Just aquired a model 43 winchester in 22 hornet. The bore is pitted near the chamber and it shoots awful (9" groupes at 100 yds.) I will need to re-barrel. The question is what twist rate should I have for 45 gr bullets.

Thanks

i would recommend AT LEAST 1:14 - but there is nothing wrong with going 1:8

Standard twist for the Hornet is 1-16.

quote:

Originally posted by craigster:
Standard twist for the Hornet is 1-16.

+1
1-16 will produce the best overall accuracy for a wide range of bullet weights.
1-14 would work and may be easier to find. Any faster is a waste and the bullets designed for the hornet wont hold up to high velocity and high rate of twist

I would suggest 14" twist. The recent 40 grain bullets that are long and pointy may need more twist to remain stable. If more bullets in the future go to unleaded they may get even longer.
In any event you do not have to take my word for it. There are calculators on the web, based on Excel, that will allow you to explore bullet length, velocity and twist all you want.
Check out the 50 grain .22 WMR load, made by Federal, using the twist calculator. You may find a hint why the accuracy is reported almost universally as crummy. The .22 WMR also uses a 16" twist.

Thanks guys.

I just ordered a 1-14 stainless from Green Mountain.

.223 or .224????? .... ive got a first-year-of-production m70 winchester in .22 hornet... it will not shoot the 50 gr v-max's, they're .223.. it loves the older 45 gr sp's that are .224....

sorry man, no way i'd limit it to light bullets

It's already limited to light bullets due to case capacity There is only so much that twelve grains of lil gun will do. and shooting a 62 gr Sierra MK ain't it. The Hornet is an extremely efficient cartridge in the 40 to 50 gr bullet weights outside of that and you are asking it to do thing it was never designed for and there are far better choices out there in a 55+ grain .22 caliber cartridge.
That's when it's time to bump up to a .233, .222, or a .22-250 or in my dumb arse case a .220 Swift Not the easiest ammo to find

Sometimes I like to shoot 55fmj in my hornet for plinking, and they work better in my TC Contender that has a 1-12 twist.

its has a small capacity.. sure enough... that doesn't mean a THING to me.. i'd rather be able to shoot the heavier bullets, slow as required, than not to be able to shoot them at all

Ten grains of bullet weight don't mean a hill of beans at those velocities

A friend sent me a 1-9 twist hornet to test for him. I had a box of rem factory loads I thought I'd use and load the brass after. With the 1-9 twist, they boosted pressure enough to flatten the primers edge to edge of the primer pocket
Shot in two other hornets of 1-16 twist they were normal round edged primers.
Just have to be carefull with loads and start low when playing with the small cases.

quote:

Originally posted by theback40:
A friend sent me a 1-9 twist hornet to test for him. I had a box of rem factory loads I thought I'd use and load the brass after. With the 1-9 twist, they boosted pressure enough to flatten the primers edge to edge of the primer pocket
Shot in two other hornets of 1-16 twist they were normal round edged primers.
Just have to be carefull with loads and start low when playing with the small cases.

i agree.. it took 27 pages of bickering for persons to GET that.

i do think it matters.. 25% increase in bullet weight.. decrease vels a bit, and have a very good turkey load.. or even higs

Jeffe,
The model 43 does not have a magazine long enough for the long bullets. You would be stuck with a single shot bolt gun at 22 WMR velocities.

I need to measure the twist in my Contender now. I always just assumed that it was a 1:16. It likes the new Barnes 30 grain Hornet Varmint Grenade. Before I found the 30 grainers I shot the 36 grain Hornady's and 40 grain Barnes Varminators. All with about equal accuracy. Its an honest 1 1/4 in barrel for everything but the 30 grainers and it likes them a bit better. DW