What rate of twist is considered fast or slow .Thanks
What rate of twist is considered fast or slow .Thanks
1 in 60 would be fast and 1 in 72 would be slow.
Bob,
The normal rate of twist for Civil War period firearms is about one half turn for the length of that barrle.
What length barrel are you interested in?
Blair
Actually, a "slow" twist in a Civil War musket would be 1:78" which was the standard in long Enfields. In the US, tests at Harpers Ferry demonstrated that 1:60" was far more accurate, but tended to cause rotational drift which complicated sighting for different ranges. So the US adopted a standard of 1:72", which was as fast as the arsenal could go without causing rotational drift. You may consider 1:60" and 1:72" as medium rates in a .580" musket. Virtually all US and CS rifles and muskets in .54, .58, and .69 were rifled 1:72". An exeption was the Remington Model 1862 Rifle (Zouave) which was rifled 1:60".
Fast twist rifle barrels (Notably most of the 2-band Enfields, Volunteer Rifles and British musketoons) used a 1:48" twist. These were reputed to be the most accurate of the minie rifles and because they were generally used at close ranges rotational drift was ignored. 1:48" is a fast twist.
Bob Hoyt generally rifles a musket with a medium fast twist of 1:56" unless asked to do otherwise because most shooters are not interested in shooting beyond 100 yards anyway and because the reduced loads popular with skirmishers require a faster twist bore in order to get adequate rotation for a standard minie.
Thanks Jim In discussions the twist is brought up and that answers a lot of questions .
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