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LH rifles barrel?

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25 October 2019, 21:41
Biebs
LH rifles barrel?
A guy I know is looking to build a super-accurate 308 rifle for range use, and has asked me about a LH rifled barrel. I understand that most Lh rifled barrels are European in origin, and that they may help barrel attachments (brakes, suppressors) stay attached due to the reverse rifling of the barrel vs attachment. Any thoughts?
26 October 2019, 18:50
dpcd
British Enfields have left handed rifling. For no known reason; yes, some have stated that it makes the shank threads tighter and not looser. No way it could even theoretically help a muzzle attachment.
If you are relying on left handed threads to hold your barrel on, you have bigger problems to worry about.
Complete nonsense, forget all about it. We use right hand rifling on our Cal 50 M2 MGs, since 1918 and we still use them; every Abrams tank has one; and the barrels are not really held in by anything but a little hair pin spring.
It is much like left handed wheel nuts on the drivers side; that makes all nuts tighten up in the direction of wheel travel. Those were widely used on military Jeeps and Trucks and all civilian Jeeps through WW2 until the 60s at least. If it was such a good idea, why don't we use it now on all cars? I think some big trucks still use them.
BUT; where did all this nonsense come from? From horse drawn wagons, in which you cannot torque or tighten the hub nuts (due to a wooden hub).
More myth and old wive's lunacy.
27 October 2019, 06:01
jpl
quote:
Originally posted by Biebs:
Any thoughts?


Since you posted in the long range forum... A left twist barrel fired in the northern hemisphere will see some benefit at long range because the spin drift and coriolis effect will tend to cancel each other.
22 January 2020, 08:35
vzerone
quote:
Originally posted by dpcd:
British Enfields have left handed rifling. For no known reason; yes, some have stated that it makes the shank threads tighter and not looser. No way it could even theoretically help a muzzle attachment.
If you are relying on left handed threads to hold your barrel on, you have bigger problems to worry about.
Complete nonsense, forget all about it. We use right hand rifling on our Cal 50 M2 MGs, since 1918 and we still use them; every Abrams tank has one; and the barrels are not really held in by anything but a little hair pin spring.
It is much like left handed wheel nuts on the drivers side; that makes all nuts tighten up in the direction of wheel travel. Those were widely used on military Jeeps and Trucks and all civilian Jeeps through WW2 until the 60s at least. If it was such a good idea, why don't we use it now on all cars? I think some big trucks still use them.
BUT; where did all this nonsense come from? From horse drawn wagons, in which you cannot torque or tighten the hub nuts (due to a wooden hub).
More myth and old wive's lunacy.


May be Colt started with left hand rifling because he was left handed as many claim. Don't know about the British. Aren't some of the French rifles left hand rifling?
22 January 2020, 22:50
ZekeShikar
quote:
Originally posted by jpl:
quote:
Originally posted by Biebs:
Any thoughts?


Since you posted in the long range forum... A left twist barrel fired in the northern hemisphere will see some benefit at long range because the spin drift and coriolis effect will tend to cancel each other.


True if shooting south but maybe not so if shooting northerly.

What say ye?

Zeke
24 January 2020, 23:37
Uncle Earl
IIRC Mark Chanlynn of Rocky Mountain Rifle Works, near Lyons, CO makes barrels with a LH twist.
04 February 2020, 02:11
butchlambert
I have a LH twist barrel by Bartlein.