a barrel with a 1/12'' twist rate on their m700vls. The odd thing to me is that they have the same twist 1/12'' on their m700BDLs in .308, but their m700BDLS in .30-06' have a 1/10'' twist.

My questions are:

1. Can the 1/12'' twist stabalize a 150 or a 165 grain bullet properly at 200yards or is it specifically designed for say 125 grainers.

2. Why does Remington make their .308 barrels w/ a 1/12'' twist but their .30-06''
barrels w/ a 1/10'' when we are basically talking about the same type of ballistics w/ a 150 grain bullet?

I have a bad feeling my 150 grain bullets are looking like footballs thrown by Mark Malone as they fly downrange, rather than a tight Marino or Elway pass.

Thanks for any info.

 

[Paul B.]

Orsogato. You should have no problemo with the 1/12 twist. A little history is in order here.
Back in 1903, the Springfield 1903 was chambered for the 30-03 round which had a 220 gr. bullet. The 1/10 twist was necessary to stabilize that long heavy bullet. In 1906, when they went to the 150 gr. bullet, the cartridge case was shortened slightly. The Springfields were recalled, the barrels had one thread removed, the shoulder of the barrel turned enough to add one new thread, and the barrels were then rechambered. Because of this, the 1/10 twist remained. When commercial rifles were chambered to 30-06, they also used the 1/10 twist.They felt that if the government thought it was the proper twist, why should they argue?
Fast foreward in time to adoption of the .308 by Winchester in 1952 as a sporting round. It went military in 1954. When they brought out the models 88, 70 Featherweight, and 100, the twist was 1/12. Today, in a .308 Winchester Mod. 70 I got about a year ago, the twist is 1/12. Again, no problemo.
Remington, and most other makers chose the 1/10 twist, primarily I think, as a money saving option. I think the early Brownings used the 1/12 in not only .308, but in 30-06 as well.
Yes they will stabilize the heavier bullets very well, thank you.
I think you will be more than pleasantly surprised with the accuracy you get with your bullet choices, once you work up the appropriate loads.
Paul B.

 

[orsogato]

Thanks for the info. Very interesting on the history of the twist rates.

I have been getting pretty decent groups at 200 yards even shooting surplus m2 Ball bullets w/ LC brass, Rem primers and and about 42.5gr of IMR 4895.

It just seems like the bullets are
"keyholing" or "tumbling" when I inspect the paper targers I am shooting. Maybe I am just imagining it.

Anyhow the rifle is overall a pretty good gun. I have always been a fan of Remington's line of hunting rifles.

Once i get the bread for the Leupold Vari-X III 4.5-14x50mm scope Groundhogs will be trembling at my name!

Right now I got a used Simmons on the thing and the focus is horrible. But I'll make due for the rest of this summer w/ it