Powder column

[ORANGEMAN]

HOWDY
Not meaning to be a pest but I am in the process of acquiring a couple of M/L rifles. In another post I have been told that bore size is not that important as far as accuracy is concerned.
I have a pretty broad background with smokeless and Powder Column is a fairly specific topic.
However Iam at your mercy when it comes to the physics relating to B/P.
I really like shooting Cast Bullets and compete in various matches with the CBA.
The bottom line is "Long narrow cartridges" work better than short fat ones.
Can (will) this combination apply to B/P?
I also notice that it does not seem to matter about the bore size, they all use the same twist. If it's C/B the popular twist is 1/66 from .36 -.58. More or less.
If this is the wrong forum to ask these questions pleas direct me to the one that has the answer.
THANKS

 

[smellie]

I have no idea, but this is one of my own fetishes and one reason that I think that the .303 is a round superior to many of its replacements. Pressure curve enters in there, too.

Strictly as an observation, MOST of the old-time match-winning cartridges featured a long, narrow, tapered casing. The .38-55 was a Ballard match cartridge, as was the old .32-40, STILL famed for its superior accuracy in old rifles. If you check COTW, you will find that most of the European dedicated target cartridges also featured this type of case.

Just don't compress Black too much or it CAN do nasty things. Maxim has a section in his book about his adventures with Black Powder in this regard, starts Page 173 in my copy. Further, the Brits loaded the .303 with compressed Black.... and the pressures were substantially higher than with Cordite. "Text Book of Small Arms - 1909" has a section on this.

FWIW.

 

[smellie]

A lot of the really old rifles used the same twist because twist really wasn't all that well understood. We know today what twist works best with what bullet and it is easy enough for us to adjust the machines to give us the twist we need for a given weight of bullet.

Back when rifles were made locally, a rifling-bench was high-tech and often a smith would have a single rifling-bench which was set for one rate of twist.... and that was it. So people got a rifle and fitted the ammo to the rifle, or tried, and so one load would prove out better and so it was used.

Later, things got more modern, then the long, narrow bullet became the thing to have and twists HAD to increase. The .303, for example, was always made with 1 turn in 10 inches and it works well with the 215, the 174 and you can even get away with 150s.... but your groups really start opening up if you use 122s and trying our .32ACP slugs (at 71 grains) MIGHT give you a rabbit load but, on the oither hand, with some rifles you can't hit a flock of barns with it.

But most of your old-time Match bullets were about 2 calibres in length to 2-1/2 at the most, so what they had, worked.

Just my opinion, anyway.