Twist rate for custom .250 Savage?

TWalker

I have a.250 Savage caliber rifle built on a Carcano action. The barrel is from an early Winchester 1894 in .25-35 caliber. Do you think that the twist is 1:8 ? Will 120 Gr bullets be a good choice. The gun is a single shot. The magazine follower was converted into a feed ramp. Thanks for any suggestions.

charliemeyer007

+1 for measure it. Not tons of choices in bullet weights but constitution might have just as much influence. All copper or some dense metal core vs standard jacketed lead.

My favorite was partial boxes of bullets at great prices off gunshow tables. Have any friends that load 25 cal you could bum a few from to try?

added IIRC Newton used an 87 grain bullet because it gave the 250-3000 Savage the 3000 number.

rufe-snow

The older 25 cal rifles, (25/35, 25 Rem), were optimized for relatively heavy bullets. If memory serves, they were 117 grains?

The 250 Savage on the other hand, was a way hotter cartridge. Shooting a much lighter bullet, at least 700 FPS faster.

There is no absolutes, as far as the weight of bullets for reloading is concerned. I believe that a 120 grain bullet, would be accurate in a .25/35 barrel. As far as barrel twist, is concerned. Without testing, it's just guess work though. So many other variables, could affect accuracy.

spirits

My old Savage 1920 rifle had a slow twist, which I believe was 1 in 14 inches, optimized for 87 grain bullets at 3000 fps hence the cartridge name Savage 250-3000, and that was all I shot in it. Some of the Savage advertisements claimed the cartridge was adequate for elephants, lion, tiger, buffalo, rhino - you get the point and even the Aleutians said it was their big gun for bear but then they hunted everything else with a 22 Hornet - shot them in the ear canal.

TWalker

OK, I did the cleaning rod and patch test and it took slightly more than 8 inches for the rod to make a revolution. The heaviest bullets available should stabilize fine at any normal velocity. So far, the factory 100 grain bullets are doing great but I want to work up some heavier bullet weights for hunting.. Thanks to all for your replies and suggestions.

Riomouse911

Your .250 may start to peter out when you hit 117 if that is a slower twist (I think it was a 1-12" on Savages) but your .25/35 barrel should be a 1-8" (if it's standard) so you should be OK up to 120. My .257 Roberts (A 721 Remington with a 1-10") loves 100 grainers, hates 117's and 120's.

nononsense

TWalker,

Twist rate is based on the length of a bullet not the weight. If you want to check stability of any bullet in particular, use the Berger or JMB Stability Calculators.

Since we have nothing more to go on here, according to the factory, your .25-35 barrel should have a 1:10" twist which is just about standard for 'normal' .25 caliber bullets. The slower twists were for the lighter and therefore shorter bullets used to make the velocity claims.

So with cup and core bullets you should be fine up to the 117 or 120 grain bullets if you use reloading manual velocities. I personally would do the measuring required and use a calculator to establish your results.

Best.

Hawk Carse

Agree, a MEASURED 8+" twist should easily stabilize a 120 grain spitzer. Whether it will be more accurate requires shooting trials.

I think the whole thing is just neat, real "repurposing." Was the magazine housing cut off for a better appearance as a single shot?

Got pictures?