243 twist rate

[rclouse79]

I am way down the rabbit hole of researching my daughters first suppressed hunting rifle. There is so much information out there I feel like a dog chasing its tail. I keep going round and round with different rifles and calibers. The latest one I have been looking at is the 243. It seems like the vast majority of people recommend a 1 in 8 twist or lower but most factory rifles are 1 in 9 or 1 in 10. What gives? Are most of the people with lower twist rates getting custom barrels? I heard whispers of a 1 in 8 twist tikka, but didn't find one last night while looking.

 

[S.Clancy]

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It looks like all new Tikka .243 Win are 1:8. So you are probably seeing older stock.

 

[Billy Goat]

Tikka T3x Hunter 243 Win 22.4" 1:8" Bbl Rifle JRTXA315

Tikka T3x Hunter 243 Win 22" 1:8" Bbl Rifle JRTXA315 | Only at EuroOptic.com!

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Tikka T3x Hunter .243 Win SS FB 22.4" 1:8" Bbl Rifle JRTXA715

Tikka T3x Hunter .243 Win SS FB 22" 1:8" Bbl Rifle JRTXA715 | Only at EuroOptic.com!

www.eurooptic.com

Tikka T3x Laminated .243 Win SS 22" 1:8" Bbl Rifle JRTXG315

Tikka T3x Laminated .243 Win SS 22" 1:8" Bbl Rifle JRTXG315 | Only at EuroOptic.com!

www.eurooptic.com

It's not all of them, but they are out there.

 

[KyleR1985]

The general trend you’re picking up on around here is shooting heavy for caliber bullets, requiring faster twists.

The general trend in factory rifles seems to be a decade or two behind the general trend here.

You and your daughter can definitely be successful with any available twist rate. You just limit options the slower the twist you go with. If you don’t want or care about options, buy a gun. If you care, wait and find a faster twist or a prefit, and you can shoot heavies and lights.

 

[stooxie]

Because a lot of people on the forums are all about shooting heavy-for-caliber bullets that need the higher twist rates. If you only plan on shooting "normal" factory loads then I would go with the slower twist.

-Stooxie

 

[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

I have a 1:10 tikka that has killed just fine but if shopping today I'd absolutely look for a 1:8 to have the option to run longer higher BC bullets (both mono and match lead core) to buck the wind a little more at range. But you'd need to reload to capitalize on these bullets in a 243win since there aren't many factory ammo offerings.

There are plenty of <100gr options that will work in the 1:10 if that is what you end up with and most factory ammo will work in that twist.