gotigers Posted January 31, 2014 Share Posted January 31, 2014 I did a quick search. I am wanting a new barrel for my 3 gun AR. I am a club match shooter, I don't travel, but I would still like the best equipment I can afford. I want to try a good light weight barrel. The one I really want is the Wilson Combat 16" LW 1:8. They are sold out. Midwayusa has the same barrel in 1:7. To keep my cost down I shoot a lot of bulk 55gr in 3 gun out to 300 yards. We shoot about 75 rounds each match of just rifle.I am sure the 1:7 is a great barrel. I imagine it would easily hit the 12" plates at 300, but after running and all the 3 gun stuff, I want as much error out of my equipment as I can get. I have both and shoot both and I understand what the range of bullet weights (bullet lengths) are for both twists. I don’t want to talk about how heavy a bullet they can shoot. Nor do I want to talk about bullet stabilization. We have talked about the range of weights and bullet stabilization for these twists ad nauseam.What do you think about a Wilson Combat 16" LW 1:7 for 3 gun shooting? I am fine with waiting, but if there is not much difference, I will grab the 1:7. I know with bullets 62gr and heavier both will be great, until it gets over 77gr. Then the 1:7 will shine. I doubt I will shoot much over 69 grain in these matches. So the 1:8 seems like the better choice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ziebart Posted January 31, 2014 Share Posted January 31, 2014 Any accuracy loss from shooting a 55gr through a 1-7 will be because of using cheaper bullets to save money. If you go for top quality I doubt you will see any difference in accuracy. I shot 55 FMJ though a White Oak 1-8 and had zero issues with bullets hitting targets at 300 yards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tuflehundon Posted January 31, 2014 Share Posted January 31, 2014 I get sub MOA with my 20" 1:7 barrel using American Eagle 55gr. I wouldn't go much lighter than 55 though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alaskapopo Posted January 31, 2014 Share Posted January 31, 2014 1/7 1/8 is fine with 55'sI have shot as low as 50's without any issue. You really don't have a problem unless you try using some thin jacketed bullets in the sub 50 grain range. Pat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gotigers Posted January 31, 2014 Author Share Posted January 31, 2014 Yeah, that is what I was thinking. The only 1:7 I have is a 10.5" SBR, so judging accuracy is tough. I will go with the 1:7. Thanks for letting me think out loud. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
openclassterror Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 Agreed. I have seen no accuracy difference between QUALITY 1-7 and 1-8 twist barrels and 55s. Shoot 50gr Varmint Grenades thru a 1-7 though, and half of the bullets don't make it past 25 yards. Just a trail of gray smoke and fragments on the target board. Something about 370,000 rpm (3600ft/sec x 60sec/min x 12in/ft divided by 7in/ turn=370,285 !!!) , and .005 jackets just don't stay together! Drop that velocity to 3100 with a 55, and rpm is ONLY 318,857. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PacMan Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 (edited) I did a quick search. I am wanting a new barrel for my 3 gun AR. I am a club match shooter, I don't travel, but I would still like the best equipment I can afford. I want to try a good light weight barrel. The one I really want is the Wilson Combat 16" LW 1:8. They are sold out. Midwayusa has the same barrel in 1:7. To keep my cost down I shoot a lot of bulk 55gr in 3 gun out to 300 yards. We shoot about 75 rounds each match of just rifle. I am sure the 1:7 is a great barrel. I imagine it would easily hit the 12" plates at 300, but after running and all the 3 gun stuff, I want as much error out of my equipment as I can get. I have both and shoot both and I understand what the range of bullet weights (bullet lengths) are for both twists. I don’t want to talk about how heavy a bullet they can shoot. Nor do I want to talk about bullet stabilization. We have talked about the range of weights and bullet stabilization for these twists ad nauseam. What do you think about a Wilson Combat 16" LW 1:7 for 3 gun shooting? I am fine with waiting, but if there is not much difference, I will grab the 1:7. I know with bullets 62gr and heavier both will be great, until it gets over 77gr. Then the 1:7 will shine. I doubt I will shoot much over 69 grain in these matches. So the 1:8 seems like the better choice. You're not going to notice much between 1:8 and 1:7 with bulk 55 gr FMJ. More importantly, it will be 'the' barrel you ended up receiving combined with your 55 gr load that will either shine or sux. My preference is 1:9 but haven't noticed any differences with 55 gr blitzking 3100 fps in 1:7 or 1:8, again, it is the barrel/loads combination so there is really no way to compare the twist rate in the same barrel. Edited February 1, 2014 by PacMan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lead-Head Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 Brownells has 1:8 18" barrels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobby hated Posted February 5, 2014 Share Posted February 5, 2014 Why would you be shooting a 55g bullet for accuracy in the first place? Use a better heavier bullet for anything past 200yds and who cares how the 55g shoots as long as it goes bang. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alaskapopo Posted February 5, 2014 Share Posted February 5, 2014 Why would you be shooting a 55g bullet for accuracy in the first place? Use a better heavier bullet for anything past 200yds and who cares how the 55g shoots as long as it goes bang. I care because it saves me money to have a good accurate cheap FMJ load that I can use for 95% of the stages. Up here we seldom shoot past 300 yards and most of the time we are shooting at 100 yards or less but we shoot at small targets like MGM auto poppers a lot which makes having a 2moa or better FMJ load very nice. I hate wasting the money for match bullets on those targets but some of the crappier ball bullets is not 100% at hitting these targets. With Hornady 55 grain FMJ's in my Nordic or JP barrels can hit these all day long at 100 yards with my ball load. Back when I was mostly shooting my Noveske it did not shoot FMJ's that well and I had to use more expensive bullets on any stage that had auto poppers and it was more expensive. Pat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreenDragon64 Posted February 6, 2014 Share Posted February 6, 2014 My 18" 1/7 can't shoot shelf 55gr 5.56 rounds accurately. I can produce extremely tight groups when reloading with Hornady 55gr fmj bullets, however. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlouie87 Posted February 8, 2014 Share Posted February 8, 2014 My 18" 1/7 can't shoot shelf 55gr 5.56 rounds accurately. I can produce extremely tight groups when reloading with Hornady 55gr fmj bullets, however. Same here. I load my 55gr with 25gr of h335 and it accurate enough for me but the off the shelf stuff shoots up to 2'' groups at 100 yards out of my 18'' wilson barrel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowman Posted February 8, 2014 Share Posted February 8, 2014 My experience is that it depends on the ammunition. Some of the cheaper factory 55g ammo is not that accurate in my 1/7's but higher quality 55g shoots well. If you handload then you should be able to find an accurate 55g load for your rifle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccoker Posted March 27, 2014 Share Posted March 27, 2014 I have a Wilson combat 16" 1/7 fluted barrel It shoots xm193 extremely well Sent from my GT-N8013 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tact Posted March 27, 2014 Share Posted March 27, 2014 I haven't experienced in problems with accuracy in any of my 1/7 barrels while using 55s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mthomas0001 Posted March 27, 2014 Share Posted March 27, 2014 I have had good luck with the Hornady 55 gr fmjbt's in 1:7, not so much with some of the other brand 55's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polymerfeelsweirdman Posted March 27, 2014 Share Posted March 27, 2014 (edited) My 18" 1/7 can't shoot shelf 55gr 5.56 rounds accurately. I can produce extremely tight groups when reloading with Hornady 55gr fmj bullets, however. Same here. I load my 55gr with 25gr of h335 and it accurate enough for me but the off the shelf stuff shoots up to 2'' groups at 100 yards out of my 18'' wilson barrel. ditto (also experienced this with a wilson barrel too) I would really like to find a barrel that shoots cheap factory stuff really well Edited March 27, 2014 by polymerfeelsweirdman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Sierpina Posted March 27, 2014 Share Posted March 27, 2014 My 18" 1/7 can't shoot shelf 55gr 5.56 rounds accurately. I can produce extremely tight groups when reloading with Hornady 55gr fmj bullets, however. Same here. I load my 55gr with 25gr of h335 and it accurate enough for me but the off the shelf stuff shoots up to 2'' groups at 100 yards out of my 18'' wilson barrel. ditto (also experienced this with a wilson barrel too) I would really like to find a barrel that shoots cheap factory stuff really well Bullet quality is the key to accuracy, not a magic barrel. Cheap ammo is cheap for a reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polymerfeelsweirdman Posted March 27, 2014 Share Posted March 27, 2014 My 18" 1/7 can't shoot shelf 55gr 5.56 rounds accurately. I can produce extremely tight groups when reloading with Hornady 55gr fmj bullets, however. Same here. I load my 55gr with 25gr of h335 and it accurate enough for me but the off the shelf stuff shoots up to 2'' groups at 100 yards out of my 18'' wilson barrel. ditto (also experienced this with a wilson barrel too)I would really like to find a barrel that shoots cheap factory stuff really well Bullet quality is the key to accuracy, not a magic barrel. Cheap ammo is cheap for a reason. I just see people claim that they get MOA or better accuracy with the same cheap ammo and I am not sure whether or not to believe them When people claim it on here I am more inclined to believe them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShooterSteve Posted March 27, 2014 Share Posted March 27, 2014 I'm with Dan, cheap bullets are going to struggle, and that's not the barrels fault. We all will compromise to save money here and there, but there's a line and once you go over it into the cheap zone, you will get what you pay for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Sierpina Posted March 27, 2014 Share Posted March 27, 2014 It's on the internet, it has to be true! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonovanM Posted March 27, 2014 Share Posted March 27, 2014 I just see people claim that they get MOA or better accuracy with the same cheap ammo and I am not sure whether or not to believe them When people claim it on here I am more inclined to believe them Well, depends if it's cheap ammo or cheap bullets. I sorted some headstamps on my reloads with 55gr bulk Hornady bullets for fun and shot a 1 9/16" group at 200y. That was funny. Either way, there's no penalty for OVERstabilizing a bullet as long as the jacket is beefy enough, which the majority of .224 55gr bullets will be. Theoretically 1 in 7 is pointlessly fast unless you're shooting M856 tracers but it doesn't really make any practical difference. Rock the 1 in 7, or wait for the 1 in 8, I doubt you'll be able to tell the difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LegionShooter Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 I have a 1/8 Rainier and a 1/8 White Oak and use 55gr XM193 mostly for 3-gun. I have 1/7 barrels also. For me 1/8 is the best option for the 55gr bullets and it shoots 63 and 69 well too. I don't use 75 or 77 grain for 3-gun so the faster twist doesn't really matter to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kurtm Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 This is THE Truth! It all depends on THE barrel that happens to be screwed on the receiver! It doesn't matter the twist, there is no generality! It all depends on what the barrel likes and they are all different!! There is no magic combo or what works for others!!! EACH BARREL IS DIFFERENT!!! Your query can NOT be answered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccoker Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 true I have had 1/8 barrels shoot 75/77g bullets extremely well and 1/7s shoot 55s just have to experiment Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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