Hi
I'm just abnout to rebarrel a Ballard in 38-55 and have been toying with the idea of using a Krieger barrel in 1:14 twist.

Anyone in the single shot fraternity with experience with fast twist barrels.

I have a Remington RB with a Douglas barrel in 40-65 with a 1:16 twist shooting a 1.25 inch semi spitzer bullet 370 grains which shoots 1 inch groups at 100 and 2 inch groups at 200 breach seated with 74 grains 0f !FG Goex.

So i thought a 1 :14 twist 38 cal barrel shooting a 330 grain bullet might do as well.

Would like to hear your thoughts

There are even a few people shooting even faster twists in 38's, apparently without any problems and with good results, so I would believe that 1:14 should certainly work.  Also, overstabilization is IMO by far the lesser of the 2 evils...

My 1 in 16" twist Niedner .38-55 shot 330 grain bullets very nicely to at leasst 300 yards, but if 1 in 14 will do it also, why not use it I guess.

Vlad, I have a 14 twist Krieger .38 barrel on a Borchardt and it work well with a 317 gr Hoch bullet and I know that Garbe just published his equipment scores for the WSU Nationals at Raton where he was using a Krieger 14 twist with a 330 Hoch bullet.

It will go.

Brent

I see the 14 twist as a standard twist, not a fast twist.   

I opted to use a 12 twist Green mountain barrel when I built a 38-72 BPCR for my son.  It shoots identically to my .45-90 out to the 1000 yards we have used it, using a 360 grain bullet compared to the 540 grain the .45 uses.

I think if you're going to shoot long range, the faster twist gives better results than the 14.  There have been several people that tested different twists when the .38's first started being used for long range BPCR, and the conclusion they all came to is 14 twist is marginal, 13 twist is good, 12 is better, and maybe even 10 is good.

The faster twist gives flexibility in using different bullet designs, the 14 twist will limit you from using long bore riding bullets at ranges beyond 400 or 500 yards if you want to get more powder in the case.  Since you're using the capacity limited .38-55 anyway, if you want to shoot at longer ranges, I'd suggest using the faster twist barrels so that you have more bullet options.  A higher ballistic coefficient and a long nosed bore rider to get more velocity can really help the .38 at long range.

dave

Vlad
A couple years back, when the old Shooterstalk.com website was running I was reading both the BPCR and Schuetzen forums regularly.  As I recall there wa an experimenter/shooter out west (Oregon or Washington maybe) who was working on developing superaccurate long range heavy bullet loads for the 38-55 and other "legal" cases for 35 cal BPCR shoooting.   He was considered on the cutting edge/lunetic fringe at the time but having some success with fast twist barrels.
After Shooterstalk.com was shut down, I shifted my focus to the Schuetzen side of single shots and have not looked back.
However some of our members who shoot BPCR may recall this guy and know what happened.  They may be able to put you into contact with more info about his research.

Dangerous Dan the Torpedo Man is a fixture at NRA matches in the West. He changes his venue about every 3-4 years, he used to do regular NRA Silhouette before he began BP experiments and he's what's known as a Gamesman, always seeking an advantage through more modern technology or pushing the rules envelope until it tears.

The NRA Competitions folks know him well, he pesters them with petitions for rules exceptions and even changes in every venue where he's competed. I first became aware of him back before 2000 when he got into single shots and tried to 'gamesman' the rules. First regular Silhouette, then BPCR Silhouette, now Long Range BPCR, what's next?

He is personally a good shooter but has never won anythng except the Pedersoli MOA Challenge (I believe), for whatever reason. He has developed a new BP lube, White Lighrtning. that's supposed to be the greatest thing since sliced bread but I haven't heard that it's sweeping the country yet.

His long-bullet designs appear to be excellent but he jumps around from subject to subject so often that his research is sometimes a little spotty because he's changed his focus a little too soon IMO. However his engineering background gives him a certain understanding of mechanics that has served him well, and his ideas are IMO worth a hearing. Many Left-Coast shooters have benefitted from his research and designs.

He has a very unfortunate personality IMO and I know many shooters including myself who can't stand him personally, but his ideas are still worth consideration and I recommend them for at least a cursory review.
JMOFWIW, Joe
Good luck, Joe

There is a Canadian shooter named John Urselesque, I hope I spelled it right.  About fifteen year's ago he was using a .40 fast twist, very long bullet combination. He used the 405 Winchester case. He was very hard to beat in a mid, or longrange match.  His rifle was a modest Navy arm's rolling block. 

                                                                      Joe.