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Posted: 8/22/2010 12:38:48 PM EDT
| I've been wanting a varmint upper with a 1/12 twist. My options are RRA's 24in varminter, Fulton Armory's 24in, or WOA's 20 or 24in. I've heard very good things about WOA's uppers. My RRA enrty tac is not as accurate as I would like it to be. I have a boat load of various 55gr bullets and I also have the new Nikon M223. So I'm looking for opinions on what to get. Thanks |
| I have had good success with my RRA Bull Barrel 20". The thing is a load to carry. For a range gun it works great for field it is too heavy. I shoot1/2" groups with handloads but my old man is a better shot than me and has eecked out 3/8" groups. Also the Stag 24" medium contour barrel is a real shooter that wieghts a little less. I have spoken with teh owner of white oak and I would not hesitate to buy from him. Great guy, lots of info, I already had my RRA. # good choices for you and I don't think you could go wrong with any of them. Most of the barrels coming out are 1/8 twist. The RRA and the stag that I have shot were both 1/8 twist and shot 55grn hornady just fine. |
| I think you would be more than happy with a RRA varmint upper. I have the predator pursuit, which has a 20" heavy air gauged stainless match barrel chambered in 223 wylde with a 1/8 twist. It is the most accurate gun I own, and I have 6 bolt guns to compare it to. |
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My RRA 24" Varmint has the 1:8 twist. It shoots about 1/2 MOA with Hornady V-MAX 55gr factory ammo or my handloads using 55gr Nosler Ballistic Tips. I would go with a 1:8 twist over the 1:12. The 1:8 works fine with 55gr bullets and it gives you the option of trying some heavier bullets too.
Rosco |
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I don't go varmint hunting with any sort of regularity. Really, I just jump at chances when they present themselves. Still, I do go target shooting every chance I get and do get a bit OCD about my equipment. I'm the sort of idiot that would spend $400 on another barrel if I thought that it would tighten my groups by a couple tenths of an inch.
In any case, I don't think that getting an accurate varmint upper is a problem. There are lots of them out there. The more important question is how much are you willing to lug around. Rifles based on 20" or 24" bull barrels are HEAVY. Are you going to be carrying this rig around? If not, or just not too much, the RRAs are hard to beat for the price. Really, anything with an air gauged Wilson barrel with a Wylde chamber and 1:8 twist should do you. J&T Distributing sells the Wilson barrels for around $200 and they claim groups of less and an inch. Of course, you can get as exotic as you'd like in terms of name and price, but the uppers built around the Wilson barrels seem to perform very well for the price. My do all precision rig is based on a 16" BCM SS410 medium profile barrel. It's a solid sub MOA shooter and the rifle weighs less than 10lbs. I really don't think that you NEED a bull barrel for a varminter, but I would prefer one on a rig that I wouldn't be carrying around much. |
| I do lug my RRA 20" around and it sucks. I figure I put more rounds through it in three days of shooting prairie dogs that I bear with it. I lug mine around in a Eagle drag bag that helps but at around 13 lbs it is not something you want to carry on a sling for very far. |
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Fast twists like 1/8 and 1/7 are for shooting two legged varmints, and match use at long range.
For small furry critters up to coyote size, higher velocity and lighter weight bullets which expand/fragment explosively are used. I don't know of any prarie dog enthusiasts using heavy bullets and fast twists. Until the gun companies were overwhelmed by recent demand for fast twist .223 barrels, true "varmint" sticks had 1/12 and 1/14 twist tubes. Paladin |
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Quoted:
Fast twists like 1/8 and 1/7 are for shooting two legged varmints, and match use at long range. For small furry critters up to coyote size, higher velocity and lighter weight bullets which expand/fragment explosively are used. I don't know of any prarie dog enthusiasts using heavy bullets and fast twists. Until the gun companies were overwhelmed by recent demand for fast twist .223 barrels, true "varmint" sticks had 1/12 and 1/14 twist tubes. Paladin My RRA with 1/8 twist shoots 60 gr v-max's more accurately than my Ruger 77 with 1/12 |
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