Twist for a .45 ?

[davec2]

Hey....what twist would you guys recommend for a .45 cal round ball barrel ?  I'm having one made and I can dictate the twist.  Any opinions?  This is "out of my wheel house" as they say.

Thanks

[David Rase]

1-48
David

[rhbrink]

1-60

[smylee grouch]

I have two 45s with 1-56 and they shoot great with hunting charges of 75-80 gr.

[Bob Roller]

I have two 45s with 1-56 and they shoot great with hunting charges of 75-80 gr.

The 1 in 48 is a common twist in antique barrels but today the slower twist will allow a
heavier powder charge to be used in hunting guns.Back in "The Day"when these guns
were all that was it had to be something that could do the job without a heavy powder
charge due to the sometime scarcity of powder itself. It takes little powder to poke a hole
in a paper target at 75 to 150 feet.

Bob Roller

[Hungry Horse]

 I recommend 1in56" for a 45 cal. They are every bit as good as the more common 1in48" twist at short range, and much better at longer ranges.

  Hungry Horse

[Daryl]

Difficult to add anything here. I have found when using 48" twist, as in a .40 cal. if using slippery lubes, they will shoot a wider range of powder charges quite accurately than is if using water based lubes. Indeed, the 48" twist will allow heavier charges than one would think- equal in ratio to what my .45 cal. 60" twist was requiring. Thus, I would surmise that anything from 48" to 60" should do quite well.
Personally, I would chose a 60", as GM makes in that calibre.

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

I agree with HH...1:56"

[greybeard]

Years back I had a 45 1 in 72 douglas that really liked 70 gr  ff g .
Bob        PS. Positive it was a Douglas

[Hungry Horse]

Several of the old barrel makers over the years have mentioned their best caliber to twist ratios. Most agree that a 1in 48" .40 cal. Is a natuarally accurate combination. The 1in56". .45 cal., and the 1in66" .50 cal. Were mentioned by several as well. After that the recommendations were all over the map.
 My 1in 72" .50 cal. Is a good shooter, but was hard to get the optimum working load worked out. It also requires a lot of powder to make it shoot. I think the reason so many antique rifles are 1in48" twist, it's that it is very economical on powder, and even in the larger calibers give reasonable accuracy at a hundred yards.

  Hungry Horse

[Charlie B]

1-57" has worked real well in my .45 barrels.

[okieboy]

 I note that 1 in 56" is mentioned several times, as is 1 in 60". The twist halfway between 1 in 48" and 1 in 60" is 1 in 54". Or put another way, 1 in 4-1/2' is halfway between 1 in 4' and 1 in 5'. The barrel on my chunk gun (a .45) is 1 in 54" to allow for a little heavier loads. I wonder why 1 in 56" is more popular than what would seem to me an "even incremental progression". Plus or minus 2" of twist is insignificant, I just want to know what makes 56" a popular number.

[moleeyes36]

1-57" has worked real well in my .45 barrels.

Agree completely, Charlie.  I got a .45 with 1-57" twist from you awhile back.  It's very accurate.

Mole Eyes

[davec2]

Charlie,

I started this thread to see what the consensus was about twist in the little .45 cal barrel I sent the drawing for.  I think the consensus is in.  I will email you about the barrel order.

Thanks to all.

Dave C

[stuart cee dub]

My favorite target rifle in .45 is a 1-48 but just a pig to clean with the very deep grooves .
I have a 1-56 Getz in .45 with round bottom grooves that shoots very well and is quick and easy to clean .
I just bought a match grade rice barrel 1-66 but that's not been built into anything yet .

 I concur with Daryl pretty much anything from 1-48 to 1-60 will work .I would pay attention to how deep the grooves are and are they round bottom of square .What stabilized bullets is RPMs (speed plus twist and time) not the just the twist rate .

Yes I am cheap and like the faster twist as lighter charges work fine for paper punching.

[hanshi]

1-56" works just fine in my .45s.  A faster twist is also okay as long as the rifling grooves are deep enough.