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cbhester · January 22, 2012, 06:28 PM

I own a Ruger M77 220 Swift that I have had a couple of years and found to be a very good shooting rifle. Recently, I am becoming more interested in shooting beyond 300 and even 500 yards, all the way out to 1,000 and have been looking in to ways to do this with the Swift. I have found some info on the 90 grain bench rest bullets made by Berger, but have been informed that the stock barrel which I think is a 24" with a 1:14 twist will not be suitable for stabilizing this size of bullet. Therefore, I am looking into purchasing a custom made barrel specifically for this purpose.

After looking around on several custom barrel websites I have found that selecting a "contour" is part of choosing my barrel. I know nothing about contours, how they work, what they mean, and definitely do not know what I need for this particular purpose.

Can anyone give me some good advice on what length, twist and contour would be optimal for the purpose of shooting the 90 grain Berger bullets up to 1,000 yard distances? I have had some recommendations on another thread I posted of a 26" barrel with a 1:8 twist, can anyone confirm this? Also, if the bullet will stabilize with the 1:8 twist in a 26" barrel, will a 30" at the same twist shoot even better?

Any advice and info will be greatly appreciated!

January 22, 2012, 06:28 PM	#1
cbhester Member Join Date: January 14, 2010 Location: Brownsville, KY Posts: 57	Ruger M77 220 Swift Custom Barrel I own a Ruger M77 220 Swift that I have had a couple of years and found to be a very good shooting rifle. Recently, I am becoming more interested in shooting beyond 300 and even 500 yards, all the way out to 1,000 and have been looking in to ways to do this with the Swift. I have found some info on the 90 grain bench rest bullets made by Berger, but have been informed that the stock barrel which I think is a 24" with a 1:14 twist will not be suitable for stabilizing this size of bullet. Therefore, I am looking into purchasing a custom made barrel specifically for this purpose. After looking around on several custom barrel websites I have found that selecting a "contour" is part of choosing my barrel. I know nothing about contours, how they work, what they mean, and definitely do not know what I need for this particular purpose. Can anyone give me some good advice on what length, twist and contour would be optimal for the purpose of shooting the 90 grain Berger bullets up to 1,000 yard distances? I have had some recommendations on another thread I posted of a 26" barrel with a 1:8 twist, can anyone confirm this? Also, if the bullet will stabilize with the 1:8 twist in a 26" barrel, will a 30" at the same twist shoot even better? Any advice and info will be greatly appreciated!