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Will the 8 twist 223 stabilize the 50 or 55 grain bullets very well.
I normally use the Sierra 77 gr bullets,but found a good deal on some
55 grain bullets..Shooting will be no more than 300 yards..I know the
wind will be of some effect,but courious..
Should be fine... the twist rate while many equate to bullet weight is more dependent on bullet length. The longer the bullet the more twist required to stabilize it. The weight component that people go by is the fact the heavier the bullet the longer it is which holds true for most except the 62gr steel penetrator. It is not as dense but longer than some 62gr lead bullets. Usually the issue with over spinning a bullet is the lighter thin jacketed varmint bullets out of something like a 22-250 where they spin apart in flight.
I have a RAR 223 8t, it shoots 55g's pretty good.
My 9 twist stabilizes 55 gr perfectly .. An 8 should be just fine with 55's 7 twist might be trying to spin them too fast but should still work..
My 9 likes 60 grn Vmax.
My 9 twist spins the 55's very well. Will be dropping back to the 53 gr. V-max though as the BC is significantly better then the 55's.
Just try it to see. I have a 9 twist that shoots anything from 45's to 77's. My son has an identical gun, same brand, same barrel length, same twist, but it won't shoot 77's. All barrels are a little different so you just have to try. My wife has a 7 twist that shoots 55's fine but my 7 twist won't. See what I'm gettin' at? Try it, you may be surprised.
It'll shoot just fine. I've run various 50-55gr bullets through my 22-250AI 1-8" at 3900fps +/- with few issues. Some bullets with thinner jackets will go poof at 25-40 yards at those speeds, but at slow-lane .223 velocities you don't have to worry about that. :cool:
Anything under 14 twist should stabilize a 55g 22 cal lead core bullet. Only problem you may have with faster twists is some of the thinner jacket varmint bullets and high velocity.
All I can add is that I have a 1:7 twist and it will not shoot the 55 or lighter bullets.
Both of my AR's have 1-7 twist barrels and I shoot 55gr bullets all the time with no issues and good accuracy. In fact, the 20 inch heavy barrel one, I have shot 52gr SMK bullets with sub moa groups. They actually grouped better than the 75gr hornady bullets I have tried. In theory, the 1-7 should have done better with the heavier bullets, but it did not. So it goes to show how each barrel/gun can be different.
Most 55 grainers will work well in the faster 8" twist.
But there are some gentler bullets that will tend to blow up when pushed fast in a hot barrel. At 100 yards they might still hit the target, but around 200 yards they'll fall apart from too much spin.
I had this problem with a 8" twist 243win shooting 80 gr Berger FB varmint bullets.
They shot amazing the the deep freeze where temp was 10 f and colder and the barrel never got very hot.
Once I shot them in around 35 f temp and the barrel got hot, some of them blew up before getting to the 200 meter target.
That being said... I've shot many 58 vmax and 55gr BalTips in the 8" twist 243win with out any problems in the scorching hot summer.
I shoot 55 gr Hornady FMJBT's through my 1-7 WOA 20" Service Rifle barrel with good accuracy. I have a mild load of 24.7 of Win 748 and i'm at about 2630 fps. This is my practice load for High Power. Punches perfectly clean holes at 100 yds. The experts say if you push a light bullet through a fast twist barrel at excessive velocities you can strip the copper jacket right off the bullet.
You may already have this information, but I am providing a link to a site you will likely want to become familiar with just in case. Before following anyone else's bullet recommendation, first check to see how the bullet in question is likely to perform in YOUR barrel, and always, always consider the altitude where you are shooting. Temp, altitude, and humidity all combine to make the air more or less dense in YOUR shooting environment, and this effects stability and accuracy.
http://www.bergerbullets.com/twist-rate-calculator/
Also important is rotational speed. The formula to use is Velocity (fps) X 720 divided by twist (inches per one revolution in your barrel, in your case 8)
Example: 3200 X 720 / 8 = 288,000 RPM. This will at or beyond rated RPM for Hornaday bullets. Sierra's are generally good to 320,000 rpm, but you can consult the manufacture for their data. Push that 50 grain bullet to 3500 fps and you'll likely see a "POOF" as it spins apart before it hits the target.
Good luck and write back with your results. We're always ready to help. :smile-new: