Bargain Bin alert

oldsmellhound · 12-12-2008, 07:27 PM

Just wanted to let anyone who might be interested know, in the Tradition's bargain bin they have their Tracker model .45 cal marked down from $199 to $99.

www.traditionsfirearms.com

The only downside is that it has a 1 in 20" twist, which supposedly is finicky with what it'll shoot. This is what the precision rifle website says:

1:20" twist barrels shoot long heavy bullets fine at velocities below 1650 fps with sabots and under 1400 fps with conicals.

In any case, it's a really good price in case anyone is interested. Both my hunting buddies have the Traditions Tracker (though in .50 cal) and that rifle is a real good shooter that has taken countless #'s of deer over the years for them.

cayugad · 12-12-2008, 08:22 PM

I know nothing about .45 calibers.. I wonder why that twist is so bad?

Underclocked · 12-12-2008, 09:04 PM

It actually isn't so bad. Cecil is probably about right though in his assessment of what will shoot correctly in one. Have a "GOOD" barrel is even more important than the twist rate and many of the original 1:20 .45 caliber rifles (especially the Encores) had barrels that would have been terrible no matter the twist rate.

Dave, the White .451 rifles use 1:20 twist and many are absolute tack drivers.

cayugad · 12-12-2008, 09:07 PM

That is why I was confused. Because I was about 99% sure that my .451 had a 1-20 twist.. So when I read Cecil's comment, I thought.. I shot sabots out of my .451 and it did a great job. And I dare to find a better conical shooter.

oldsmellhound · 12-13-2008, 03:33 PM

Thanks for the input guys- I'm trying to convince my dad to buy one since I have a .45 and we can share sabots and bullets - we'll see....

spaniel · 12-14-2008, 12:19 PM

Almost universally, reports from those who bought the 1-20" .45s back when that fad hit were negative. VERY finicky. Now that does not mean they were all bad. The odds of having a finicky gun are higher though, IMHO.

I think there is a reason they faded so quickly. If they worked well, I imagine we'd have seen it take on and some longer bullets with better BC offered that needed 1;20" to stabilize.