Quote:... with the sole exception of LRBP shooting, where Greenhill MAY not give a fast enough twist.
Joe, I am not a big fan of the Greenhill formula, primarily because I am a 'LRBP' shooter. But if one must use it for BP, change the factor from 150 to 125.
For BP, Don Miller did an excellent article for the Spring 2007 issue of the Black Powder Cartridge news entitled
A New Twist Rule Applied to Black Powder Rifles. I am mentally challenged past 2+2, but he calculated that the best 38 caliber BP bullet for a 1:18 twist was the old Ideal 375166 with a factor of 17.65. That was enough for me and started a nearly 2 year quest to have this bullet because there at that time 2 known molds of which one was owned by an unknown. Ok, fast forward ... there is now a remake of the that mold. I put the elements for the 375166 into the Powley Bullet Stability Calculator and it was dead nuts on with a velocity between 1050 and 1150 fps. It is my favorite 38-55 BPCR bullet and will klang 500 meter Rams if the trigger man does his part.
Now, if I had the mental capability to convert Don Miller's formula into an Excel equation, I would use nothing but it and the Powley calculator.
Another neat Powley calculator is his Interior Ballistic Calculator that computes for nitro powders:
ESTIMATED CHARGE WEIGHT
POWDER SELECTION INDEX
ESTIMATED VELOCITY
Yes I am a fan of Powley and haven't used Greenhill's in a long time