Barrel twist for .30-06

[505Fire]

I am currently in the process of building a .30-06 for target shooting and possibly competition out to 1,000 yards and for occasional hunting. So after doing some searching online it seems the most common is 1/10" twist. Which should stabilize heavier bullets well. 1/12" seems like it would stabilize lighter bullets well and 1/11" seems like it might strike a good middle ground. From what I read the 1/10" twist was originally put on the .30-06 for a 220 grain bullet but because it still shot well with other bullets it was kept. So any opinions on barrel twist for accuracy on this old round?

[sinman]

what bullets do you want to shoot? That is the question you need to ask yourself. You could go with a 1/14 if all you wanted to shoot was the 110s.

[goinssr]

For long range target/competition shooting you will want to shoot the heavier weight bullets with higher ballistic coefficients. These bullets will not stabilize well with the 1:12" twist nearly as well as they will with the 1:10" twist. Rock Creek made barrels for the military sniper rifles with a 1:11.25" twist that suited the 168 grain bullet but when the military went to the 173 grain and heavier bullets to extend the range at which they would stay supersonic then the twist rate was upped to 1:10". The 1:10" is what you want for the shooting that you described; otherwise your long range accuracy will suffer.

[505Fire]

Well depends on what I'm using it for on that day. Anything from lighter weight bullets for coyote hunting up to heavy stuff like 208's for long distance.

[goinssr]

Faster twist will generally handle the lightweights but the slower twist will very seldom handle a heavyweight, especially long range. 1:10" is still the best option for what you want.

[stangfish]

Goinsir, Can you clarify that statement?

[goinssr]

I think you got that backwards.



You got this part correct.
What I mean is that the 1:10" can handle the lightweights but the 1:12" does not do well with heavies. Obviously the 1:12" or 1:11" is better suited for lightweights but the 1:10" will still do the job with them and is the best twist rate across all bullet weights ranging from 150-220 grains.

[stangfish]

Much better. Wasn't trying to beat you up but newer guys can be thrown for a loop with wording . Carry on.

[505Fire]

Thanks for the info so far guys. Has anyone ever used a .30-06 barrel in 1:11" twist?

[Tim300wsm]

if you wanna shoot the 208 gr you really need the 1:10. you could go with a 1:11 if you were gonna stay below 180 gr. I and everyone I know with a 30 cal that shoots the heavy bullets has a 1:10 twist. mine still shoots the 150 vld hunting well

[stangfish]

Well depends on what I'm using it for on that day. Anything from lighter weight bullets for coyote hunting up to heavy stuff like 208's for long distance.

If you want long range and varmint bullets you need two rifles or you need to consider a slow twist and use 155's for long range.

[Geo_Erudite]

Berger states that a 1-10 twist rate is needed for the 230 grain Match Hybrid Target

You should also read this blog article on 30-06 rifle twist. (http://riflemansjournal.blogspot.com/2010/06/ballistics-heavy-bullets-in-113-twist.html) It should be noted that the writer, German Salazar, uses the 30-06 for long range competitions, and has several articles on the 30-06

[505Fire]

Berger states that a 1-10 twist rate is needed for the 230 grain Match Hybrid Target

You should also read this blog article on 30-06 rifle twist. (http://riflemansjournal.blogspot.com/2010/06/ballistics-heavy-bullets-in-113-twist.html) It should be noted that the writer, German Salazar, uses the 30-06 for long range competitions, and has several articles on the 30-06

He is actually why I was interested in the 1:11" twist.

[JCalhoun]

The 1-10 would be the only way I'd go and run 175 to 190 bullets.

BTW, the 168gr bullets that were mentioned were the 168gr Sierra MatchKing (M-862?) that were developed for mid-range target shooting. They were found to horribly lacking at 1000y. They were supposed to replace the venerable 173gr FMJ-BT in the M-118 ammo but instead the 175gr Sierra MatchKing replaced it as M-118LR.