Savage 16FHLSS 7-mm-08 Twist Rate
« on: January 08, 2009, 11:50:02 AM »
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In early December I bought a brand new 16FHLSS (Hinged floor plate, left handed) in 7mm-08 Remington. After I ordered it, I got around to reading the 2008 Savage catalog in detail and found the published twist rate was 1 in 11.5" However, the web site claims 1-9.5".
Now a twist rate 1-9 or 1-9.5" is almost universal for any 7 mm. Remington, Browning and Winchester use 1-9.25" for every 7 mm they sell (7mm-08, 7mm WSM and 7mm Rem Mag.) and even Savage uses 1-9.5 for their 7 mm Rem Mag and 1-10" for the 7 mm WSM.
A twist of 1-11.5 seems abnormally slow for a 7mm, particularly a relatively low velocity round like the 7-08. I'm concerned it may not stabilize anything above 140 gr, if that.
So, I called Savage to see which twist was correct, 1-11.5" or 1-9.5", hoping it was the later. I called on three occasions and each time I was told it was 1-11.5" but no one seemed to know how they choose it.
I've tried to measure the twist using a tight patch on a cleaning rod and seeing how far the rod traveled for one rotation but the results have been ambiguous.
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