I believe the twist is 1:48, but without any papers, i'll just have to do the conical test and hope its shoot them well. As for the front sight, Thats the way it goes. But i'll try your way when i get another sight, i want to keep a spare on hand when i sight in for conicals. i dont like the idea of filing this one down when i go to sight in with the 255 grainers. But it is a fun rifle to shoot, love the sound of it when it goes off. the stain looks light in the pics but its actually a shade darker in person. Camera flash always lightens my pics up. But overall, im really happy with the trade i did. well worth it. Now its time to look for another mtn rifle.