PRB in a 1 in 32" ROT barrel

[PreglerD]

Hello from Germany,

is it possible to shoot PRb in a fast twist barrl like a 1 in32" with good accuracy and what is the max. charge recommended?

Thanks!

Regards

Kirrmeister

 

[Little Wattsy]

I havea friend that bought a 1 in 28 inline..it shot PRB OK to 50 yards and then got a little squirly beyond that but even then I wouldnt want him shooting at me to 100 yards....Not an ideal deer combo for around here so I guess you'll just have to spend a day at therange to see what yours will do...

 

[necchi]

Tried it one time years back with a cabelas "carbine" model in .54

I went from 40-85 grns in 5 grn increments using 5 shot groups and couldn't get any better than 4" groups at 50yrds off a bench.

That's not accurate enough for me. I didn't like shooting conicals, so I took the gun back and bought other stuff with the monies.

 

[Trench]

My father has a 1:32 twist GPH rifle. We never shot PRB off the bench, but for fun I had him load up som .490 balls and a .015 spit patch with 50gr of FFg. He kept 4in groups off-hand at 50 yards.

 

[rabjr]

Hello from Germany,

is it possible to shoot PRb in a fast twist barrl like a 1 in32" with good accuracy and what is the max. charge recommended?

Thanks!

Regards

Kirrmeister

This twist rate a long with 1-28 were made to shoot conicals very well. Good luck trying to get prb to shoot accurately out it. It's just not made for it.

 

[Geraldo]

Hello from Germany,

is it possible to shoot PRb in a fast twist barrl like a 1 in32" with good accuracy and what is the max. charge recommended?

Thanks!

Regards

Kirrmeister

This twist rate a long with 1-28 were made to shoot conicals very well. Good luck trying to get prb to shoot accurately out it. It's just not made for it.

It's true that fast twist barrels are made to shoot conicals, but that doesn't automatically mean that they won't shoot PRB well. I've got a 1:28" GM barrel that shoots PRB as well as some slower twist GM barrels.

 

[BrownBear]

They're just another barrel. Some individual barrels will like PRBs and others won't. But they'll all take load development to find which works best.

I've worked up PRB loads in a fast twist 50 caliber and in a fast twist 54. Messing a little with patch thickness and lube allowed both to shoot groups smaller than 2" at 50 yards from a bench. Coincidentally both did that at 60 grains of 3f.

Increasing the charge to what I'd call a "hunting" load of 80 grains only opened the 50 caliber up to around 2" and the 54 to 3". I'd hunt deer and other large game with either out to at least 75 yards or so. My eyes aren't good enough to hunt further than that any more, so no blaming it on the fast twist if I missed one.

 

[paulvallandigham]

YOu can shoot a PRB in any ROT in any rifle made. Think about pistols. They use much faster ROTs in them and shoot PRB all the time. What you do need, however, is a much tighter Patch and Ball combination in these shallow grooved, fast pitch barrels. Use a ball that is less than .010" under bore diameter, and use a thick patch- so thick you may need to pound the PRB into the muzzle to get it to fit down the bore.

I once owned an imported rifle that had, being kind, a " Hint of Rifling " in the bore. The lands were more like a burr raised up by a cutting tool, than actual lands and grooves. NEVERTHELESS, that gun would shoot with a tight ball/patch combination, and I did some credible off-hand shooting in front of witnesses at 50yds, one New Year's Day. I shot a 47-2x target, with 4 shots touching each other in a line across the ten-X rng, and Ten ring. The final shot was a called flyer, landing below the 4th shot, and down in the 7 ring.

The Caliber was .45. The Bore diameter was .451. I shot a .445 ball with a .010" patch, lubed with alcohol that day. A sharp rap on my short starter was required to seat the ball in the barrel. I had crowned the barrel to stop the edge from cutting my patches more than a year before, and after I stopped cutting patches, I began to get good consistent groups out of the gun. I not only would have bet, I did BET good money( not much- I am cheap, afterall :blahthat the gun would never shoot a decent group. With .440" diameter balls, it loaded easier, but it didn't shoot very tight groups, off a rest, or off-hand. But, I tried the larger, .445" diameter balls, and everything tightened up quickly. I sold the gun before I got a chance to shoot .0450" diameter balls in the gun. Knowing what I know now, after watching match shooters use bore sized RB in their guns with tight patches, I wish I could have tried those balls in that gun and see how it shot them.

My experience, however, tells me that you can shoot RBs out of any gun, with any ROT provided the ball/patch combination is a tight fit, for the faster ROT barrels.

 

[Walks with fire]

I shoot 80 grain of Goex 2 or 3f; .495 ball with a .020 blue jean patch lubed with Crisco for a patched ball combo from my GM 1/28 twist barrel. 2" groups at 75 yards from the bench. I have not tested it beyond that but they shoot fine as for me. As long as it's a snug fit they seem to shoot fine. These barrels are for other types of bullets but mine shoot prb's just fine. The last time I shot I tried the Hornday Plastic patch designed to hold a .490 ball; I took 2 shots at 50 yards with 80 grains of Goex 3f; 2" apart in the center of the target. Don't use anything larger than a .490 ball with these plastic patches as they are not designed for anything of larger diameter.

I have to do some shooting at 100 and vary the charge level some yet but overall it looks like it actually likes prb's. I have only tried 80 grains so far because that is the min. charge level I would hunt deer with; going higher it might open up some but I haven't tried yet either.

I think the 1/32 would shoot them well with some load development. I do think you want to use a ball that is as close to bore size as possible. I used .495 because thats what I had and it's the largest I can get without special order or pouring my own. GM barrels are about .501/.502 plus the groove depths are .004/.005 in the 1/28 twist. My combo is not hard to load at all but I swab clean every shot with all my rifles including these.

I have other barrels for shooting rb's so I don't intend to use these for shooting rb's for hunting but I wanted to see if they could shoot them well. I wouldn't shoot at a deer beyond 80 yards with any of my .50 caliber roundball guns anyway so it would be just fine for what I use it for. Shooting rb's from the fast twist with reduced loads for offhand target practice and plinking is cheaper and plenty accurate in my opinion.

 

[omarick1948]

I can remember back in the 70's, when the TC Hawken was gaining popularity and the so called "GUN EXPERTS" preached that the 1-28 twist of the rifling of the .50 TC was to fast for RB!

Sure was alot of those inacurate .50 cal. TC Hawkens winning matches using PRB!

:hmm:

 

[Billnpatti]

Yes, you can shoot a patched round ball in a fast twist barrel. However, you must reduce your powder charge. If you try to shoot a patched round ball with a heavy powder charge in a fast twist barrel, the bullet will not be able to follow the rifling and will strip across the rifling. You did not say what caliber rifle you have so I cannot suggest a starting powder charge. What I would suggest is to start with a powder charge with the grains of powder equil the caliber. In other words, for a .45 caliber rifle, start with 45 grains of powder. For a .50 caliber rifle, start with 50 grains of powder, etc.

Patched round balls in a fast twist rifle will never be a hunting combination because of the reduced charges that you will have to use but it can be fun to shoot at targets.

 

[Zonie]

I agree that a fast twist barrel "could" shoot a patched roundball just fine and it depends on the barrel.

Most (if not all) rifle length barrels with fast twists are made for shooting conicals (or them plastic things) and because of this they have very shallow rifling grooves.

These shallow grooves work well with solid bullets because the length of engagement is quite long and because the shallow grooves will seal an obturated bullet quite well.
The shallow grooves will not get a good grip on a cloth patch and, as others have said, this will cause the patch to "slip" and tear.

If roundballs are to be shot from one of these shallow grooved barrels the patching must be very tight.

 

[Walks with fire]

I don't believe that the ball strips the rifling with a loose load. I also don't believe that you need reduced charges if you have a tight enough load and I also don't think you can overspin a ball. My limited shooting with them doesn't show that it does. I am quite certain I can get a load worked up with 90-100 grains of Goex 3f that will stay inside 3" @ 100 yards and still load quite easily. I can see 2" or less groups at 75 yards with 80 grains of 3f which is plently of power. I just have not shot it at 100 yet. Maybe the current load will work fine at 100. Next time I go I will test at 100.

 

[larry wv]

Like to hear how that turns out walks with fire. Please post if you get a chance. Larry Wv

 

[necchi]

I am quite certain I can get a load worked up with 90-100 grains of Goex 3f that will stay inside 3" @ 100 yards and still load quite easily. I can see 2" or less groups at 75 yards with 80 grains of 3f which is plently of power.

With a PRB in a Fast twist?!!
I'm sorry, but I gotta do this,,

:bull: :youcrazy: :shake:

 

[Walks with fire]

OK; I do it tommorrow. Five shots in less than 3" @ 100 yards; Goex 3f at 90 grains. I wish you were here so I could take your money! I know I can do under 2" at 80 yards with 80 grains of Goex 3f; because I have done that already. Oh; you of small minds!

I will Post the results Larry as I know many have interest in this area. I think the key to it is the thread count of the patch as well as the thickness; the ball must be no less than .010 smaller than bore size. I see no difference in group size at 80 yards with my 1/66 twist barrel with the same exact load. The heavier charge may even group much better if it upsets the ball enough to expand a little in the bore. It can be done and I will prove it.

 

[longcruise]

Patched round balls in a fast twist rifle will never be a hunting combination because of the reduced charges that you will have to use but it can be fun to shoot at targets.

So goes the conventional wisdom of twist rates, but there are exceptions. One fellow who hunts with us occasionaly shoots a .54 in-line with a 1:28 twist and gets acceptable hunting accuracy.