1 in 14 twist 458

epanzella

epanzella

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I can get my hands on a 1 in 14 twist .458 barrel made of 4140 steel on the cheap. I know 45-70's typically have a 1 in 20 or 22 inch twist. I'm looking to launch 300 to 400 grain bullets at 1800 to 2000 fps. Does anyone have an opinion on the suitability of the 1 in 14 twist for this purpose? This is for a sabotless smokeless muzzle loader build.
Ed P
 
Shilen sells 1-14 .458 for all bullets and 1-20 for Blackpowder. You might run into pressure problems at near max loads. You can also burst the bullet if it is over revved, but that is a function of both twist and velocity. Had some 5.56 stuff make the grey dust cloud down range when using a HBAR with the wrong bullet construction. Kept missing the paper!
Pierre
 
1 in 14 twist sounds a bit too fast for a muzzleloader, even when shooting conicals. I am no expert on the subject, as I shoot patched round balls instead of conicals, but I was always under the impression that 1 in 20 or 1 in 24 was more appropriate for conical bullets in muzzleloaders. On the other hand, I am figuring for .50 caliber and you are shooting .45, so maybe the tighter twist would be fine.
 
That is a very rapid twist for a bullet that large. I'd advise you to stick with established twist rates. They are there for reasons figured out long ago.
 
Thanks for the replies. This gun will not use a sabot. The plan is to take a piece of the cutoff barrel, thread it, and use it as a sizing/forming die in a reloading press. With the rifling already engraved onto the bullet, it's supposed to be loadable without a sabot while still a good fit to the bore. I'm new to sabotless MLing but it seems lots of people are doing it and getting great results. My first choice if possible would be a 400 gr 458 slug launched @ 1800fps. I don't need any more power than than for deer out to 200yds. I have a retired H&R breakopen 12 ga that is expendable so it's volunteering for this project. The most baffling thing to me is the twist rate. Most ML's that launch a 45 slug use twist rates in the 24 to 28 range, while the 45-70 uses 1 in 20. Then along comes the 458 Winchester and it uses 1 in 14. Shillen sell a 458 blank on their website with a 1 in 14 and they say it's for "all bullets"??? I'm truly baffled.
Ed P
 
It all comes down to bullet length, velocity,and barrel length . If you call any bullet manufacture and tell them that info they can set you up. Sierra bullets is very helpful. Mostly a slow twist for short light bullets and a fast twist for long heavy ones. At the velocities you will be at I don't think you need to worry about bullets flying apart.
 
I have 3 458 Lott rifles and they all have 14 twist Shilen barrels. I think Shilen is saying the 14 twist is good for all jacketed bullets. I am not a lead bullet shooters and know nothing about their requirements.
 
The jacketed bullets probably hold the rifling better than a lead bullet,which could strip out and lead up your barrel. With the work involved,I'd be certain what I was up to before using ANY barrel.
 
My .45-70 BPCR has the 20" twist Shilen. Several guys I shoot with use 18 twist barrels. I don't know if 14 would be too fast for a heavy cast bullet.. This is where I like to play with the numbers- http://www.kwk.us/twist.html
 
Even with the muzzle press you may be asking too much of a lead bullet to hold the rifling. The longer heavier bullet will help in this regard and you might get it to work out.

The lead conical for muzzle loaders is too often bypassed for the saboted pistol bullets. I have a similar project using a 1-20 twist Ed Rayl Barrel with a 330 Gould hollow point bullet. I will say that i had an in-line 45 cal 1-20 and i messed with down loading it to get a patched round ball to stabilize ended up at 15grns fff black. Interesting project good luck.

bob
 
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