Originally Posted by
16gauge
Depends on the rate of twist in the barrel...most modern replicas of Hawkens have a 1:48" twist; they were designed to shoot both round ball AND conicals......some shoot conicals and balls well, others shoot only balls well, and some shoot both well. The 1:48" twist is kind of a "compromise", with all the options out there.
To shoot PRB, most rifles prefer a slower twist (like around 1:66 or so).
Depends on the game, also.....if I were hunting bigger game, such as elk, bear, ect, I think I would like the extra energy that a conical would give me, esp. if I were shooting a smaller caliber rifle.
That's true! I know some of the Hawken's are 1:48 and can shoot either pretty well - tho I know for 'the most part' patched RB's like a very slow twist - as you said - like a 1:66 or 1:60 like my Lyman GP rifle has.