My AR barrel twist rate is 1:9, what's the heaviest bullet you guys would shoot from this barrel? I haven't shot anything other than 55g FMJ but would like to use it as an additional rifle for hogs.
Thanks,
Thanks,
It should optimally shoot 55-62 grain well. 69 grain would probably be the max I'd shoot out of it. If you want to shoot heavier than 69 grain, you need to switch to a 1 in 7 twist barrel.
Totally depends on the barrel. Experiment with different weights. I had a 1/9" that shot the Wolf 69 gr. match ammo very well. Some barrels will do it, some won't.
I'd want to use the heaviest round possible for hogs.
I'd want to use the heaviest round possible for hogs.
This - What GTG said is a good standard to go by, but I've found that overall barrel quality makes a big difference and some 1/9 barrels can't even do 69 gr while others do it with no issue.
My rifle is a S&W M&P 15 but I'm not sure how their barrels would rate for the heavier bullets. I know each rifle is going to be a little different but does anyone have any experiance shooting a heaiver bullet from a M&P 15?
Alrighty...I know many folks have thoughts on barrel twist, but this is what I have found. The orriginal M-16 had a 1X14 twist and it stablized 55 grain bullets ok but in very cold weather it wouldn't stabalize the tracer bullet. So the twist was changed to 1X12 and this stabalized all 55 gr bullets in all weather. Then out came the 62 grain bullets like the SS109 and M855, now these wouldn't stabalize in a 1X12, but did really good in a 1X9....BUT the pesky tracer again wouldn't stabalize unless it was twisted MUCH faster...1X7, so that became the NATO standard....just to stabalize the tracer! Now what does this all mean?
Well the 1X9 does just great with a 69gr bullet, and it will usually do just fine with anything that can be loaded and fed from a magazine, to include the 75 and 77 grain bullets, but not every barrel will like them. Now this DOES NOT mean that the bullet will key hole or "tumble" it just might not be as accurate as it would with a lighter bullet. For instance I have a couple 1X9s that shoot 77s into 1 M.O.A. I have another that will shoot sub M.O.A. with 69s but 75/77s open up to 2 M.O.A. Now 2 M.O.A. is just fine for hog shooting, so you would be just fine using anything heavier that can be loaded into a magazine.
As for "needing" a 1X7 to shoot 77s and 80s, this just isn't true! The 1X8 twist is perfect for these bullet weights. Heck even the Mk 12 rifles run a 1X8 barrel and they were designed around the Mk 262 77gr round. No you don't need a 1x7 to shoot heavies, and depending on the barrel you might not even need 1X8. I had a Rem 700 with a 1X12 that would shoot 69 grain bullets into an inch at 200. Velocity plays a big part in how well a bullet stabalizes in a given twist so if you have a slower twist you need as much speed as you can for a heavier bullet. Borrow a few heavies for someone and try them, I bet they will do just fine for Hogs!
Well the 1X9 does just great with a 69gr bullet, and it will usually do just fine with anything that can be loaded and fed from a magazine, to include the 75 and 77 grain bullets, but not every barrel will like them. Now this DOES NOT mean that the bullet will key hole or "tumble" it just might not be as accurate as it would with a lighter bullet. For instance I have a couple 1X9s that shoot 77s into 1 M.O.A. I have another that will shoot sub M.O.A. with 69s but 75/77s open up to 2 M.O.A. Now 2 M.O.A. is just fine for hog shooting, so you would be just fine using anything heavier that can be loaded into a magazine.
As for "needing" a 1X7 to shoot 77s and 80s, this just isn't true! The 1X8 twist is perfect for these bullet weights. Heck even the Mk 12 rifles run a 1X8 barrel and they were designed around the Mk 262 77gr round. No you don't need a 1x7 to shoot heavies, and depending on the barrel you might not even need 1X8. I had a Rem 700 with a 1X12 that would shoot 69 grain bullets into an inch at 200. Velocity plays a big part in how well a bullet stabalizes in a given twist so if you have a slower twist you need as much speed as you can for a heavier bullet. Borrow a few heavies for someone and try them, I bet they will do just fine for Hogs!
Yeah but, 1/8 barrels for an AR are harder to find than 1/7 and I would venture to guess that the length on that Rem 700 was around 24" (not 16") so there was a lot more velocity and the bullet came out having gone though probably two rotations before it left the muzzle.
I get what you're saying man, but he was asking about AR barrels (and named the M&P 15 - which is probably 16" if I had to guess).
1X8 is by far easier to find than 1X7, but still not as common as 1X9. The two rifles I mentioned in 1X9 are 16" Bushmaster barrels and they really love the 77gr loads. The other 1X9 is a 20' Armalite barrel, and it is so-so.
My point was if a 1X12 will stablize a 69 I am sure a 1X9 will do it just fine no matter what barrel length. As for Heavies in an M&P, they will work just fine for Hog shooting with any magazine length bullet. At lest the ones I have seen will. KurtM
My point was if a 1X12 will stablize a 69 I am sure a 1X9 will do it just fine no matter what barrel length. As for Heavies in an M&P, they will work just fine for Hog shooting with any magazine length bullet. At lest the ones I have seen will. KurtM
Sir...you are correct. I guess it would have helped if I originally included this info.
A lot of good info from everyone...thanks!
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