I have a Remington 700 with the Milspec Barrel and 5R rifling. The twist rate is 1 in 9" for the barrel. I have shot 75gr Hornady's out of it and saw some good results at a 100yds. However, a friend bought some 80gr Nosler Competition bullets and thought he could not use them in his AR. So I offered to take a few and work up some loads to see how they shot out of my rifle. After the first few rounds I thought something was loose on my rifle, like the scope. I have not shot it for about 6 months so I was suspicious something moved. My first group at 100yds was two shots in the same hole with a flyer at 4". The second group was two shots close with a 6" flyer. My worst two groups was two shots within an inch with a 9" flyer. The flyer was typically low in each group. And I had one group which I had two shots 6" from each other with the third shot missing my target frame completely. I couldn't find anything wrong with the rifle and scope. So I shot a 5 round group with Federal 55gr ball ammo that measured about 1". Which has always been typical for this rifle/ammo combination. So I obviously reached the limits of what my rifle was capable of with these bullets.

I had to give the bullets back to my buddy and told him to try his luck with them himself. His AR has a 1 in 7" twist.

Heavier bullets normally require a faster twist. 75-80gr normally need a 1:7-1:8 to stabilize the bullet. 90gr bullets definately need a 1:7 or faster custom barrel.

It is possible to good results at 100yds with a 1:9 twist rifle, but it is not the norm.

I shoot 80gr Barnes and Sierras out of my Armalite AR 1:8 twist NM with good results at the 600 yardline. The loads are for slowfire only and fed one at a time since the OAL makes them too long for the magazine. The bullets are seated to touch the rifling and are not crimped. This is not recommended for the general AR shooter.

 If your friend plans to poke holes at only 100 yards, then use the cheaper 55-62 gr stuff. If he is hunting game, then go for the barnes TSX bullets or stuff specifically designed for hunting. If he is a serious competitor, then he should use the competition bullets for precision shooting.

80gr bullets fly all over with 1:9 twist rate.  The bullet becomes unstable because it cant handle the twist  also it creates more friction going down the barrel.

I may have not explained this right. 

Heavier bullets normally require a faster twist. 75-80gr normally need a 1:7-1:8 to stabilize the bullet. 90gr bullets definately need a 1:7 or faster custom barrel.

It is possible to good results at 100yds with a 1:9 twist rifle, but it is not the norm.

I shoot 80gr Barnes and Sierras out of my Armalite AR 1:8 twist NM with good results at the 600 yardline. The loads are for slowfire only and fed one at a time since the OAL makes them too long for the magazine. The bullets are seated to touch the rifling and are not crimped. This is not recommended for the general AR shooter.

 If your friend plans to poke holes at only 100 yards, then use the cheaper 55-62 gr stuff. If he is hunting game, then go for the barnes TSX bullets or stuff specifically designed for hunting. If he is a serious competitor, then he should use the competition bullets for precision shooting.

When my buddy looked up the COAL he called me and asked if his AR would chamber them. I told him he couldn't fit them in his magazine! LOL!!! All of my other references lists the COAL as 2.550" which is too long to fit in a magazine. After I did my research I found that Nosler website actually lists the COAL as 2.260" - 2.360". After I tried them in my rifle he decided he is going to try a few loaded at 2.260" and see if he can get them to work. Otherwise I might put them up for sale here on the forum.

The reason he bought these 80gr Competition Bullets was that it was all he could find for sale. He is new to the hobby and reloading and didn't know any better.

I thought I would share all this info for those who might also be new to reloading.

80gr bullets fly all over with 1:9 twist rate.  The bullet becomes unstable because it cant handle the twist  also it creates more friction going down the barrel.

I may have not explained this right.

I was hoping that if the Hornady 75gr bullets shot well out of my gun that the 80gr Noslers would, too.

Trying to help out a friend and it didn't work out. 

In case y'all want to try some, I am willing to let go a small number of Nosler 69 grain BTHP Match bullets from my private stash.
The going rate is about $20/ 100, which is about what I paid for them. I'm not tying to make any profit. Just wanna help out some newbies.

In case y'all want to try some, I am willing to let go a small number of Nosler 69 grain BTHP Match bullets from my private stash.
The going rate is about $20/ 100, which is about what I paid for them. I'm not tying to make any profit. Just wanna help out some newbies.

I'm always up for trying some new bullets. My rifles both like the Sierra 69gr Matchkings so I assume they will like the Noslers as well. So if you would like to sell 100 I would love to try them. Thanks!

I'm always up for trying some new bullets. My rifles both like the Sierra 69gr Matchkings so I assume they will like the Noslers as well. So if you would like to sell 100 I would love to try them. Thanks!

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I believe these heads were meant to go head-to-head against the Sierra Matchkings. Send me a pm and let's figure out a place and time.

a longer bullet such as an 80 requires a fast twist. There was a mag length 80 that was produced by Hornady? but the popular 80s are made to be seated long. VLDs just barely touch the lands.
I have shot both Noslers and SMKs 69s, 77s, and 80s and the higher X count goes towards the SMKs. A slight edge to the SMKs and they are more expensive than the Noslers. I only shoot the Noslers now as I bought a whole bunch of them before the panic. I have shot them with 7 and 8 twist RRA and White Oak barrels.

Once again

When my buddy looked up the COAL he called me and asked if his AR would chamber them. I told him he couldn't fit them in his magazine! LOL!!! All of my other references lists the COAL as 2.550" which is too long to fit in a magazine. After I did my research I found that Nosler website actually lists the COAL as 2.260" - 2.360". After I tried them in my rifle he decided he is going to try a few loaded at 2.260" and see if he can get them to work. Otherwise I might put them up for sale here on the forum.

The reason he bought these 80gr Competition Bullets was that it was all he could find for sale. He is new to the hobby and reloading and didn't know any better.

I thought I would share all this info for those who might also be new to reloading.

Be careful of the shorter COAL especially if you have several references that lists the COAL at 2.550" even if Nosler's website lists 2.260" to 2.360."  That is around a 1/4" difference.  You will most likely compress the powder (and maybe not even get the bullet to seat that far down the case) and increase the pressure to an unsafe level.