Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Custom Rifles & Wildcats Bullet stabilization Q

I'm tryin to put together a wildcat based rifle using Hi -BC bullets for any given bore. I run into the same wall regardless of cartridge configuration: desintegrating bullets above X-velocity.

Greenhill & more advanced twist calcs I've run into, hardly account for velocity. I see tons of supposedly successful load data out there with bullets/velocities/twists that others say will not reach the chrony before exploding. Bullet Manufacturers reccomend twist rates for their bullets without mention of any velocity ceilings or limitations. Same as with their posted BCs.

Would a nice fellow care to help me understand stabilization requirements?

A pathetic scenario:
A wildcat drives a Hi-BC bullet at 3800fps. The bullet explodes in the air.
The Mfg recommended 1-8" twist, and so that is how the barrel was cut.
But now, further discussion with Tech staff, reveals that their bullets weren't mean't for velocities above 3000fps(guess they forgot to mention that).
A quick scramble for another bullet ends in defeat. Turns out they all blow up when spun that fast(except $2/ea solids). Rather than pitching this expensive barrel, velocities are dropped via heavier bullets, or lower BC bullets (shorter)are used until they hold together. Wildcat advantage wash.

Questions:
Does bullet stabilization simply mean that it will point staight at a given RPS (REV/SEC), or is there more to it?
Is there any relationship between velocity and spin rate requirements?
Is the spin rate requirement per time? Or distance?
In the above scenario, would a 1-10" twist have been sufficient at 3800fps?
[Bullet [email]spinning4500rps3000fps1-8"[/email] -vs- [email]4560rps3800fps1-10"][/email]

I should say that I havent yet actually gone down this path.

Thank You
Mike

I'll take a crack at it. At the longer ranges where the bullet is arcing, an overstabilized bullet remains with its tip level(same level as it originally started) as it decends or drops, it will actually belly flop. On a properly stablized bullet, it's tip or nose will follow the bullets trajectory arc as it decends with less resistance, trajectory is supposedly flatter also. Now if you guys think this is B.S then take it up with Ken Howell, he wrote a nice article in the Varmint Hunter magazine. MtnHtr

Our own Ken Howell gave a good explaination of twist rates and how they can stabalize and over-stabalize bullets. You might do a search for his explaination. Like most of Ken's information, it was excellent.