Guys,
Simple question. Is the 1:16" twist too slow for the 358 Winchester? My preference is to be able to utilise 250gr projectiles somewhere in the 2150 - 2300fps region.
Thanks...
Con

If the question is about ordering a barrel then there is no way I would get a slow twist hunting rifle.



The standard twist is 1-12 which has worked well.



If you knew the lengths of the bullets there are calculators to determine minimum twist.

Savage99,
Barrel makers in Australia seem to consider 1:16 as standard "because that's what Remington use." I also think it's too slow and the bullets I want to use for hunting work out at a required twist of about 1:16.5 (225gr Nosler Partition) and 1:15.7 (250gr Speer Spitzer). I think ordering a 1:16 is asking for trouble especially given the slower velocities in a 358Win, but I'm interested in whether anyone has a different point of view.
Con

I would stay away from the 1:16. A 1:14 works well as a compromise twist for a variety of bullet wieghts.

When Winchester brought out the .358 Win., the twist they used was 1 in 12". My browning BLR and Savage 99 in .358 Win. have 1 in 12" twist barrels. Why in bloody hell Ruger and Remington use the 1 in 16" twist is beyond me.
I have two Ruger 77s in .358 Win. and they are 1 in 16". Neither will shoot worth a damn. When two lever action rifles will outshoot two bolt action rifles, I feel the twist rate is the culprit.
FWIW, Remington and Ruger in their infinite (?) wisdom also use the 1 in 16" twist in their .35 Whelens. IIRC, Jim Howe used the 1 in 12" twist when he designed the .35 Whelen and named it after the good Colonel Whelen.
Of course, finding 250 gr. factory ammo for the .358 is an excercise in frustration, it having collector status forcing one to handload. For the Whelen, Remington still catalogs the 250 gr. load but try and find any.
IMHO, I strongly suggest you go with a 1 in 12" twist.
I base this on having four rifles in .358 Win. and three in .35 Whelen. The 1 in 16" barrels suck.
Paul B.

Another vote against the 1-16. I've got a 1-14 that preferred the 180s as a Whelen and now as a .358 Norma still seems to dislike anything heavier than 225gr. Admittedly I still have not exhausted all load development though.

Some years back Midway briefly offered .35 1-10" barrels. It wouldn't surprised me if a phone call to someone there who cared might yield results.

My Ruger 35 Whelen had a 1:16 twist. 250-gr. Hornady RNs, SPs and Partitions all shot into about 1.25 MOA above 2,500 fps, but groups got bigger if I went slower. My custom 35 Whelen should be here in a couple of weeks. It has a 1:12, as it was built for 250-grain or heavier bullets, and since I'm not going to run them much faster than you are in your 358. To answer your question, I'd go with 1:12 or maybe even 1:10. The formula for ideal twist rates is in Hatcher's Notebook, and I'd post it if my copy weren't in storage. You could Google "Greenhill Twist Formula" to get it. Hope this helps, Okie John.