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causing accuracy problems, precision shooters in the United States tend to avoid hammer forged barrels, and this limits them in the type of available rifling. From a practical standpoint, any accuracy issues resulting from the residual stresses of hammer forging are extremely unlikely to be an issue
587:
the barrel around a mandrel containing a reverse impression of the rifling. Hammer forging machines are tremendously expensive, far out of the reach of custom gunsmiths (unless they buy pre-rifled blanks), and so are generally only used for production barrels by large companies. The main advantage
522:
Providing a better gas seal around the projectile as polygonal bores tend to have shallower, smoother edges with a slightly smaller bore area, which translates into more efficient seal of the combustion gases trapped behind the bullet, slightly greater (consistency in) muzzle velocities and slightly
650:
GRC file, the land and groove widths for these firearms are listed as 0.000. However, forensic identification of firearms (in court-cases, etc.) is based on microscopic examination of tooling marks on the surface of the bore, produced by the manufacturing process and modified by the drag of bullet
278:, a prominent British engineer and entrepreneur. Whitworth experimented with cannons using twisted hexagonal barrels instead of traditional round rifled barrels and patented the design in 1854. In 1856, this concept was demonstrated in a series of experiments using brass
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Different manufacturers employ varying polygonal rifling profiles. H&K, CZ and Glock use a female type of polygonal rifling. This type has a smaller bore area than the male type of polygonal rifling designed and used by Lothar
Walther. Other companies such as
634:(Pac Nor) and LWRC use a rifling more like the conventional rifling, with both of each land's sides being sloped but having a flat top and defined corners; this type of rifling is more a canted land type of rifling than polygonal rifling.
421:
prior to the outbreak of the war. The process addressed the need to produce large quantities of more durable gun barrels in less time than those produced with traditional methods, as the MG 42's infamously fast
537:
Reduced buildup of copper or lead within the barrel, as there are no sharp rifling edges to "shred" into the bullet surface and no pronounced corners that can accumulate
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when the bullet travels through the barrel, which helps to increase muzzle velocity. The lack of sharp surface deformation on the bullet (rifling marks) also reduces
646:") because the polygonal riflings have a rounded profile instead of well-defined rectangular edges, which causes few noticeable surface deformations. In the
321:
Whitworth rifle is often called the "sharpshooter" because of its superior accuracy compared to other rifled muskets of its era (far surpassing the
577:
642:
Polygonal rifling prevents the forensic firearms examiner from microscopically measuring the width of land and groove impressions (so-called "
545:. The reduced fouling also theoretically translates to a simpler "copper equilibrium" profile, which is potentially beneficial to accuracy.
268:". Caliber: 86 mm. Length: 0.82 m. Weight: 101 kg (208 kg with carriage). Ammunition: 4 kg shell. Its hexagonal rifling is shown in detail.
588:
of a hammer forging process is that it can rifle, chamber, and contour a bored barrel blank in one step. First applied to rifling in
186:
where the traditional sharp-edged "lands and grooves" are replaced by less pronounced "hills and valleys", so the barrel bore has a
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almost universally use traditional rifling, as do target rifles. The debate among target shooters is almost always one of cut vs.
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89:
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from 1897 to 1945 with no excessive rifling erosion problems, as the
Japanese had adopted a better, non-erosive, rifle powder.
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rifle in favour of
Enfield type rifling, which was deep-grooved for longer service life. Lee Navy shared the same fate since
515:
Not compromising the barrel's thickness in the area of each groove as with traditional rifling, and also less sensitive to
68:
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282:. The British military, however, rejected Whitworth's polygonal designs. Afterwards, Whitworth adopted the concept on
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Prolonged barrel life, as the thermomechanical stress upon the riflings are spread over a larger area, hence less
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tended to overheat the barrel quickly and thus warranted frequent barrel changes. The MG 42's successor, the
57:
604:, a process that is less necessary in a traditionally cut or button rifled barrel. Due to the potential for
600:. The hammer forging process produces large amounts of stress in the barrel that must be relieved by careful
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barrels, as traditional rifling is dominant. Polygonal rifled barrels are used competitively in pistol
332:. The Whitworth sharpshooters killed multiple high-ranking Union officers, most famously Major General
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proved too much for the smooth and shallow
Metford rifling, which had been designed to reduce barrel
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Polygonal riflings with a larger number of edges have shallower corners, which provide a better gas
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jackets on that same surface. Thus, the bore surface of individual firearms is always unique.
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125:
Conventional eight groove rifling on the left, and octagonal polygonal rifling on the right
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A number of advantages are claimed by the supporters of polygonal rifling. These include:
436:
was the first manufacturer to begin using polygonal rifling in modern small arms like the
8:
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542:
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Barrels and
Bullets: Conventional Versus Polygonal Rifling by Dennis Cantrell 06/08/2010
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was analogous to
Cordite. However, the Arisakas were manufactured extensively for the
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ammunition. When the
Metford rifling design was dropped, the Lee–Metford became the
364:
206:
371:. The Lee-Metford rifle turned out to be a failure after the switch to the erosive
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Part of the difference may be that most polygonal rifling is produced by hammer
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bore, which has an 11.23 mm (0.442 in) diameter, since it resembles a
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used by the Union Army) and is considered one of the earliest examples of a
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286:, believing that polygonal rifling could be used to create a more accurate
210:
760:
495:, and the LaRue Tactical Stealth System sniper rifle use polygonal bores.
336:, who was fatally shot at a range of 1,000 yards (910 m) during the
781:, A comment from Gale McMillan about lead bullets and polygonal rifling.
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in relatively large diameter bores. For instance, in the pre-Gen 5
727:
Peter Alan Kasler - Glock: The New Wave in Combat
Handguns, p. 138
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The principle of the polygonal barrel was proposed in 1853 by Sir
763:, with information on cast bullets in Glock and H&K handguns.
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rifles, named after their proprietary
Metford rifling, American
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FAQ, with information on methods of making and rifling barrels
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is an example of an assault rifle that uses polygonal rifling.
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in a defense or service pistol, or a typical hunting rifle.
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141:
738:"National Institute of Justice Firearm Examiner Training"
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153:
150:
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SL7 Polygonlauf, Vielflächenlauf by Lutz Möller (German)
556:
However, precision target pistols such as those used in
757:, with information on lead bullets in Glock firearms.
171:
159:
775:, covers new polygonal profile button rifled barrels
447:. Companies that utilize this method today include
147:
138:
443:and several semi-automatic hunting rifles like the
144:
49:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
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683:
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592:in 1939, hammer forging has remained popular in
406:, polygonal rifling emerged again in the German
475:. Polygonal rifling is usually found only in
430:machine gun, can also have polygonal rifling.
678:
596:but was only later used by gunmakers in the
541:difficult to clean, which results in easier
526:Less bullet deformation, resulting in less
347:to use polygonal rifling were the British
721:
109:Learn how and when to remove this message
616:
502:
229:rifling used in smaller diameter bores.
120:
637:
787:
264:, "Canon de montagne de 4 modèle 1859
217:rifling is used in the large diameter
260:Rifled mountain cannon of the French
47:adding citations to reliable sources
18:
13:
761:The Gun Zone 2001 e-mail questions
338:Battle of Spotsylvania Court House
14:
806:
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301:, Whitworth's polygonally rifled
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479:barrels, and is less common in
34:needs additional citations for
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305:was successfully used by the
507:Hexagonal polygonal rifling.
411:general-purpose machine guns
7:
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10:
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491:and its Pakistani variant
487:precision rifles like the
483:; however, some extremely
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16:Type of gun barrel rifling
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355:rifles (both designed by
661:Ballistic fingerprinting
644:ballistic fingerprinting
519:-induced barrel failure.
473:Israel Weapon Industries
489:Heckler & Koch PSG1
413:, as an outgrowth of a
311:Whitworth Sharpshooters
309:marksmen (known as the
307:Confederate States Army
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451:, Heckler & Koch,
397:Imperial Japanese Army
225:more closely than the
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528:frictional resistance
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417:process developed by
317:artillery crews. The
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638:Forensic examination
517:stress concentration
359:), and the Japanese
292:Pattern 1853 Enfield
43:improve this article
523:increased accuracy.
415:cold-hammer forging
363:rifles designed by
58:"Polygonal rifling"
795:Firearm components
693:2010-04-20 at the
632:Noveske Rifleworks
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434:Heckler & Koch
299:American Civil War
127:
779:Polygonal Rifling
130:Polygonal rifling
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773:6mmBR barrel FAQ
755:Glockmeister FAQ
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428:Rheinmetall MG 3
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570:action shooting
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461:Česká Zbrojovka
457:Magnum Research
365:Colonel Arisaka
357:James Paris Lee
313:) to terrorize
303:Whitworth rifle
290:to replace the
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262:La Hitte system
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54:Find sources:
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32:This article
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441:battle rifle
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424:rate of fire
404:World War II
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391:adopted for
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381:black powder
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330:sniper rifle
326:Sharps rifle
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99:October 2022
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41:Please help
36:verification
33:
543:maintenance
455:(Gen 1-4),
385:Lee–Enfield
349:Lee–Metford
297:During the
266:Le Pétulant
672:References
666:Smoothbore
613:Variations
572:, such as
552:over time.
534:in flight.
315:Union Army
284:small arms
202:profile.
181:gun barrel
69:newspapers
465:Kahr Arms
449:Tanfoglio
343:The last
280:howitzers
227:hexagonal
215:octagonal
196:octagonal
192:hexagonal
190:(usually
188:polygonal
789:Category
691:Archived
655:See also
558:Bullseye
539:foulings
485:high end
389:Rifleite
590:Germany
585:forging
469:Walther
402:During
377:fouling
373:Cordite
361:Arisaka
233:History
219:.45 ACP
184:rifling
83:scholar
594:Europe
499:Design
493:PSR-90
481:rifles
477:pistol
445:HK SL7
223:circle
176:-ə-nəl
85:
78:
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562:IHMSA
453:Glock
408:MG 42
90:JSTOR
76:books
621:The
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379:for
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62:news
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174:LIG
172:pə-
45:by
791::
680:^
467:,
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340:.
294:.
213:,
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163:əl
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166:/
160:n
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145:ˈ
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