MKII .223 Rem Barrel Twist Rate

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RJ556

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I was not able to find the recent thread on this subject, so I will start a new thread. In the last thread members posted that the newer Ruger M77 MKII rifles in caliber .223 Rem. had a rifling twist rate of 1 in 9 inches. I was curious and I attempted to measure the twist on my MKII Stainless Synthetic. I bought it NIB somewhere around 2001 and it had the new style plastic stock. After many times running a tight patch down the bore and measuring the length of the cleaning rod travel after the rod made one complete revolution, I came up with 1 turn in 10 inches to 1 turn in 11 inches. I did this at least 10 times and do not think I was getting an inch of slippage. I believe the twist is one turn in ten inches. What say you?
 

rugerjunkie

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I'd bet you are right. The target grey varmint models were different at a 1 in 12 for lighter bullets if I remember correctly.
 

EVR

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Call Ruger.

They've changed from time to time.

I THINK {?} that all current models are 1/9 but no guarantees.

If you call, please let us know what you find out.
 

RJ556

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EVR, good suggestion. I'll do that after the New year. I know they are closed from Christmas to New Year, because last year, I was trying to get parts at this time. Here's my .223.
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RJ556

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Thanks EVR. That rifle came with a 22" barrel. I cut and crowned it to 20" and installed the Ruger factory front ramp sight, then installed it into the UL stock. I have a thing for stainless and walnut. My favorite being my K1A in 6.5x55 Swede.
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EVR

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Yum, and in 6.5, too!

I am gaining an appreciation of stainless and wood, too, seeing your rifles. Very nice!
 

rugerjunkie

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RJ556 said:
The .223 did not come with iron sights on it. Thanks, RJ

Where did you get the front sight? Can you get the rear also? I am wanting to add sights to my stainless 350RM.
 

RJ556

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Ruger junky, I ordered the front sight from Ruger, I forget which model, whether it was for a K1A or an M77 MKII, but I remember that I had to open it up a bit for it to fit on the barrel of my rifle. I installed it with a bit of epoxy and the set screw. It looks factory to me. I love the looks of a Ruger front sight ramp. No other factory front sight looks as elegant as the Ruger. I did not want a "middle" sight on this rifle. When I occasionally shoot it with Iron sights, I use the NECG peep on it that is in one of the pic's. With the 3x9 Nikon on it and using Hornady 55gr. soft points or Sierra 52 gr. HP's over Varget, it will easily shoot under an inch at 100 yds. It makes for a nice light weight walk-around varminter.
 

RJ556

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6mmsl, you are probably correct, however, even accounting for slippage with a tight fitting patch, I don't get more than 11" for one revolution of the cleaning rod. I think I will get the rifle and rod out right now and try it again. Thanks for the input.
 

EVR

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RJ556 said:
It makes for a nice light weight walk-around varminter.

Really, that is a dandy of a rifle for the bait shooting I do.

I did similarly with a 6.5x55; I sawed the barrel off to 17 inches, added a Ruger front sight as well I kill a lot of squirrels with that gun. Also deer and coyotes.

Yours would be just perfect for hiking the mountain slopes filling the bait bucket. GREAT little gun you have there.
 

RJ556

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Thanks for the compliments on the rifle EVR. After doing the rod and tight patch routine a few more times, it looks like 6mmsl is correct that the twist is 1 turn in 12 inches. So it looks like this rifle will probably shoot best with up to 55 grain bullets, which is fine.
 

RugerNiner

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The barrel twist is 1 in 12 and will shoot up to a 63 grain bullet accurately.
I know because I did the tests with a variety of bullets all in one day.
Old post brought up, but I've been gone for a while.
 

ab4ka

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I've got a M77 mkII in .223 and have been wondering about this and just last week I contacted Ruger with this question. They verified for me that it is 1:12.
 
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