I'm going to make a barrel for purely match porpoises. 12-14", undecided on that. Standard 1:14 or 1:15, or perhaps 1:16 or what I'm leaning towards, 1:18?

Won't be eating anything but .22LR match ammo other than plinking. Slower twist almost seems the better bet with light match projectiles.

???

I asked this on the single shot pistols forum and got IGNORED and asked Mike Bellm what he thought and he said "talk to mouse gun people..." in a polite fashion.

Yes 1:18 won't make a full revolution in a pistol bull barrel but then the 1:78 in my Snider Carbine doesn't either, and I've made it learn how to group.

Tom

I'm no expert, but I would think that with the slower velocity of match ammo, a 1:16 would be best.

Tom,

There’s been a lot of experimenting with twists as slow as 17 ½†in rimfire benchrest the last few years but many have reported bullet stability issues in colder weather.

It’s my opinion that any possible accuracy gains with twists slower than 17†wouldn’t be worth the risk on a Contender platform.

My most recent build was completed with a 16 ½†twist 2 groove Benchmark barrel using the stub-barrel system on an old Vern Juenke Contender and it has broken all of my personal accuracy records which include a multitude of Anschutz pistols and rifles. I’ve only owned dedicated rimfire bench rifles that would outshoot it.

There's a reason the standard twist rate is 1:16. Stick with it.

Also, you say "Slower twist almost seems the better bet with light match projectiles."

Most .22 LR match ammo that I am familiar with is a full 40 grains. Lightweight in rimfire applications generally refers to 30-33 grains, and you won't find match ammo in that format.

I have to agree, I would stick with the 1:16.


Safe Shooting
Doug