Twist Rate

D

Dana C

New member
Ok, what about 1:48 twist. If I am not mistaken, that is what TC Hawkins have. I can pick up a beautiful 50, Wesson style with a custom 32" 1:48 twist barrel. Am I stuck shooting patched balls or can I shoot
conicals. Also with that twist how will I do at 300 yards assuming that I do my part? The rifle is a Craig Stolzer piece.
I came to the realization that 1000 yard shoots are for younger guys with better eys. Buying Gibbs would be a waste of money in that case. Even with glasses that really would be a stretch. However mid range would work.
All your expert opinions are welcome!
 
1 in 48 is sort of a in between compromise twist. It will shoot patched round balls well with lighter loads and is fast enough to stabilize Maxi-Ball style bullets with heavy loads.
 
The barrel is just shy of 29". Is that a problem? I hear a lot about 32-34" barrels used but do you get that much more powder burn? I would think that the sight radius improvement would be minimual over 29 or 30 inches.
 
You guys are missing one very important thing in this twist thing. Thats
caliber! A 1-48 twist is very very slow for round ball if the caliber is
a 32 or 30. It is on the slow side for a 40. It is just a tad on the fast
side for a .45 and fast for a 50 . Caliber is just as important as twist.
The two go together.
 
Caliber is important (he's looking at a .50), and the 1:48 ROT for the Thompson Center .50's has worked very well for a long time. It is a good compromise for someone who may use either roundball or conical depending on the situation. At issue will be the length of the conical projectile; the 1:48 will be better with shorter conicals than longer. The barrel length (is it 29 or 32?) is not an issue.

300 yards will be a stretch for that gun, and yes, 1000 yards is out of the question; both the caliber and the ROT are wrong for it in my opinion. Conicals only, at that range of course. You'll need a medium distance vernier tang rear sight. I personally doubt you will be satisfied with the results.
 
mykeal said:
300 yards will be a stretch for that gun, and yes, 1000 yards is out of the question
Click to expand...

I agree. Roundballs slow down like ping-pong balls and cross winds blow them way off course even at 200 yards. Short conicals are only a little better.
 
I have two Thompson Center Hawkens. Both have GM drop in barrels. One
is a .40 with a 1-48 twist, The other a 50 with a 1-66 twist. This is for
round ball shooting. Check Tip Curtis for barrels. He has them in stock from
.32 cal up to 54 cal. They just drop right in the TC Hawken stock.
 
Well after checking out a few options and hearing from you guys, I came up with
a "back to square one" conclusion. I couldn't find any drop in barrels faster than
1;48 which is what I have.
If I want to shoot mid to long range which requires heavy long bullets, my best
route is to save my $$ and buy a Pedersoli Gibbs. I can pick one up slightly used
for $1,300. By the time I have a barrel rifled, sight dovetails cut etc. it really doesn't make any sense to go that route.
So now I need to sell the TC Hawkin!
Thanks to all of you, I ended up not making a big mistake.
Thanks all,
Dana
 
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