A good twist or a bad twist ???

[Jack Stanley]

I've been reading a little about twist rates and the two twenty-three Remington case for cast bullets . It seems as though just about anything can be made to work if one engages enough skullduggery into the project . I am curious now though My Steven model two hundred has a one in nine twist as I remember . I just recently came across another rifle that has a one in fourteen .

Am I wrong in thinking this may be a problem getting one load to work well in both rifles ? I've run fifty-five to sixty grain cast with the fast twist and got good accuracy both with little charges of Bullseye and eleven point five grains of 2400 .

With the slow twist rifle will I need to keep these heavier bullets moving faster or is this a non issue ?

Thanks , Jack

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

A 1-9" twist shoots pretty much 45-69 grain quite well which allows a pretty good versatility for shooters, so the Stevens 200 you have is really idea for the bullets you're using. Some folks also do well with bullets up to 75 grains.

The 1-12" twist is more about bullet length than weight. A short blunt nosed 70gr. bullet can stablize in most standard twists (1:14 or 1:12) (Speer 70gr. Semi-point). That same 70gr. (or 69gr.) as a match bullet, with a long tapered hollow point and a boat tail base, is a lot longer and the same standard twist barrel won't shoot them.

So think in terms of length and weight rather than just weight, but I suspect you're probably going to be fine with the 55 grain. Not sure about the heavier bullet.

Here's a pretty good explanation of the .223 twist and bullet weights, should help you a good bit:

http://www.firearmstalk.com/forums/f20/understanding-barrel-twist-bullet-weights-44557/

[Jack Stanley]

I think I should be good then , the only two designs I use in this caliber are the Lyman 225462 and RCBS 22-55-FN .

Jack

[Larry Gibson]

As mentioned the 14" twist is ideal if you want to push a 35 - 60 gr cast bullet above 22LR velocities with best accuracy as compared to the 9" twist barrel. Consider yourself fortunate with the 14" twist barrel as most moulds will work very well in it. The newer GB heavier moulds may not. In my 14" twist /223 I've have very good accuracy upwards of 2500 - 2600 fps with the 225438 (still available from Lyman) and the 225462 (Loverin design). The 225415 or the 22-55-FN from RCBS will do very nicely up through 2300 - 2400+ fps for really good terminal effect on varmints. Medium to slower burning powders are best for such top end performance.

To answer the question though; a cast bullet load with a 60 gr bullet or less that shoots well in the 9" twist should also shoot well in the 14" twist, perhaps better.

Larry Gibson

[Jack Stanley]

Thanks Larry , I've used some of the RCBS "SP" bullets in the Stevens , a fella loaned me a mold and I'm using up the last of them . I expect this summer to start with production using my molds . The RCBS "FN" mold I have , I'd be very happy if I could make it run at 2400 feet per second with accuracy and terminal action for woodchucks .

The 225462 I'm hoping for great accuracy and lots of bullets from it's four cavities .

For both , I'm thinking eight fifty/fifty Lino/pure lead or two Lino/one pure mix .

Jack