Which twist rate for cheap AR15?

[Joe Link]

I've had a couple complete PSA lowers sitting in my safe for a while now, bought them with the intention of building one cheap and one lightweight AR15 (I think I paid $185 each, complete, including shipping, with Magpul furniture).

I'd like to pick up a cheap upper to match, and I'd like to know which twist rate you guys would recommend for the best compatibility with the most types of ammo.

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[cbdolphin]

It depends on what you are doing. 1x9 will generally stabilize light rounds better, while 1x7 will stabilize heavier rounds better.

Most commercially avaliable ammo is 55gr and 62gr, which both will shoot. Unless you plan on using them as varmint guns, I would recommend going with the 1x7.

 

[Page.k]

Just keep a look out on PSA's site for the uppers to go on sale. But the main question is what are you looking to do with it? How long of a barrel are you looking to have? What ammo are you thinking of stocking up on? I think 1/8 for a 16in barrel will be the best find or if you're looking for a longer barrel look at some of the 18in in 1/9 or 1/10.
Remember this is the way I see things.
Barrel >> Ammo >> Spin rate
Most of the twist rate charts I've seen is based on a 16in barrel.

 

[Kruel J]

I'd go 1/7 as it will shoot any grain bullet well.

 

[Joe Link]

Thanks for the input guys, sounds like I need 1/7. I'm seriously just focused on it being a cheap gun I can beat up and learn to work on. Those cheap PSA uppers are exactly what I'm talking about. The length and barrel profile will follow the price. It'll likely be 16", and M4 if I can find it (also likely).

 

[Beefcake]

Thanks for the input guys, sounds like I need 1/7. I'm seriously just focused on it being a cheap gun I can beat up and learn to work on. Those cheap PSA uppers are exactly what I'm talking about. The length and barrel profile will follow the price. It'll likely be 16", and M4 if I can find it (also likely).

1:9 is the most common in the 16" M4 clones. It works well with the commonly found 55-62 grain rounds. I have always thought they should make 1:8 the standard as a compromise between available bullet weights. Most of the 1:7 twist barrels I see are either used specifically for hunting or are on A2 rifles (20" barrel, fixed stock, iron sights).

 

[Mr Smith]

1:8 is ideal in my book. it's the middle ground between the heavy and the light rounds...

1:7 is what the military uses in M16's and is required for tracer rounds.

 

[mjbskwim]

It depends on what you are doing. 1x9 will generally stabilize light rounds better, while 1x7 will stabilize heavier rounds better.

Most commercially avaliable ammo is 55gr and 62gr, which both will shoot. Unless you plan on using them as varmint guns, I would recommend going with the 1x7.

I always try to go with the middle twist at 1/8 or I go with the 1/7 so I can shoot heavier bullets since I have no need to shoot anything under 55 grains.

 

[Bravo4]

You can get this one from PSA, 1/7 twist. No bcg and no charging handle, still a good deal at $189 + Shipping.
<broken link removed>

 

[eldbillbo]

said with a sarcastic grin on my face don't take me seriously i've been drinking ( joking )

1/8 is silly . "goes to 11" good way to sucker newbies into buying another barrel " You see its right in between a 1/7 and a 1/9"

1/9 was the compromise between the 1/12 and the 1/7

The 1/12 was the twist rate was for 55 grain bullets and btw if you are only going to shoot 55 grain bullets and use a .22 conversion thats what i recommend

But to use tracers and the go to the heavier 62 grain bullets the mil went to 1/7

But since 55 gr ammo is so popular and use to cost less let to the creation of the 1/9 for commercial barrels

Do you really thing 1/8 really makes a difference either way? Eh Maybe. Sounds good on paper.

 

[mjbskwim]

So you are calling me a sucker newbie?

 

[eldbillbo]

So you are calling me a sucker newbie?

Lured In like a sucker fish . But I am not casting any stones, I fall for all kinds of "New and Improved" Parts and accessories that makes me think it will make my rifle go to 11 or at least gives me warm and fuzzys

 

[Page.k]

Twist rate, bullet and how long your barrel is go hand in hand. Shorter barrel in many cases needs a faster twist rate than the longer ones. Have you seen how slow the twist rate is on the 24-28in barrels? were looking at 16in barrel not the "old" military 20in barrels with the slower twist rate. Why not go with the "New and Improved" 1/7.7 twist? If you read up a little he's looking for a cheap upper and not break the bank on a range day. Now if he reloaded that will be a different case of what to pick out. Cheap Dog Town bullets, Wolf primers and pull down powder makes for a low cost reload round.

But hey I must be a sucker fish for spending time testing types of ammo and trying to find the best rounds for my guns.

Can you tell us more about why you think 1/8 is junk? Remember 1:16 is just about the standard twist for the .22lr.

 

[eldbillbo]

Twist rate, bullet and how long your barrel is go hand in hand. Shorter barrel in many cases needs a faster twist rate than the longer ones. Have you seen how slow the twist rate is on the 24-28in barrels? were looking at 16in barrel not the "old" military 20in barrels with the slower twist rate. Why not go with the "New and Improved" 1/7.7 twist? If you read up a little he's looking for a cheap upper and not break the bank on a range day. Now if he reloaded that will be a different case of what to pick out. Cheap Dog Town bullets, Wolf primers and pull down powder makes for a low cost reload round.

But hey I must be a sucker fish for spending time testing types of ammo and trying to find the best rounds for my guns.

Can you tell us more about why you think 1/8 is junk? Remember 1:16 is just about the standard twist for the .22lr.

Never said 1/8 is junk so please don't put words in my text and jump to conclusions or assume cause you know what assuming does

just not necessary and not really a compromise . if you gonna shoot heavy bullets get a 1/7 if lighter bullets a 1/9 a 1/8 is really just pointless unless you can't make up your mind and really feel its gonna make a difference .

doesn't matter to me at all just my 2 cents and you spend it any way you like

The way i see it get the right barrel for the type of ammo you shoot
and have zeroed your optics to . or buy 2 rifles one with 1/7 for shooting heavier grain bullets and a second in 1/9 to shoot the lighter stuff. and I guess if you can't make up your mind get a 1/8 but its not make very much difference either way.

I shoot mostly 55gr so i mostly use 1/9 i keep going to 1/7 cause thats what colt sales and what most of the new CHF barrels are but then i find my self going back to 1/9 there really is not much difference between the 2 for the type of shooting i do but i go for 1/9 for the edge and it does fine with 62 i find that 1/9 does better with 62 than 1/7 does with 55 however when going to above 62 the 1/7 really makes a big difference .

now for guys that like to shoot a lot of .22 using a conversion kit i have used 1/9 and the accuracy suck i imagine it would be far worse for in 1/7 however I used a 1/12 again cause all i shoot anymore is 55gr that the accuarcy is quite good no probably not as good as out of actual .22 barrel with a 1/16 twist but i was impressed.

and btw the way I am the king sucker fish when it comes to ar15s

and yes i read he is looking for cheap another reason to go with a 1/9 since they tend to cost less. under $100 brand new where the 1/7 tend to be over $200 brand new.

and all your gonna do is shoot at 6x6 steel targets at 100 yards it really does not matter which of the 3 you get it only starts to matter when you move that out to 200+ or want to look good on paper

 

[eldbillbo]

Hey Joey if your looking for cheap check out the link i posted in the den

thats a smoking deal if you can get your hands on one

 

[biggie24420]

You can YouTube James Yeager to watch the vid.

 

[Bon Sauvage]

After reading the review of the army's M855A1 cartridge in the June 2014 American Rifleman magazine I would go with the 1/9 barrel.

 

[BAMCIS]

You can YouTube James Yeager to watch the vid.

Yeager is a blithering idiot. He is not a good representative for the gun community/culture. What he is saying may (or may not) be true, I don't know. But don't give him the business, or I should say attention. Instead, get the info needed from other sources.

 

[cookie]

1 in 7 Who shoots 40 gn ammo with an ar?

 

[Netspirit]

Yeager has a lot of knowledge, but he is wrong on this one. In his video 1/9 completely replaces both 1/12 and 1/7, which - as you can intuitively guess yourself - cannot happen.

The reality is:

* if you are going to shoot light bullets (40-55 grain) - use 1/12 (varmint work)
* if you are going to shoot heavy bullets (62-77 grain) - use 1/7 (self-defense / military)
* if you plan to shoot 55-62 grain bullets (cheapest, most available) - use 1/9

1/7 will still shoot 55 grains, although accuracy beyond 100m will degrade. Do not go lighter than 55 gr. Use Nosler 77 gr match grade ammo for self-defense.

1/12 will still shoot 77 grains, but the accuracy will suffer.

1/9 is the most economical choice. You will be happy with it.

1/8 is an interesting compromise - exactly 2 bullet revolutions in a 16-inch barrel. I have no experience with it, but I guess it handles 55-75 gr rather well.

I have 1/7 in my Daniel Defense, because of, duh, "mil-spec".