Twist rate?

[nailer]

How do I find the twist rate of a used rifle?

[bogey1]

first get a bore brush and cleaning rod. make a mark on the rear (near handle) of rod. stick a slightly over sized bore brush in the breach or muzzle and when the mark makes a complete 360 measure from the bore brush to the muzzle/breach. if it measures 7" its 1/7.

[knight0334]

If you can tell me the cartridge of the gun in question I can probably tell you what it is. Most companies stick to a certain twist rate for a given cartridge.

[Tim Ault]

How do I find the twist rate of a used rifle?

Heres a general guide line by caliber http://www.chuckhawks.com/rifle_twist_list.htm

Of couse this can and will vary some by maker and model what rifle and model and caliber are you asking about?

[nailer]

It is a Tikka T3 in .223 rem. I was told it's either a 1 in 7 or 1 in 12, and that's a big difference!

[cephas]

Some T3 info here depending on age of firearm: http://www.tikka.fi/downloads.php

[knight0334]

It is a Tikka T3 in .223 rem. I was told it's either a 1 in 7 or 1 in 12, and that's a big difference!

Well, since they make that in two twist rates - you will have to do the cleaning rod trick. Its easy to figure out using that method, especially since there is a vast difference between 7" and 12".

[nailer]

What effect will the twist rate have, if any, in target competition out to 200 yards?

[thomae]

The faster (1:7") twist rate will stabilize longer projectiles.

Length usually is related to weight of projectiles of the same material (but not always related to weight when considering projectiles of different materials, such as a lead filled softpoint and a barnes or other lead-free bullet)

At 200 yards, I don't know if the difference in what bullets you might use for the two possible twist rates will affect accuracy or scores. It will most definitely have an effect at long ranges.

Heavier bullets are usually affected less by crosswinds.
Longer bullets in the same caliber tend to have a higher ballistic coefficient.

Given a choice, I would want the fast twist barrel. I can probably shoot long heavy bullets accurately at shorter ranges, but lightweight shorter bullets are more difficult to shoot accurately at long ranges. The fast twist barrel gives you the option of shooting heavier (better?) bullets at longer ranges at sometime in the future even if you aren't planning to do that now.

Nothing I said above is an absolute...there are usually exceptions to every general rule.

I hope this helps.
All the best,

[Tim Ault]

What effect will the twist rate have, if any, in target competition out to 200 yards?

For most folks the faster twist would be the most useful the 1:12 would be good up to 55 gr bullets and thats about it. If your mainly going to be shooting 50 -52 gr match bullets it would be ideal ,If your thinking heavier match bullets like the 68-69 gr match kings go with the faster twist as it will shoot the lighter very well too