Monolithic bullets like the Barnes TTSX etc are the kraze but have rifle manufacturers been keeping up? Are factory rifles equiped with the right twist rates to make use of these 'light for caliber' projectiles? It seems to me that factory rifles have twist rates which are actually the opposite, usually meant for heavy-for-caliber projectiles, no?
Monolithic bullets
- Thread starter vpsalin
- Start date
Those "light for caliber" mono bullets are usually longer than the "heavy for caliber" bullets. The length of the bullet is what you need to be concern with when looking at twist rates. "Normal" twist rate are often not fast enough for heavy mono bullets.
What Steve said....I've had great accuracy out of pretty well all of my rifles with light for calibre mono-metals. Just switched to a 185-grain bullet in my .338 and was shocked at the accuracy. I was shooting 225 grain bonded bullets previously.
- Location
- Somewhere on the Hudson Bay Coast
Well, it depends what cartridge you're shooting and which weight of bullet you choose. In my .30/06 rifles with both 1:10 and 1:12 twists, the 180 gr TSXs shoot well, but neither liked the old 200 gr X. In the 7X57 and 7-08, with 1:9s, the 140s are dynamite. I thought I'd be alright with a 1:14 twist .22-250 and the 53 gr TSX, but that one didn't stabilize, and I never had the opportunity to try a lighter bullet; it wasn't my rifle. The 85 gr TSX shot well in my 1:10 .243. I haven't had any stability issue with any weight of TSX in the 1:12 .375 although I haven't tried the 350 gr version, and believe it would be best in a .378 Weatherby. While I only used the first generation 350 gr X bullet and the 400 gr mono solid in the .416 Rigby, there were no problems.
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Yep - mileage varies for sure. Just like all bullet rifle combinations.
I have had pretty good luck with barnes and gmx's shooting well in most applications.
BigUglyMan
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- New Scotland
My impression, and please correct me if I'm wrong, is that bullet stability is a function of RPM rather than purely the length of the projectile and twist rate. That would explain why a twist rate and bullet weight/length that works well in a 22-250 falls flat in a 223.
