1:70 twist or 1:48 twist??

[Wyoduster]

Looking at 32 cal. barrels. Please tell me why the twist difference and which one would be better.
1:48 or 1:70  seems like a big difference.
 I plan on using the gun for small game hunting. 

[Hungry Horse]

I can’t imagine you will find a .32 cal. In a 1in 70 twist. Even a 1 in 48” twist is pretty slow for a .32. 1 in 48” is going to be easy to find, a little faster would be better, but might not be worth the trouble of finding it, and then paying for it ( it might be pricy).

  Hungry Horse

[smylee grouch]

I remember some years back where some barrel maker was offering that slow of twist in the real small cal. but I would think you would need a pretty snappy load to make it shoot as good as say a 1-48 in regular loads.

[stubshaft]

I've never seen a 1 in 70 twist barrel for a .32. 

[little joe]

Douglass,s were 1 in 66 and shot well.

[Robin Henderson]

Douglass,s were 1 in 66 and shot well.

I can attest to that. I had a friend who years ago shot one in many matches and did very well. It was a Southgate flintlock with a Douglas .32 barrel in that twist. He did, however, stoke it up a bit....50 to 60 grains of 3fg Goex.

[Fyrstyk]

I have four .32's. A T/C renegade with a drop in barrel and a Pedersoli Pennsylvania that have  1:48 twist.  These guns shoot well with 25-30 grains of 3f.  I have an 1843 half stock Gibbins rifle with a 1:36 twist that likes 15-20 grains of 3f, and a CVA Grey Squirrel with a 1:56 twist.  This gun likes 30-35 grains of 3f to get the best accuracy.  If you are looking for economy, then get a faster twist barrel.  For accuracy, you can work up a load in any barrel twist, but for the distances that are common for squirrel hunting, ther is no need for hot/fast loads as they will destroy a lot of meat.

[hanshi]

My two .32s are 1-48" and accurate from 20 grains 3F to 40 grains of 3F.  When I say accurate I'm talking about sub 1" groups at 44 yards.

[Wyoduster]

Looking on Muzzleloader builder's Supply they list a Rice Barrel with 1:48  and one with 1:70..

[Clear Spring Armory]

Some old squirrel hunters I know went in together and ordered 46", .30 barrels with 1:66 twists (or something like that) from Rayle in search of "the ultimate squirrel gun". Mr. Rayle tried to talk them out of it, but they had great luck out of them. Part of their reasoning was that slower twists would hold less fouling and be easier on patches. I'm not gonna say it's sound engineering, but they got good results and I think they even got some slow twist .25's later that shot well. Bear in mind, they were only interested in head shooting squirrels with 10 to 20 grains of powder at under 30 yds (maximum reliable head poppin range for us mortals). If someone told me they could be smooth bore and perform at those ranges, I wouldn't argue.

[Hungry Horse]

 I think something that has been kind of glazed over should be mentioned here. Any caliber rifle, can shoot a round ball with good results if you work up the load it likes, and stay within that load, and calibers, range. But, just because it can be done, doesn’t mean it will be easy. Big caliber fast twists, and small caliber slow twists, are going to take a bunch of range time to sort out. That is why so many antique rifles are 1in48” twist, it’s the most universal twist.

  Hungry Horse