Originally Posted by Mule Deer
Originally Posted by Jackie_Treehorn
Originally Posted by Mule Deer
115-grain TSX is designed to stabilize in a 10 twist.
Barnes claims a 1-in-9" twist is required.

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I have discussed this before. When bullet makers list a particular twist on their website, or a box of bullets, it's because they're afraid somewhere, sometime a customer will shoot in "conditions" where a bullet might not stabilize--say when hunting below zero along the shoreline of the Arctic Ocean for caribou. It does not mean that a slower twist won't work fine for all other conditions.

A good example is the .270-caliber 170-grain Berger EOL Elite Hunter. It has shot very accurately in two different 1:10 twist .270 Winchesters here where I live in Montana--and the two ranges I use are on the valley floor, 4000 feet above sea level--where its stability rating according to the Berger program is over 1.3, quite a way above the 1.0 minimum. It would be even more stable when hunting at elevations up to 9000 feet in the mountains above the valley--and according to Berger's own stability problem is "marginally stable" even in standard conditions of 59 Fahrenheit at sea level.

Yet Berger suggests a 1:8 twist. This is NOT just to stabilize the bullet, but to maximize ballistic coeffcient--which tops out at a 1.5 rating. With the 170-grain .270 bullet, shooting it at 2750 fps at 4000 feet reduces the bullet's "maximum" G7 BC of .339 to .323. Big deal.
You may well have discussed it on this forum previously, but following these threads can get slightly convoluted going down all of the rabbit holes where people lead us. A detailed "Handloader" may be worthwhile. I know I'd read it.


Jackie Treehorn: Treats objects like women.

Originally Posted by RichardAustin
Montana uses Ruger actions.