opinions of best twist rate for 45

Bobby Hoyt made a .45 barrel for me and recommended a 1:56 twist. The accuracy sweet spot is around 55-60 grains.

JDBraddy said:

Oh, just for matches, paper and sillhoettes.

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You are probably good with just about any of the typical rates for a 45.

olskool said:

the green mountain Kibbler barrel in 45 has a 1-72 this is one of the reasons i asked. i have built several of them and in the middle of one now and have another on the way. this is the SMR i speak of, they shoot good with 55gr. of 3f, but i really have no idea why Jim went with a 1[72 twist in a 45 barrel.

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Maybe there is something to be learned there.

The ultimate slow twist is a no twist smooth bore. I don't shoot them but many of our members seem to get pretty good accuracy with them. The "conventional wisdom" applied to round balls is the larger the ball the slower the twist. And the reverse, the smaller the ball the faster the twist.

If Kibler's SMR shoots as well as reported, and I believe the reports, maybe the degree of twist for our RB guns is less relevant than we think ????

1-48'' in a .45 caliber is a great round ball twist. Generally speaking as you go up in caliber with a RB the twist can be slowed down incrementally. I have a .69 caliber October Country Great American Sporting Rifle with 1-104" twist but it really doesn't need to be that slow. A .50 caliber in 1-60" and slowing to a 1-80" when you get to .72 caliber will work great.

I have Rice 45s with 1-66 which I thought would be a little slow for milder target loads. But with 50gr at 100 yards from a bench rest will make you grin from ear to ear. They are square cut style American Heritage series.

olskool, I'd reckon the 72" twist would be a honker with a long enough barrel.
Saying that because it and the shooter might be happiest with much velocity.
I started out with 48" twist .45. One of those percussion Kentucky" rifles of the early 70's with a piece of brass wrapped around to hide where the two pieces of the stock came together. With 65 grains of FFFg it cracked like a bullwhip and was accurate as far down range as until the ball slowed down. That may have been when it transitioned to subsonic but I can't swear to it. But I pulled off some fine shots a long ways off with it. My thoughts are along the lines of that gosh, if the 72" twist required you to get the velocity way up in order to have sufficient RPM's on the ball then having sufficient barrel length to help achieve the velocity and to also give you a long sight radius to help with long range accuracy, long enough to make use of that high velocity before the ball slowed down and started going coo-coo, well, it might be a winning combination for extended range flat shooting. As far as you could do with .440 or .455 round ball anyhow. I'd have to break out the books to check on velocity drop but it sure does slow down quickly.

Not only the twist rate is involved for PRB, remember you need the grooves in the .010 - .016 area. I like a 1:56 for PRB & .010 - .012 groove depth. I seldom shoot one past 75 yards hunting.

Grenadier1758 said:

I have a very accurate 45 caliber rifle with a twist rate of 1 in 56 and about a depth of rifling of 0.010". The lands should be narrower than the grooves. So, it's not just the twist.

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Several years ago I sent a barrel to Bobby Hoyt to have enlarged to .45 from .36. I let him "do his thing" since he's the expert. 1-56 was the twist he used and IIRC a .012 groove depth. Grooves wider than lands. That barrel was a tack driver!

Sparkplug said:

From what I have learned (which isn't much) a slower twist rate is preferred for round ball. A faster twist is wanted for conical. 1:48 is the happy medium that doesn't excel with either, but shoots both with acceptable accuracy.

I personally have a 45 with 1:66 twist that shoots round ball very well. But I have also found a 160 grain conical that does well out of it due to it being short (.450) in length giving it the approximate dimensions of a round ball.

Hope this helps.

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Is your rifle a T/C with a factory 1/66
Twist I just postwd this question under general muzzle ?

I haven't been shooting that long but I get pretty good results at 50 yds. from my T/C Cherokee 45 ca.- 1:48 twist with 50 grains 2f Goex using .460 over powder wad with a .015 patch (ox yoke pre lubed) and a .440 RB. To be honest, I haven't tried 3f or any more grains of 2f because of what I've read and heard about the stocks cracking at the wrist.

10 spot said:

Is your rifle a T/C with a factory 1/66
Twist I just postwd this question under general muzzle ?

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I have a Jukar .45 Kentucky rifle with 1:66 and 2 CVA .50s with 1:48.

The CVAs do well with patched ball or conical pushed by 65 grains of 2F. The Jukar is almost exclusively a PRB rifle. I say almost because I have found a 160 grain conical that shoots well out of it (.452 Dia. x .454 length). It uses the same charge of 3F.

Sparkplug said:

From what I have learned (which isn't much) a slower twist rate is preferred for round ball. A faster twist is wanted for conical. 1:48 is the happy medium that doesn't excel with either, but shoots both with acceptable accuracy.

I personally have a 45 with 1:66 twist that shoots round ball very well. But I have also found a 160 grain conical that does well out of it due to it being short (.450) in length giving it the approximate dimensions of a round ball.

Hope this helps.

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Thanks spark plug I pass all this info
On to my hunting buddy, him be the one with the TC 45 cal wondering if it came in 1:66 twist

Kansas Kid said:

I have Rice 45s with 1-66 which I thought would be a little slow for milder target loads. But with 50gr at 100 yards from a bench rest will make you grin from ear to ear. They are square cut style American Heritage series.

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That may be just the ticket, we live about 30 to 44 min away from Rice
I'll relay the info to my hunting buddy.
( We like grin'n) When we shoot.