.308 Twist Rate Opinions

[kynardsj]

Am probably about to own another .308 bolt rifle. Leaning hard toward a Remington 700, new or used, if I can find the one I like. I've heard good and bad about the newer ones. I see that most .308's are 1 in 10 twist and now are seeing that a lot of 1 in 12 twist rates are coming out. Research on this tells me that a 1 in 12 favors a 168 gr bullet but won't do a good job of stabilizing a heavier bullet. That suits me fine as a 168 gr BTHP is what I shoot. Appreciate all opinions.   

[Lloyd Smale]

if i were having a custom 308 rifle built for hunting id probably go 1-12 as i rarely shoot anything heavier then 150s in a 308 and certainly nothing heavier then 165s.

[Mikey]

I once had a Rem 788 in 308 with a 1:10 twist (as for the 06) instead of the 1:12 twist and had a devil of a time trying to find a heavy bullet load that would work.  I don't shoot or use the 150 gn slugs in my 30 bores as they create far too much meat damage for my purposes.  I prefer the heavier 180s or 190s and the 1:10 twist in the 308 just would not accurately shoot those things. 

I s'pose that if you are wanting a specific rifle with a specific barrel with a specific twist to shoot a specific load then you can get the 308 with a 1:10 twist.  If it were me, I would just get a 06 if I wanted another 30 bore with a 1:10 twist.  I guess that if you want to shoot the 150-168 gn slug then go with the 308 and a 1:12 twist.  jmtcw.

[84Jim]

I think that you have it backwards, the .308 had a standard 1:12 in the past.  That is why most .308's couldn't shoot bullets heavier than 180's.  For that reason, company's are starting to offer 1:10.  I don't think that you can "overstabilize" a bullet.  I'd go with a 1:10 if I had a choice and have a wider range of projectiles that my gun could shoot.

[nomosendero]

I think that you have it backwards, the .308 had a standard 1:12 in the past.  That is why most .308's couldn't shoot bullets heavier than 180's.  For that reason, company's are starting to offer 1:10.  I don't think that you can "overstabilize" a bullet.  I'd go with a 1:10 if I had a choice and have a wider range of projectiles that my gun could shoot.

That is correct, it was backwards & yes 1-10 twists are coming out more & more because some into shooting in the longer ranges are wanting to shoot the heavier, higher BC bullets. But all of that doesn't matter if you have allready decided that your bullet of choice is a 168gr, the 1-10, 1-11.25 & 1-10 will all work. The quality of bedding, quality of receiver & esp. the quality of the barrel will come into play more than which of these 3 twists you get. For what it's worth the 165-168 bullets is what the companies were thinking about when they settled on the 1-12.

Like Jim, I would rather have the 1-10 & be able to shoot the 185 Berger & others to optimal accuracy, but that is not an issue with your question.