Barrel for strictly RB

[WNC]

Any suggestions on twist for a barrel that will be used strictly for roundball? Wouldn't mind having a longer barrel for the Hawken and I'm thinking of just keeping it RB only.

Also, how do the 1:48 twist barrels handle RB?...Still waiting on my mld to get here

Thanks
Greg

 

[roundball]

I personally like the few inches longer length of the round ball barrels on my Hawkens...like the looks and the extra weight which helps my accuracy a little, maybe even the few extra inches of sighting radius adds a minor benefit.

But to tell you the truth, my same patched round ball loads are also very accurate in my 1:48" barrels, so having experienced both now, I'd be hard pressed to justify replacing the 1:48"'s with 1:66"'s on the basis of accuracy alone as it relates to rate of twist.

 

[WNC]

RB, from what I've read, the 1:48 is supposed to be a happy medium between the PRB and conical types. Didin't realize that a 1:48 could do that well. What kind of load you shooting in yours?

Thanks

 

[roundball]

I've settled on the following:

Hornady or Speer balls:
.45 = .440 dia
.50 = .490 dia
.54 = .530 dia

Prelubed wonderwads & prelubed .018" pillow ticking patches;

Targets = 50/60grns Goex FFFg
Hunting = 90grns Goex FFFg

 

[LRB]

The 1-48 twist is best left at .45 cal. Larger cals benefit more with a slower twist, if you want good hunting power. The slower twist usually requires more powder to get good stabilization in the RB.

 

[roundball]

Wick, I see that statement posted from time to time but I have to say that hasn't been my experience using TC's 1:48" barrels with my load data posted above.
Everything is relative so I don't know precisely what is meant by suggestions of different accuracy, and I don't use a micrometer to compare my group sizes between my 1:48" and 1:66" barrels...but if we looked at different targets shot with the different barrels, I'd be hard pressed to tell which target was made with which barrel

 

[Darkhorse]

I have both the 1 in 48 twist and the 1 in 60 twist barrels and I shoot only the round ball. What I have seen from the bench is this; at half charges in the .54, both with 2F and 3F, they both shoot about equal. But when the charge is increased the accuracy of the 1in48 begins to fall off.
The point where I see it begin in mine is 85 grains of 2F. For every increase beyond that the accuracy gets worse. That said, 120 grains of 2F still gives me a load accurate enough for hunting.
In the 1in60 I shoot 40 grains of 3F for target and 80 grains for hunting. My targets show no loss of accuracy with this increase. Granted I haven't done the amount of testing with this barrel but I have done some with both 2F and 3F. 80 grains of 3F is a fairly hot, fast load and I am very happy with results, both on paper and game.
For heavier charges, if given the choice, I would go with the slower twist barrel. I think a better compromise is about a 1 in 56.