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1:7 twist AR15 20" barrel handload..

JustCJustC Member Posts: 16,056 ✭✭✭
edited May 2002 in Ask the Experts
Anyone have a good handload recipe for a 1:7 twist barrel on an AR? If not, what weight and brand of factory ammo have you found to group well at distance?

A great rifle with a junk scope,....is junk.
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Comments

  • cpermdcpermd Member Posts: 5,273 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Depends on the gun.
    Most of my 1/7 barrels shoot well with anything from 50 grain bullets on up.
    Varget works well.
    What is it for,Competion,Fun,Predators?
    cpermd
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  • JustCJustC Member Posts: 16,056 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    cpermd, I was hoping for a response from you. I know you have several of this design. I am not a formal competitor, but I am very competitive with myself and fellow shooters. I would like to have a load that will group well out to say 500yds. A varmint hunt is also conceivable as the groundhog population is taking quite a turn here in the last few years.

    My testing is done on paper to acheive the best grouping, and from there, I would proceed to the moving variety.

    Is there a difference I should look at if I am going to shoot a groundhog or fox rather than paper? I am sure that I will need a length tolerant bullet if I wish to feed them from the magazine. Have you ever used the VLD bullets? do they group better than the LT bullets? Which direction would you suggest I head for a start?

    Thanks.

    A great rifle with a junk scope,....is junk.
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  • cpermdcpermd Member Posts: 5,273 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I have never used a VLD or VLDL bullet so I am ignorant there.
    I have used Varget,RE-15 and 4895 starting at 24 grains and work UP.
    Speer or Sierra bullets.
    These will all kill coyotes at 450 yds with good glass.
    Do you have a micrometer?
    Being sort of retired does have some advantages.
    I just wish it wasn't a stroke that brought it on.
    cpermd
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  • JustCJustC Member Posts: 16,056 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Sorry to hear about the circumstances surrounding your shooting "free time". Soooo,..what weight are you using? I am under the impression, from my experience with the biiger calibers, that the 1:7 twist being heavy, will require a heavy bullet. I know that they are using the 62gr in the military now, but are those barrels 1:7? I thought they were 1:9, unless it is a camp perry gun etc. I am trying to find a 1 hole bullet for this rifle. I have tried the 55gr nato stuff, and I know that that is NO way to judge the rifle. They bounced around a lot. I figured maybe 69-75gr would be a good shooter in the heavy twist barrel.

    I have a stainless RCBS caliper, case prep center, digital scale, rock chucker press for resizing, partner press for seating (not as strong as rockchucker), competition adjustable dies, trim pro case trimmer, and a bunch of other goodies. I assume you are going to tell me something about OAL and it's relation to this type design of rifle? That is part of why I inquired about the Very Low Drag bullets. I am sure they will not fit the magazine if I were to seat them at rifling depth. The Length Tolerant Bullets can be had in the same weights, but I have a feeling they wouldn't group as well as the LONG VLD's, due to the increased balistic coefficient of the longer projectiles.

    Any suggestions would be much appreciated. thanks for your time already.

    A great rifle with a junk scope,....is junk.
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  • cpermdcpermd Member Posts: 5,273 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    They use the 1/7 only because of that longassed M862 Tracer bullet.
    That is the only reason they went to that twist.
    1/9 - 1/10 is optimal.
    Shoot them and see.
    Don't believe all the Book stuff.
    cpermd
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  • leeblackmanleeblackman Member Posts: 5,303 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    I have one with a 1/9 twist. Is it ok to shoot 75gr bullets thru it? Or would a smaller bullet be more optimal? We have a 600yd range here, and I'd like to shoot it one day with my AR just to see what happens. I haven't shot it much and don't know what would be the best load to shoot out of it.

    Also, what was the original rifling of the ealier M16 before they went to the 1/7 twist?

    If I'm wrong please correct me, I won't be offended.
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  • cpermdcpermd Member Posts: 5,273 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Original was 1/12.
    69-78 will shoot well in a 1/9'esp at 600.
    C-Start by seating 0.010 from the lands
    cpermd
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  • JustCJustC Member Posts: 16,056 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Thanks for your experience CPERMD.

    leeblackman, I would think a 75gr might be a tad heavy for a 1:9 barrel, but as cpermd stated, try it and see. I will be experimenting with all of the bullet weights based on his recomendation. Now for a 600yd shoot, if you were to compete for groups, I would think for windage resistance, you will be better served with a heavier and longer bullet. The lighter ones will group, but as they lose energy over distance, they will be affected by the wind more so than the heavy loads. You may find that out to a certain distance, the light bullets group better, and after a certain distance, the longer heavy bullets will stabilize and group up better against the resistance. Just my preliminary knowledge, as I said, based on someone's recommendation who has more experience than me with this rifle, I will be trying all weights.

    The original barrels were 1:12
    after the WARSAW pack, they were mandated at 1:9
    and the 1:7, as previously stated, are for the long tracer rounds.

    A great rifle with a junk scope,....is junk.
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