Only because I play with old stuff.

[Sgt_Mike]

So without filling pages of this with a metric ton of "why".
I'll just delve into this, old Remington barrel that my local smith pulled. That I found, and took home with me after he and I scoped the throat / leade area. Checked to be in very good condition .
(yes there is a project in mind for this)

The roll marks all look correct, barrel date code is L O , Feb 1994 (?)
Barrel is 18.5" (leads me to think was from a model 7 .243 Win which is why I listed 1994, as the other date it could be predates the model 7) looking at the muzzle dia. the crown, and the fact the front sight perfectly aligns in the correct location, with being a factory length vs a cut barrel. Plus the 18.5" barrel was used with the model 7 in that caliber.

Now the Rub... Twist !!!! It "Should" be either 1-10", or a 1-9 1/8" aka 1-9". When I checked the twist, via tight patch and jag. I came up with 1-11" twist. (checked it four times came out the same every time). I know sometime the patch and jag may slip but I kept a eye on the rod it stayed the same on rotation.
So I think my measurements was pretty spot on although I will freely admit it may indeed be off.

Now I know that at time Remington in the past like every other barrel maker sometime has a variance in the twist rate. Sometimes a little slower sometimes a bit faster than target ROT.
So the question is for basically the Old Timers such as my self and older. Have anyone ever noted a Remington barrel in the model 7 with such a slow twist? I did see where on one forum that one user quoted his barrel was a 1-12" twist for a model 7 .243 Win with the same length from the factory.

Which honestly I can see if the twist is correct why the barrel was pulled as most in my area lean toward the 100gr or more for deer. And it would not have shot 85gr or above worth a dime.

Honestly just wondering, if anyone else has had this or noticed it?

 

[DAA]

Kind of a head scratcher for sure. I think you've sussed out the likely scenarios pretty well though. I've personally only "heard" of barrel twists being off a whole number. Never experienced it. But, putting that in context, I have only run a small number of factory barrels in my life. I got on the custom train early and never got off.

- DAA

 

[Sgt_Mike]

@DAA
Yeah "IF" my measurements is correct ... That would play into my wheel house of using the Speer 70gr TnT's for gophers quite well, 300yards and less.
And the Rotation would be low enough it would be "suppressor safe" from rotational destruction per se. (means I pretty much don't have to worry about MV to keep the RPM's down I can simply run it as fast as it needs for accuracy is my thoughts)

Thinking about pulling the 6mm Ackley barrel ( which isn't shot out yet 1-7.5" Twist ) and sticking this on in and trying it. ( I do have .243 Win dies so...) Just to shoot that bullet. That would settle it ( long freebore / fast twist I working against) I think.

I've personally only "heard" of barrel twists being off a whole number.

Being off a whole number say if the target is 1-10 T then yeahhh I could see a 1-11 T if off a whole number. The reduced velocity (18.5" bbl length) would also help with rotational failure. Then again it could be a 1-10 T mis-measured but would still play in a lot better than the Ackley I have and the 6mm CM with the long freebore and the 1-7.5 T and 1-8 T respectfully.

 

[DAA]

That's pretty much how I'd be looking at it. 70 TNT's are cheap. And if you can get them to shoot well and stay together, terminal effect is saucy. I have a 243AI with a 13T, 29 inch barrel that shoots them decent and holds them together at kind of ridiculous velocity. Cloud of small parts with bigger parts launching towards the moon city on colony varmints.

- DAA

 

[Sgt_Mike]

70 TNT's are cheap. And if you can get them to shoot well and stay together

LOL finally someone other than my buddy whom get's my thought on them. .23 cents a piece vs .43 cents + a piece makes much more sense when loading over 500 to go from say Arkansas to Montana or Wyoming to shoot a rodent for giggles.
Heck I may do this and they don't suit me at all, or that barrel simply may not shoot well enough. Which honestly isn't a big deal I could either put the Ackley back on or grab into the tool chest and pull out one of the two 12 twist .308 barrels. Which has been on my mind to do as the way the Ackley is done really doesn't trip my trigger. meaning it would be a safe queen quickly.

 

[AWS]

Speer makes a 75gr HP that has been a good shooter out of my 6mm ARC if you want to play with an inexpensive bullet.

I did have a Savage 99 TD 250-3000 that had a 1-15 twist, measured numerous times.

 

[Sgt_Mike]

Which has been on my mind to do as the way the Ackley is done really doesn't trip my trigger

I didn't quite express my true thoughts well at all with that. I really like the looks and performance of the case. It's the execution that whomever the Gun smith and previous owner was. I fully get what the combined objective was. Long range. Not optimum varmint bullet usage, which would have been a slow twist, and good bit shorter Freebore. Is it a bad setup? No not really for what it was intended for. Could I "fix" the issues I'm running into and stay with the same cartridge? Sure. It just the lead time (on the barrel), and ordering a custom reamer to be more in line with the bullets I prefer.