Are the 1/8 Twist Barrels stabilizing 55 Grain Bullets?

4949shooter

New member
I just ordered a Windham Vex with 1/8 twist barrel and Compass Lake chamber. I have a Leupold Mark AR scope with Firedot reticle and 55 grain elevation turret, plus a boatload of 55 grain ammo.

Question....will this barrel stabilize the 55 grain bullets?
 
Originally Posted By: 4949shooterI just ordered a Windham Vex with 1/8 twist barrel and Compass Lake chamber. I have a Leupold Mark AR scope with Firedot reticle and 55 grain elevation turret, plus a boatload of 55 grain ammo.

Question....will this barrel stabilize the 55 grain bullets?

Depends. Depends on the load or ammunition. Not all 55gr ammo is equal. Some are equaler than others. Some bullets can have major weight differences that result in performance variations that have nothing to do with the barrel. Some guys try to push the bullets too fast. So there are a lot of variables that go into the performance of a given bullet in a given barrel.

But there is no reason that a properly loaded, high quality ammunition will not perform out of a 1:8 twist barrel. I personally like the performance in the 18in 1:8 barrels.
 
Snowmanmo’s caution that not all barrels will shoot all bullets well is a fair statement. But stabilization and precision (“accuracy”) aren’t the same thing.

A 1:8” 223/5.56 will stabilize a 55grn bullet without issue. It might not shoot tiny groups, but the bullets will be sufficiently spin-stabilized.
 
My buddy has an old Marlin 336 that was keyholing today, it was still shooting tighter groups than my winchester factory ammo, maybe rifling is over rated?
 
Like the 18" barrels also. Light weight ones as I hunt with thermal/NV scopes which are a lot heavier. Mine shoot the 55's great.
 
Originally Posted By: Bob_Atl4949: Yah both my 16" and 20" 1:8 ARs love 55 up to & including 69s.
If you are interested in heavier 22 projectile stability, check out twist-rate-calculator

Thanks for the link Bob. I have some GM223M stashed away as well. If the 55 grainers don't fly well I will try them out.
 
I appreciate all the replies. Once I get the rifle up and running I will follow up with an update.

Right now I am running into some NJ firearms ID card red tape.
 
What about going to the opposite way with lighter bullets. Looking for a barrel now for 40 -55gr bullets. Should I stick with a 1 in 12 twist or will the 8 twist still work?
 
Originally Posted By: AlbertacoyotecallerWhat about going to the opposite way with lighter bullets. Looking for a barrel now for 40 -55gr bullets. Should I stick with a 1 in 12 twist or will the 8 twist still work?

With proper bullet construction, the faster twist rate barrels will stabilize light weight bullets, so yes, the 1:8 will stabilize a 40-55 grain bullet, as will a 1:12. The question probably should be "will a 1:8 twist rate in 223 using 40-55 grain bullets group as well as a 1:12 twist rate?" The answer probably is: "maybe".

I have a 1:7 twist AR and I tried 8 different powers in varying weights in an attempt to shoot small groups utilizing a 55 grain Hornady. The ONLY powder that consistently shot under an inch at 100 yards rested was CFE223 and ONLY with a load that was at max to 0.2 grain over max according to the internet published Hodgdon reloading data center. I gave up trying to find a sub MOA group using a 52 grain Berger in my AR.

Some people with AR's having a 1:7 twist rate seem to shoot any 50 to 55 grain bullet very well - but mine won't - yours might. Now I have a couple excellent accuracy loads using a 77 grain bullet, whereas an associate of mine with a 1:12 twist AR can't get a 77 grain to group consistently under 2 inches.
 
Again - depends. If one has an AR that consistently groups under an inch at 100 yards, that statement sometimes needs clarification as to what power scope and trigger weight was used.

Fairly difficult using a 3X9 scope with thick duplex crosshairs and a 7 pound trigger pull. Ya, it can be done by a rifleman.

When I load and shoot for bug hole groups - I do so with a 32X scope (Leupold 24X bumped to 32X), xtra fine crosshairs and my lower has a 3#2oz JP single stage trigger with a very crisp break. I find it helps me to be "consistent" from the bench.

Sometimes a 1/4 moa dot in a quality scope with a 2.5 to 3.5 pound trigger will turn a fair shooting AR into a [beeep] good shooting AR. - Just saying.

I've got what I consider to be a very good shooting AR and I have found a couple outstanding loads for it - BUT - I can still miss a prairie dog at 75 to 250 yards shooting from a bench.
 
FWIW my 24" 1:7 barrel wouldn't group 55 grainers at 3,100 fps, and I assumed it was due to overstabilization. Once I went to a 1:9 twist (no other changes), they shot well.
 
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