Savage/Stevens

[JimG]

What's the rate of twist for the Savage/Stevens .223's? I think it's 1-9 but am not sure. What ever it is, what is the optimal bullet weight for the twist? Anyone have any complaints with their .223 Savage/Stevens? Whats' the real deal with 5.56 vs .223? I don't reload and don't wish to at this time so that's out of the equation. I think I've heard that you can shoot 5.56 in a .223 but not the other way around. Also any info any of you can give on the same rifle in .22-250 Thanks in advance.

[RicMic]

Savage/Stevens uses 1:9 in 223 and 1:12 in 22-250.  Both are a bit faster than standard (1:12 for 223 and 1:14 for 22-250).

[Gregory]

I think I've heard that you can shoot 5.56 in a .223 but not the other way around.

You've got it backwards:

http://www.stormfront.org/forum/showthread.php?t=144981

Contrary to popular belief, 5.56mm is NOT another name for the .223 round, as opposed to 7.62x51 being the same as .308 NATO. The 5.56 round was designed after the common sporting round, but has two slight, although important, differences. Both are minor, but enough to cause some major if not deadly problems if you put 5.56 into a .223 chamber. .223 may be fired in a 5.56 chamber however. Here are the reasons why:

1) The 5.56 round has a length .002 longer than the .223 round.
2) The 5.56 round has a slightly steeper shoulder angle.

What this all boils down to, is that unless your .223 is specifically chambered in 5.56 to accomadate the military ammunition, you run the risk of blowing the gun up in your face. Colt and Bushmaster chamber ALL their .223 in 5.56. A few other companies chamber their AR15s in 5.56 as well. The big danger is in using 5.56 in bolt action rifles or the Ruger Mini 14, OR AR15s manufactured by some of the lesser known companies, particularly those that are not mil-spec or defense contractors.

[Grizzly_A]

The previous posts are correct.  Don't be shooting 5.56 in your .223.  
With the tighter twist rate your gun can handle those heavier bullets. Those would be the bullet weights above 60gr.  That means you have a large range of bullet weights the gun will stabilize.  

You should be fine shooting those 69 and 75 gr bullets.

[mountainview]

Bushmaster has a very good summary of the difference between 223 and 5.56. I'll add to the above that the 5.56 can develop higher pressures than the 223 which makes it a bad choice for shooting in 223 chambered rifles.

No complaints on my Savage 12FV in 223. Great shooter though it does not much care for the Win whitebox and Rem UMC FMJ loads in terms of accuracy. Some folks report tight groups even with lighter bullets and the fast twist though the rule of thumb is heavier bullets work better with the fast twist. My rifle does gives me the best groups (.5" and under) when I feed it 55 gr SP and up. Best thing is to try and see what your own rig would like the best since there can be differences from rifle to rifle.

[JimG]

Well shucks! I was hoping that I could shoot 5.56 out of the .223 but I had my doubts. So I can scratch the .223. That leaves the 22-250 as an option. Out of curiosity how about .308 vs 7.62. The 'ammo oracle' site and a few other posts here lead me to believe that this conbination is ok unlike the .223/5.56.

[hunt4646]

My Savage 10 fp really likes the 69 gr hpbt bullets. The twist is 1in9.  Thew heavier the bullets I handload, the better the groups for this particular rifle.

[Gregory]

Well shucks! I was hoping that I could shoot 5.56 out of the .223 but I had my doubts. So I can scratch the .223. That leaves the 22-250 as an option. Out of curiosity how about .308 vs 7.62. The 'ammo oracle' site and a few other posts here lead me to believe that this conbination is ok unlike the .223/5.56.

I'm not aware of any problems shooting 7.62 NATO out of a .308WIN.