Kinda sorta looking at a winchester apex .45. Just wondering what the twist rate is on these. Busta,s report on shoothing the .358 bullets have reignited a spark. Ive always got alot of 358 bullets on hand ,so this would be some "cheap shooting" for me.
burntmuch,
I was thinking the exact same thing, but it will probably be 1:28 like the rest of the CVA .45's. Now would be the perfect time for CVA or any company to get ahead of the game and make some fact twist barrels. I am not saying for their production guns, but at least a Bergara barrel 1:16 to 1:20 option. This way they could control the supply with the demand, they could make these to fit the Apex, Accura, Optima/Pro/Elite, Encore. If they made a fast twist Bergara barrel to fit the H&R/NEF rifles, I would own at least two right now.
When the SUPER .45's (Knight, TC, and others) hit the market several years ago, they were the fast 1:20 twist like White used, but they were trying to market these rifles to shoot very light sub-caliber pistol bullets. They soon realized that the twist was too fast for the bullets, and instead of marketing better bullets, Knight changed their twist to 1:30, T/C and others to 1:28. I remember at that time, if you had a fast twist Knight or T/C, they would exchange your fast twist barrel for a slower twist. Green Mountain was selling some of these 1:20 Knight Disc barrels a while back, but unfortunately they cut the receiver end off. If Knight had these barrels right now, I think they could sell them very easily. The bullets have finally started to evolve into the longer length with ballistic tips, and any time you add length, you need to increase the rate of twist accordingly. The longer monolithic copper and brass bullets with the long hollow point cavities and ballistic tips would be better served with faster twist rifles IMO.
So, for me, whatever company (CVA, Knight, T/C) steps up and makes a fast twist .45 again, I will own one. CVA and Bergara could make a killing if they are the first to enter the market, since they already supply barrels for their rifles and the Encore, the only change in their operation would be the faster rifling.
I have never owned a CVA, but I really like the looks of the Apex. If it is as well constructed as the Accura, and it should be at least stronger for the center fire platform, I may own one. I don't care for the looks of the Accura stock, but it does feel OK when I shoulder one. The only real gripe I have with the Accura is the molded in sling swivel studs and the spring steel ramrod thimbles, at least the Apex appears to be using steel swivel studs again, I could probably learn to live with the thimbles. The big deciding factor for me will be whether CVA will increase their maximum recommended powder charge and bullet weight with this new APEX. IIRC even the Bergara barrels only have a 100 grain loose powder maximum, but a 150 gr pellet maximum. They should at least be able to shoot 125 grains of loose powder, it takes 127.5 grains of loose 777 or BH209 to reach the equivelant of a 150 gr pellet load, so it is not a safety thing, it is their lack of understanding. They should be out pretty soon.
