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Hot Topic (More than 10 Replies) New Ballard 22 twist? (Read 666 times)
westerner
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New Ballard 22 twist?
Nov 30th, 2025 at 9:07pm
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14 inches, good or bad?
  
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Re: New Ballard 22 twist?
Reply #1 - Dec 1st, 2025 at 12:03am
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1:14???  What distance are you planning to shoot?  have one I built, fantastic 50 to 200 yds.  Fifty foot indoors, not so much.
  
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Re: New Ballard 22 twist?
Reply #2 - Dec 1st, 2025 at 1:50am
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50 feet -100 yards. 200 yards if my arm is twisted.

Standing at 50 feet.
  
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Re: New Ballard 22 twist?
Reply #3 - Dec 1st, 2025 at 10:07am
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My guess with this at 50' offhand it will work quite well for you, probably become another one of your faves.  Mine is for offhand, it just isn't a Ballard, so I'm jealous.
Nearly a case of varying ammo through this heartburn at 50' shooting this game and this setup.  It is about my average target with it, not bad, but not in the money either (a few fluke targets got me close to the mendoza line of .500)  That larger ring is a minute at 50'.  The last pic is not shown real well as it's a pic through the scope, but it's ten shots at 250 yds in 8-10 mph wind, same rifle, with, as you refer to it, Palua ammo.   Wink
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Re: New Ballard 22 twist?
Reply #4 - Dec 1st, 2025 at 11:02am
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I have burned a lot of .22s at 50 feet and 25 yards.  My experience is that there isn't much difference between brands, not enough to warrant paying for the high-end stuff.  Not sure if you could tell the difference between 14" and 16" twist.  The real difference comes with distance.

When I was first starting, almost 70 years ago, shooting smallbore prone at 50 feet, the guys I shot with had a target they called a "flyspecker".  IIRC, it was 50 dots on a piece of typing paper.  Maybe 10 rows of 5 dots.  You either hit the dot or you didn't.  It needed a scope.  Even with teenage eyes I couldn't reliably see the dots through iron sights.

The 6-bull offhand target is another good one to test rifle & ammo compatibility.  2 shots per bull, measure outside edges of groups to 0.001".  That will give you some numbers to work with.
  
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Re: New Ballard 22 twist?
Reply #5 - Dec 1st, 2025 at 1:34pm
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I have a "Cody" Ballard in .22 RF with a 1-12 twist.  28" very heavy barrel.  It weighs 15 lbs. with peep sights.
I think its called No.6 offhand rifle. Once owned by a person from the CBR&CC.
Shoots great.  I've taken a few 50 ft. indoor matches with it.
I was told it shoots very well at 200 yds, but I haven't tried that.
Mike.
  
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Re: New Ballard 22 twist?
Reply #6 - Dec 3rd, 2025 at 8:35am
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I have a low wall built with a 14 twist, it's pretty forgiving on ammunition. Shoots well from 50 ft to 300 yards. Haven't shot it beyond 300, yet.
  
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Re: New Ballard 22 twist?
Reply #7 - Dec 3rd, 2025 at 10:56am
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If it already has a 14 you need shoot it and see how it performs. If building I'd go with the tried and true 16, but that's just me  Smiley
  
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Re: New Ballard 22 twist?
Reply #8 - Dec 3rd, 2025 at 11:11am
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I have two relined with TJ's heavy CF 22 liners and Veral's competition chamber. The 44 Stevens is a proven 22 BPCR match winner, the single set Winchester low wall is definitely capable of master scores, but it has yet to win a match. I may be the limiting factor.
  
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Re: New Ballard 22 twist?
Reply #9 - Dec 4th, 2025 at 9:58am
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rr2241tx wrote on Dec 3rd, 2025 at 11:11am:
I have two relined with TJ's heavy CF 22 liners and Veral's competition chamber. The 44 Stevens is a proven 22 BPCR match winner, the single set Winchester low wall is definitely capable of master scores, but it has yet to win a match. I may be the limiting factor.


They are 14 inch twists?
  
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westerner
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Re: New Ballard 22 twist?
Reply #10 - Dec 5th, 2025 at 12:02am
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Used the new Ballard on 50 foot silhouettes this evening. 24-28. Had a lot of doubles. Seems 14 inch twist works just fine at 50 feet. Ammo was TAC-22 and Federal standard velocity. 

Like others here I don't spend a lot of money on ammo when shooting 50 feet.
  
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Re: New Ballard 22 twist?
Reply #11 - Dec 6th, 2025 at 2:04pm
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Yes, the CF liners are 14 twist. They are a little faster at the muzzle than RF dimension barrels with the same ammo, still subsonic, but hold up a tiny bit better, IMO,  at 150 and 200 meters. To get equal results. I have to shoot more expensive ammo in 16 twist barrels. Or, it could all be in my head.
  
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Re: New Ballard 22 twist?
Reply #12 - yesterday at 12:02pm
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The vast majority of CF .22's are in the 8"-12" twist rate. Some older .22CF are in the 14" twist range.
  
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Re: New Ballard 22 twist?
Reply #13 - yesterday at 12:10pm
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I never heard of using .22 RF ammo in .22 CF barrels.
Just measured a couple 22 LR bullets here and they measure .225 &.226.  Maybe my new Ballard has a CF barrel on it.   Huh

  
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Re: New Ballard 22 twist?
Reply #14 - yesterday at 12:29pm
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The standard twist for most .22 LR barrels is 16:1 but the faster 14:1 twist has enough spin to stabilize a 40 grain LR bullet since the Sg is over 1.4 (minimum amount of spin to stabilize) and preferably over 1.5 to meet weather change challenges.

Ron Smith also makes a slower 17.2:1 twist to make cheaper rimfire ammo shoot more accurately.


Caliber      0.223      Inches            
Bullet Weight      40      Grains            
Bullet Length      0.48      Inches            
Barrel Twist      14      Inches/turn            
muzzle velocity      1085      fps            
Temperature      50      degrees Fahrenheit (59 is standard)            
Pressure      29.92      inches of mercury (29.92 is standard)            
                       
Sg =      1.62                  
« Last Edit: yesterday at 12:35pm by Schuetzendave »  
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