SmallCaliberCentral

Hi lads. I may be putting another new barrel on my custom built rifle in the very near future due to a fouling problem. At the moment it is a 1-10 twist 3 groove. My aim is too shoot the heavier 39 or 40grain bullets, and although accuracy is reasonable, ( Still need to test some more load combintions!) with the current barrel I am wondering if a 1-11 twist will still be a dead cert for stabilizing and giving the best possible accuracy for 39 and 40 grain bullets?

Your thoughts please gents

Also if you had a choice of custom barrel manufacturer, who would you use?

Cheers
adam

I use a Lother Walther barrel on the .204 and am very happy it !Very easy to clean and shoots sweet aswell .

adam,
I think the 10 twist will be fine for even the heaviest of the 20 cal bullets, so 39s and 40s shouldn't be a problem. It appears that all 12 twist barrels will shoot 39s and some will shoot 40s as well.
I recently had a Pac-nor 11 twist fitted and it shoots 40gr fine. I don't think you need a 10 T unless you want to shoot heavier than 40gr. Regards,Ken.

I would go 1 in 10 and would be a Lilja tube I drop on my gun!

I believe Rick In Oregon built a 204 on the 11" tube & is very happy with the results. Give him a holler if he don't see this soon. I know they are ready to start whackin rats & maybe that is where they are today.

I just put a new Krieger 24" barrel on my AR with a 1:12 twist with the intent of shooting 39 and 40 gr bullets. I haven't had a chance to shoot the new setup yet, but I'll post results once I get to spend some time at the range.

Check that......1 in 11 twist for me.

I went
for Pac-Nor 1:11 on RIOs advice,no regrets. : Ken.

Adam, You have PM.

Right you are....my 11 twist Pac-Nor was built just for the 39's and 40 grainers. Discounting the flyer that the wind robbed me of, this is the last paper group shot using Nosler 40's:



It doesn't mind 40gr V-Max's either:



Not a BR rifle by any standards, but plenty good enough for Skippy and his pals past 400 yards. It makes me wonder why the factories ever settled on the 12 twist for the 204 Ruger. Industry "insiders" told me it was to properly stabilize the lighter 32's and the like, with the thinking at the time that varmint shooters were more interested in light/fast bullets rather than the heavier, slightly slower offerings. They were wrong by all accounts.

My 1 in 10 twist Pac-Nor super match - mounted on a Remington 700 VLS - loves the 50 gr Berger.

Thanks everyone for your advice. I think I will try the 11 twist next barrel replacement time