308 Twist For Hunting Rifle?

Tejas1836

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Mar 14, 2015
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Building up a new hunting/carry around rifle and I am going back and forth on barrel twist. Looking at a Bartlein #3 that will be finished at 22". I will never shoot any bullet heavier than 165-168 gr and I have no desire to use this rifle as a long range plinker. I keep getting the advice to go ahead with a 1 in 10 twist barrel because "it will shoot anything" but I truly want the most accurate barrel for hunting bullets in the 150-165 range only. Seems like a 1 in 12 or 1 in 11.25 would suit my purposes better. Opinions?
 
If you are 110% positive that you will never shoot anything heavier than a 185gr bullet, then an 11.25" twist will be just fine.
 
For your bullet choice a 1-12 twist would be optimum, but the other two mentioned will work well too. My Dad has been shooting .308s for over 30 years and he has always shot a 1-12 with a 168gr bullet. When Dad was on the Army shooting team, they shot 168s in their M1As with 1-12 twists because that's what they found stabilized that bullet the best. It worked better than a 1-10 and an 1-11.25 in their rifles that had 22" barrels like you have. My cousin's Remington 700 ADL .308 had a 1-10 twist and shot 168s like a dream as well, so really I think any of these twists will work for your purposes.
 
If all you know that you will do with the rifle is hunt deer with up to 168 gr. Then the 1/11" twist would no doubt be your best bet. But, with quality built bullets, the faster twist shouldn't be a problem.
 
10.

The only advantage of a slow twist is... No advantage.
:D Agreed, I just don't see a reason to run anything but a 10 twist .30 cal. Alot of people say a slower twist is better for the lighter bullets.(150-168 grn.) my 30-06 1-10 will put 165's in one hole. And my buddy's 10 twist Savage .308 will do the same with 168 SMK.
 
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