Thread: .500" barrels

Hi What would be the best twist rate for a 22" .50 cal barrel. I see Marlin and Winchester have a .500" S W M with a 1-24" twist rate so could be ok as they shoot pistol bullets, its a pistol cartridge. The .50 Alaskan is a nasty beast with heaver slugs so could go 1-20" to stabilise heaver slugs. So the question is if I was to make a .5!0" bore barrel for someone's project what twist would you choose.

the easiest one to machine......

I'd go 1:20, you can still shoot 'lightweight' bullets and big heavy leads.

Greenhills Formula will give you the twist calculation for those big bores

"Greenhills formula" Aww, think I know, baby food, gotcher, and now all the A R little bangers are being squashed your new projects will have to be big bangers. I mean one 500gr slug will do more damage than a burst A R .223 stuff.Maybe I should knock up a few 25ldr barrels, really get into the heavy stuff.

You would need a bigger lathe

I don`t think so, the mere fact that I`m making barrels on a lathe says it all, there is no such thing as "Can't do it" . I have drilled and rifled a .500" barrel, but I Stuffed it up by cutting only six groves, looks crap, so have made a seven grove rifling register disc for the next one, keep looking in F S box.

How do you divide a circle by 7?

7 Equal part I meant

Originally Posted by Friwi

How do you divide a circle by 7?

carefully

thats how hedgehogs have a bonk......

360/7=51.4 degrees

Or can do it using tec drawing very easy, look it up.

I`S not so technical, find a 42 tooth gear and drill a hole every forth one, easy-peasy. Also may be able to fix up the six grove .510" barrel, have made up a new T/C cutter that's 0.133" wide so the lands and groves will be the same, that's .510"x pie / divided by 12 =0.133" . So reset barrel up in lathe and recut rifling then a good polish. It`s still not to the standed .50cal, should be drilled hole =.492", ream to .494" cut rifle 0.003" deep =.500" bore. My drill leaves a hole of .5009", bugger, so has to be for lead bullets only as jacketed ones are .500" dia my bore is .510" =.511/12" bullets. the number 7 rifling disc
.

thats awesome