I'd bet it will for CONVENTIONAL bullets, TSX and similar, perhaps not. JB posted twist rate info per bullets.
If not mistaken, the FIRST round offered was the 139 Rem '140 CL' load, and the 120 HP perhaps at the same time, or later.
If Savage/Stevens will NOT handle a std. 140, then they TRULY goofed, as MOST hunters shoot factory and will grab 140 ammo. Those picking Barnes bullets in that wt. MIGHT be disappointed.
I'd like to hear back from owners experience. JB's post below.
Actually, the standard twist rate in most 7mm rifles is 1-9" to 1-9.5".
I had a 7x57 with a 11.5" twist once upon a time. It was a custom rifle and the maker asked me what bullet I was going to use most of the time. I thought he was asking to figure out the throat length, but then he put the 11.5" twist barrel and didn't tell me. I found out it wouldn't shoot any bullet much longer than a lead-cored 140.
That's probably the reason for the twist in the Stevens. Most people never shoot bullets longer than a lead-cored 140 in the 7mm-08--but it probably won't work with anything much longer.
I ran some numbers through the twist calculator on Sierra's ballistic program, using 7mm bullets of various weights and lengths. The twist number is the slowest twist calculated to stabilize the bullet:
120 TTSX (length 1.222) at 3000 fps--11.0
140 TSX (1.265) at 2800--10.6
140 TTSX (1.363) at 2800--9.0
140 Partition (1.143) at 2800--13.3
139 Hornady BTSP (1.145) at 2800--13.2
140 Sierra ProHunter (1.10) at 2800--14.5
This pretty well agrees with my experience with that 7x57.
The program also indicates that the longest 140-grain bullet that will stabilize in a 11.5" twist is about 1.22 inches long.
Of course altitude and actual muzzle velocity will also affect twist rate.
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JB
