7mm08 barrel twist

[Alex]

at present, i have a 7mm08 AI,

should the day arrive to re barrel it what would you guys recommend,

3 groove or 5 groove?

1 in 9? 9.5? 10? or even 12? twists

only really looking to use 120 to 140 gn bullets

will probably be on a 18 - 20 " barrel

what are your thoughts?
thanks

 

[ronemus]

A 1:8.5 twist would let you run any of the current offerings that might strike your fancy. If you're really going to to limit yourself to 140 gr bullets, a 1:10 would certainly do the job and 1:12 would work if you stay away from the VLDs.

I've tried barrels from several makers, but always end up going back to Krieger. There are some new makers out there that may be their equal, but I've not seen any evidence that anybody is better. I've found that the deep cut rifling of a Krieger lasts longer than anything else I've tried.

 

[TRECustom]

A 1 : 9 twist barrel at 20" is very versatile and handles the bullet weights you mentioned perfectly. I personally like a 5 or 6 groove barrel. The 7mm-08 is not hard on throats, and I think the advantage of the 3 groove barrel is throat life.

Just my opinion, Tom

 

[winters7746]

I am a big fan of 7mm,i mostly shoot 120 to 150gr bullets .i would use a,1 in 10 twist)..the 1 in 9 twist has always seemed to overspin my 140 nosler ballistic tips.,1 in 10) will stabalize the 120 through 150 GR BULLETS all the way to a 1000 yards.the 1 in 11 will not from my experience.i would only get the 1 in 9 if i was planing on shooting bullets over 150 grain.THE 1 IN 11 WORKS GREAT ON 120 AND 140 AS LONG AS YOU DO NOT SHOOT PAST 800 YARDS. good luck shooting. I am 284 winchester fan,but a 708 is great to.

 

[Alex]

thanks guys,

what difference would the 3 groove have over the 5 groove?

 

[dennisinaz]

A 1:10 twist will stabilize a 168 SMK so I can't see why you would need to go more than that. I can't see any advantage to the 3-groove in the 7mm, in fact, my last barrel was an 8-groove.