Henry Rifle Forums

Henry reveals twist rates on their webpage

Good news. Thanks. Will take a look.

Thanks for the news. I see the twist rate on the 1860 original is the same as the Uberti; 1:16 for the 45 Colt. I was curious about that.

The .357 Big Boy Steel is listed with a twist rate of 1:16, but the .357 Big Boy All-Weather is listed with a 1:18.75 twist rate. Very odd, since these are supposed to be the same rifles, only with different finishes?

I openly admit I don't know very much about twist rates .... in fact, outside of the Henry rifles mentioned in this thread, I have no clue what the rate is in of our rifles or pistols ..... what I do know is, if my firearms hit what I aim at .... if they don't (and that hasn't happened in decades), they aren't around long .... specifically, our Henry rifles have proven that if we miss, it isn't their fault

I'm kinda in the same boat. I want to hear a thump, see a hole in the middle of the target and watch splinters fly out the backboard.

In short, twist rate of the rifling determines how well the rifling will stabilize a given weight of bullet. Basically, the idea of a faster twist is to stabilize heavier bullets. Slower twists work well with lighter bullets. However, this is a general rule with tons of exceptions with given rifles and certain bullets.

The main advantage of having a handgun and rifle with the same twist rate is that both guns should theoretically do well with the same weight bullets. No need to work up a special load for the revolver and another for the rifle. Again, it's no guarantee, because there are other factors involved, but it does improve your chances.

North Country Gal wrote:The main advantage of having a handgun and rifle with the same twist rate is that both guns should theoretically do well with the same weight bullets. No need to work up a special load for the revolver and another for the rifle. Again, it's no guarantee, because there are other factors involved, but it does improve your chances.

Again, I had no idea.

NCG, thanks for helping my understanding of twist rates, especially of its importance when shooting the same handloads in both a revolver and a rifle. My Henry Big Boy and my Taylors & Co. Uberti SmokeWagon have the same twist rate (1:16), or I think they do, though not by aforethought. I bought them months apart having never considered matching the barrel's twist. Sweet serendipity. It's good to know that they're compatible.

per Ruger, the twist rate for our Redhawk 44 mag is 1:20" RH ===> http://www.ruger.com/products/redhawk/s ... /5003.html

per Henry, the twist rate for our Henry Big Boy Steel H012 is 1:38" ====> https://www.henryusa.com/rifles/henry-big-boy-steel/

as noted above, I make no claim of being able to speak as to what, if any, such a difference makes .... I do know in our Redhawk and our Henry our Nosler 240 gr JHP, pushed by 23.8 gr of W296 or H110 handloads excel

When I first checked out the BBS 41 when it appeared on the website it was stated to have a 1:38 twist rate. More recently the twist is listed as 1:18.75. I wonder if the first 41's had the slower rate and Henry changed the rate later or whether it was the faster rate all along and the website was in error?