I have a 35 Whelen built on a Mark X action with a magnaported 26" 1-14 barrel. I note that Remington and Ruger have 1-16. the test barrel used by Sierra is 1=12. The qustion is - which rate is best for 225 to 250 gr bullets?

Some people claim the one in 16" rate will stabilize 250gr bullets while others say accuracy isnt that great. Your one in 14" rate should stabilize bullets up to 280grs so you dont have to worry.

I have a Browning BLR .358 win and it has a one in 12" rate and shoots the lighter bullets great, i havent tried bullets over 225grs yet. I also have a barrel for my savage 110 in 35 Whelen and it has the one in 14" rate and i want to shoot heavy for caliber bullets 270 or 275gr bullets.

I just wanted to add that with modern concentric bullets it is very hard to over stabilize a bullet. With this in mind i like fast twist rates and will always choose one over a slower one. In .358 caliber the one in 12" is preferable as my blr has proved it did not over-stabilize the lightest bullet i will use in a 35.

quote:

Originally posted by fgulla:
I just wanted to add that with modern concentric bullets it is very hard to over stabilize a bullet. With this in mind i like fast twist rates and will always choose one over a slower one. In .358 caliber the one in 12" is preferable as my blr has proved it did not over-stabilize the lightest bullet i will use in a 35.

exactly!!!!!!

The 16 twist on the Remingtons does not stabalize the long 250 gr. cast bullets but is acceptable for jacketed of that weight.

1-14 is the most commonly accepted twist for those bullet weights.

My Remington 7600 shoots factory 250 grain Remington roundnose bullets into 1.5" groups at 100 yards. And has done this since I bought the gun in the early 90s without fail. So I don'y buy the premise that teh 1:16 twist can not stabalize 250 grain bullets.

That said, my custom mauser 35 whelen is being made with a 1:12 twist............just in case

quote:

Originally posted by Borealis Bob:
1-14 is the most commonly accepted twist for those bullet weights.

That doesn't mean it is the proper twist rate for the Whelen. When Howe worked up the Whelen, it was intended for use with bullet from 200 to 300 gr., with probably 250 and 275 gr. being the most popular. I still have a few of the Hornady 275 gr. round nosed bullets that they discontinued in 1967. Unfortunately, they won't be making any more. This is the reason for the 1 in 12" twist. The Whelen was intended to be the poor man's .375 H&H, as rifles in the H&H round were extremely expensive. Now probably the 1 in 14" will work fairly well with bullets to 250 gr., but my custom Mauser that I found at an estate sale will not shoot the 275 gr. bullets worth squat. The Ruger 77 and Remington 700 Classic that I have are as best 1.25 to 1.50" guns with the 250 gr. bullets, good enough for hunting but no real bragging groups here. My next .35 Whelen will have a proper one in 12" twist.
It is the same problem with the .358 Win. Winchester designed it to use a 1 in 12" twist. Browning and Savage followed suit. But when Ruger chambered the M77 to the .358, they used a 1 in 16" twist.
One interesting point about my Ruger 77 in .35 Whelen. It will shoot 200 gr. and 250 gr. Remington factory ammo into the same 1.5" group. The other two rifles will not. Interesting.
Paul B.

Though I have a 1-14" on my custom Whelen, my vote is for the 1-12".

Some 1:16 barrels stabilize 250's and others won't. My Ruger M-77 Mk II in 35 Whelen shot 250's just fine, and the faster I pushed them the more accurate they were. Other people can't get them to group past 100 yards. I'd go 1:12 on a custom, just to be on the safe side.


Okie John

I get the sense that some are quick to blame unaccepable accuracy on the twist rate, when it fact it is very likely other factors that may be causing the rifle to "not like" a particular load. I've shot 280 gr A-frames out of my 14" twist Whelen with no problems whatsoever, and in fact the group better than some loads I've tried with 200, 225, and 250 loads.

Moreover, I have 6.5mm rifles with 8" twists that won't shoot ANY 160 or 140 BT well at all, but that love 120s and 129s. I have other 6.5mm with 9" twists that don't like 120s, but group well with 140s and 160s.

I've had similar things happen with 9", 9.25", 9.5", and 10" twist barrels in 7mm. The preferred bullets/loads in each were uncorrelated with bullet weight. For example, I had a 284 with a 10" twist that loved the 175 Sierra BT, yet all I hear is how this is marginal... blah, blah, blah. Nice tight groups out to 300 yds and beyond...

As for the whelen, a 14 will serve you just fine. Moreover, I really don't see why anyone would bother with a bullet heavier than 250 in the Whelen anyway. A 250 Partition, A-frame, or X-bullet are all perfect bullets for most anything you'd hunt with a Whelen. JMO...

Another thing, I've often heard (not on this thread in particular) people imply (or directly say) that a bullet was "barely stabilized", or something like this. I am not sure what this means, as every experience I've had with stabilization issues it was sort of an all or nothing deal. Stable groups measured near an inch, whereas unstable "groups" measured in FEET at 100 yds (assuming they even hit the paper...)

Well said 9.3x62! In a 35cal I want the 1:12" to keep heavy projectiles pointed straight out as far as I can use them, not to nit-pick over 0.5MOA. If it shoots into 2MOA its acceptable big game accuracy.
Cheers...
Con