RB twist?

[OverMax]

Browsing a bit tonight OP. Re-reading my & fellow members comments.

Curious. Does anyone know the {optimal barrel length} for the twist rate of 1-66 or 1-70? i.e. (utmost powder performance and accuracy achieved)

If caliber & ball size matters? ~ 54 cal around 230 grain in weight.

[indian joe]

Depends on who the guy is and whether you already know what he's a'gonna do.

Comes down to "who'se runnin this show"
Tell the guy what YOU want ( a dedicated round ball hunting barrel) - he can either do it right OR say No, go away, dont want yr money, nobody is any the worse
Or pay hundreds of dollars for what HE thinks you need and could end up with a good quality compromise twist barrel - that does the job half a$$
- you didnt get what you wanted because the other guy thought he knew better - but you cant complain because there is nothing wrong quality wise with the work.

[indian joe]

Browsing a bit tonight OP. Re-reading my & fellow members comments.

Curious. Does anyone know the {optimal barrel length} for the twist rate of 1-66 or 1-70? i.e. (utmost powder performance and accuracy achieved)

If caliber & ball size matters? ~ 54 cal around 230 grain in weight.

opinion -
optimal barrel length should be independant of twist rate in rifles?

For a hunting rifle 28 inch is quite short enough - 36 inch is plenty long enough (unless you are creating a period correct flinter - even then more than 36inch would be questionable in a heavy calibre - 54 and up)

Can load FFF powder in the shorter barrels to hasten the burn rate a bit

There is a point of diminishing returns with blackpowder - I suggest that is about at 120 grains of FF goex in a 28 inch tube 54 cal . more than that will do very little other than make more smoke and noise and kick harder. Chronograph testing will show the way.

[bob208]

in a 28 inch barrel 120 gr. is way too much powder cut it back to a max. load of 70 gr. anything over that is just making fouling and putting unburned powder on the ground. for a barrel as short as was asked about 1-48 or 1-52 would do just fine

[indian joe]

in a 28 inch barrel 120 gr. is way too much powder cut it back to a max. load of 70 gr. anything over that is just making fouling and putting unburned powder on the ground. for a barrel as short as was asked about 1-48 or 1-52 would do just fine

We were talking hunting loads not plinkers - I thought the extra couple hundred FPS was worthwhile - as luck (or not) would have it my CVA was super accurate with the same load so I used it on the range too - that used to get peoples attention - but I carted a few trophys home with it so they were not laughing down at me.

[indian joe]

in a 28 inch barrel 120 gr. is way too much powder cut it back to a max. load of 70 gr. anything over that is just making fouling and putting unburned powder on the ground. for a barrel as short as was asked about 1-48 or 1-52 would do just fine

Bob
I went back and re read the OP - hes talkin 24"barrel - for straight round ball I reckon he will still do better with a 66 twist - but he likely get better results switching to FFF powder and coming back to your 70 or even 60 grains charge

[bob208]

I am basing my statements on what I learned when working with bob hoyt.

[indian joe]

I am basing my statements on what I learned when working with bob hoyt.

48 twist is a good compromise - can get them to shoot minies and still do a round ball ok (my 45 cal flnter is a 48 twist shallow rifling and its a fine accurate RB barrel so long as I keep it 50 grains of FFF or under - but load 60 grains and ya might just as well throw rocks)

- they just can be more finickity if ya push em hard - also my experience is over the counter commerial barrels - most of those in 48twist are bored with shallower rifling than you see in the slower twist - that may be the difference as much as twist rate?

However that old slow twist for round ball idea has been around a long time and I believe its well proven -
Bob Hoyt is a master and he can likely make a barrel that runs counter to the accepted wisdom - dont prove the wisdom wrong - just proves he is a better barrel maker than most

[LAGS]

After I get moved to my new house, I am planning to send my TC .56 SB Renegade barrel to Mr. Hoyt and have it bored out to .62 Rifled for a RB.
Since The only projectile I can find in .62 is a Lyman .610 RB mold.
I will talk to Mr. Hoyt and see what twist he recommends.
But I am thinking somewhere in the 1:66 line .
But then, Friends are telling me to leave the barrel alone because it is not that common of a barrel in SB.
But I have not been able to find the proper mold to fit the barrel in.56 cal.
Accuracy is fair at best with Thick Patches and .54 cal round Balls, or balls shot with a 28 ga shotgun wads, and at very close ranges.
Any recommendations from any of the other members ?

[Edward]

After I get moved to my new house, I am planning to send my TC .56 SB Renegade barrel to Mr. Hoyt and have it bored out to .62 Rifled for a RB.
Since The only projectile I can find in .62 is a Lyman .610 RB mold.
I will talk to Mr. Hoyt and see what twist he recommends.
But I am thinking somewhere in the 1:66 line .
But then, Friends are telling me to leave the barrel alone because it is not that common of a barrel in SB.
But I have not been able to find the proper mold to fit the barrel in.56 cal.
Accuracy is fair at best with Thick Patches and .54 cal round Balls, or balls shot with a 28 ga shotgun wads, and at very close ranges.
Any recommendations from any of the other members ?

Yup I took a new never fired SB barrel and sent it to Bob Hoyt and it came back a 1-66 twist .610 bore and I shoot a Lee .600 RB . Lots of lead /lots of fun

[LAGS]

Thank you Edward.
I was figuring on a .620 bore , meaning I would have to use a .610 RB meant for a 16 ga . shotgun.

So wouldn't a .610 bore be classified as a 61 caliber ?
I think that a .600 RB is a little more common.
Back to the research.
I would love to have a short barreled rifle , ( like .24" ) in a fast twist to shoot a slug.
But projectiles or molds in that caliber are not to be found.

[Edward]

Thank you Edward.
I was figuring on a .620 bore , meaning I would have to use a .610 RB meant for a 16 ga . shotgun.

So wouldn't a .610 bore be classified as a 61 caliber ?
I think that a .600 RB is a little more common.
Back to the research.
I would love to have a short barreled rifle , ( like .24" ) in a fast twist to shoot a slug.
But projectiles or molds in that caliber are not to be found.

I told Bob to give me a 610 bore as it allows use of a $25.00 Lee 600 mold which drops@ 597 with( pure ?)and I could use .024-30 patch Mattress ticking . It"s working well for me and targets and squirrel can"t tell the difference between 610 and 620 /Ed

[indian joe]

I told Bob to give me a 610 bore as it allows use of a $25.00 Lee 600 mold which drops@ 597 with( pure ?)and I could use .024-30 patch Mattress ticking . It"s working well for me and targets and squirrel can"t tell the difference between 610 and 620 /Ed

So whos been feeding steroids to yr squirrels?? I thought they were little soft skin dudes ?

[LAGS]

Edward,
I like your thinking.
But the cost of the mold is not of concern to me.
It is more the availabity of molds and other stuff like Wads or cleaning equipment, like it is with the .550 mold for the .56 SB that I cant find now.
I am not sure that this barrel can be bored out to as far as .69 that would fit many available slugs for a faster twist barrel.
I like BIG calibers.
You never know when I may run into an Angry Squirrel

[nicholst55]

After I get moved to my new house, I am planning to send my TC .56 SB Renegade barrel to Mr. Hoyt and have it bored out to .62 Rifled for a RB.
Since The only projectile I can find in .62 is a Lyman .610 RB mold.
I will talk to Mr. Hoyt and see what twist he recommends.
But I am thinking somewhere in the 1:66 line .
But then, Friends are telling me to leave the barrel alone because it is not that common of a barrel in SB.
But I have not been able to find the proper mold to fit the barrel in.56 cal.
Accuracy is fair at best with Thick Patches and .54 cal round Balls, or balls shot with a 28 ga shotgun wads, and at very close ranges.
Any recommendations from any of the other members ?

Dixie sells a .615" round ball mold. Not sure about Track. RCBS and Lyman both make a .610" RB mold, as well; BACO lists both.

[hylander]

Just got my Hawken barrel back from Robert.
Bored to .54 with 1:60 twist, .012 round bottom grooves.
Range report soon

[Edward]

So whos been feeding steroids to yr squirrels?? I thought they were little soft skin dudes ?

Aggressive critters when running in packs ,you need extreme penetration as the boolit /ball must travel lengthwise thru multiple squirls ! Failure could be catastrophic

[waksupi]

After I get moved to my new house, I am planning to send my TC .56 SB Renegade barrel to Mr. Hoyt and have it bored out to .62 Rifled for a RB.
Since The only projectile I can find in .62 is a Lyman .610 RB mold.
I will talk to Mr. Hoyt and see what twist he recommends.
But I am thinking somewhere in the 1:66 line .
But then, Friends are telling me to leave the barrel alone because it is not that common of a barrel in SB.
But I have not been able to find the proper mold to fit the barrel in.56 cal.
Accuracy is fair at best with Thick Patches and .54 cal round Balls, or balls shot with a 28 ga shotgun wads, and at very close ranges.
Any recommendations from any of the other members ?

Jeff Tanner Molds is still in business. His son is making the molds now. They will cut any diameter.

[LAGS]

Thank you for your input on the molds.
I do know I can get a Custom mold in any size that I want.
But I would like to stay with a Standard Caliber just in case I ever decide to sell the rifle, or there is a performance problem in the standard caliber.
That gives me room to Tweek the loading to make things better. like Mold Size and such.
It is best if you have a Base Line for Wildcat calibers or Custom Rifles

[arcticap]

Did you know that Track of the Wolf sells .550 cast balls for the .56 smoothie?--->>> https://www.trackofthewolf.com/Searc...=round%20balls

They should be able to hold you over until you can find a mold.
And any money saved by switching to standard ammo. will be spent on rifling the barrel.
It's considered a plus that shot loads can be fired from the .56 smooth rifle barrel.
They can shoot as good as nearly any other rifle out to at least .50 yards with the right load, such as a .015 patch and 80-90 grains of powder.