rifling twist of .357 magnums

As per Bill Davis, probably the best pistol smith/custom builder in the last fifty years, 1:16 is the best all around twist in a handgun. I owned two of his guns at one time and they would shoot ten shots in 1" at 50 yards out of a fixture. I could sometimes do it off bags on a good day. His guns were known at Davis One Holers.
 
The 18.75" twist is a holdover from 1899 S&W M&P. It was usual to have as slow a twist as would stabilize the standard bullet in an effort to minimize black powder fouling.

Jerry Keefer and some PPC builders were trending to faster twist for low velocity target loads. I have read of 10" and 12" twist wadcutter guns.
 
Back when I was shooting the PPC wadcutter game, Colt was known to be more accurate than S&W when talking stock barrels. Custom Bull barrels were another discussion, and none of this has anything to do with 357 Magnums, so my apologies to the OP. (smile)

Dave
 
I note on Ruger's home pages its GP100 has a 1:18 as
does its .357 SP101 and for the .38 SP101 a 1:16.

Another thing I do remember about Colt and Smith is
that Colt barrels were usually around .355/356 for a
.357 while the Smiths had barrels of .358, the .358 being
a normal lead bullet as opposed to jacketed variations.

For all practical purposes it all didn't really matter for
most and average shooters.
 
Rifle vs handgun matters. Henry appears to use several different twists. Their Big Boy is advertised as using 1 in 38, in an American Rifleman article. So is the Marlin 1894CB. A Winchester 1873 Sporter has 1 in 18.75. The Ruger 77/357 was 1 in 16.
A GP-100 is 1 in 18.75. Note the horde of revolver variations on the Exterior Ballistics .pdf.
 
I am not sure about the current production Dan Wessons but I know the earlier ones were 1:16. My favorite gun is a 6" Dan Wesson and is capable of 1.25" groups at 25 yards from a rest. That was with Missouri 158 grain SWC. With Remington sjhp 125 grain which was my main load for many years I could get consistent 1.25" groups at 25 yards. I'd love one of the new Dan Wessons but they have been running upwards of $1,300.00 which is not really doable these days. Those are outstanding guns. Not only are they of the most accurate revolvers ever made but they are also very strong. For the best knowledge base on Dan Wessons go to: https://www.danwessonforum.com/
 
All Dan Wesson .357's are 1:16 except for the early years of the .357 SuperMag. They used a 1:14 twist. EWK Arms barrels for the Dan Wesson are 1:12.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top