Okay, I'm assuming that by now, all barrels are rifled in the same direction, but is there any reason for rifling them in one direction rather than the other?
If it was one of these north ans south hemisphere things like the water draining from the bathtub, we'd have guns for each hemisphere surely?
Posts: 360 | Location: Sunny, but increasingly oppressed by urbanites England | Registered: 13 February 2001
1. All barrels made North of the Equator are cut in one direction. All barrels made South of the Equator are cut in the opposite direction. This is due to the rotational velocity of the Earth. This is also why water traveling down a drain spins in opposite directions North and South of the Equator.
2. Who ever cut the first gun barrel must have been right handed.
3. Bullets are made for left handed only twists. It takes special bullets to use in a right handed barrel.
4. It�s a British thing. This is why they drive on the wrong side of the road.
5. The crystal patterns in steel align themselves in a left handed configuration as it cools. Therefore all barrels are cut in this direction so as not to raise the grain in the barrel.
Posts: 10780 | Location: Test Tube | Registered: 27 February 2001
quote:Originally posted by Zero Drift: Popular Answers:
1. All barrels made North of the Equator are cut in one direction. All barrels made South of the Equator are cut in the opposite direction. This is due to the rotational velocity of the Earth. This is also why water traveling down a drain spins in opposite directions North and South of the Equator.
2. Who ever cut the first gun barrel must have been right handed.
3. Bullets are made for left handed only twists. It takes special bullets to use in a right handed barrel.
4. It�s a British thing. This is why they drive on the wrong side of the road.
5. The crystal patterns in steel align themselves in a left handed configuration as it cools. Therefore all barrels are cut in this direction so as not to raise the grain in the barrel.
------------------ NRA Life member
Posts: 8355 | Location: Jennings Louisiana, Arkansas by way of Alabama by way of South Carloina by way of County Antrim Irland by way of Lanarkshire Scotland. | Registered: 02 November 2001
For a left handed handgunner the RH twist is actually somewhat interesting. Particularly in a single action revolver, you will notice that gun recoils up and to the right. That is because of RH twist and it does interesting things to a lefties thumb that involves missing skin and blood. That is one reason I prefer double action revolvers as the tendency to twist right is less. If I were to have a Ruger SBH customized, it would have a LH twist barrel on it for me. This puts the twist back into the hand like you righties enjoy now.
[This message has been edited by twillis (edited 12-27-2001).]
Posts: 172 | Location: Danville, VA, USA | Registered: 08 October 2001
quote:Originally posted by Zero Drift: 3. Bullets are made for left handed only twists. It takes special bullets to use in a right handed barrel.
Who makes those special right-handed bullets? Where can I get some? How will I know if they're left handed? (Do I need to make them write something that way?). If I use left handed bullets in a right handed rifle, will that make me ambidextrious & able to conquer anything?
Why are almost all bolts and nuts made with a right-hand twist (although I've seen a very few with left-hand twist) and all the drills I've ever seen also made that way? I think it's tradition, but also a useful one because otherwise we'd always be confused or uncertain as to how to proceed.
Posts: 5883 | Location: People's Republic of Maryland | Registered: 11 March 2001
quote:Originally posted by Zero Drift: 1. All barrels made North of the Equator are cut in one direction. All barrels made South of the Equator are cut in the opposite direction. This is due to the rotational velocity of the Earth. This is also why water traveling down a drain spins in opposite directions North and South of the Equator.
So, if my shooting isn't so good in RSA in May, I can blame it on the coriolis force? Are GS Custom bullets built for right or left hand twists?
Canuck
Posts: 7123 | Location: The Rock (southern V.I.) | Registered: 27 February 2001
The common answer is that the British did indeed rifle their barrels for the Lee Enfields left handed to counteract the effect of the Earth's rotation. This because on most ranges they fired north. You must remember that at the time long range riflery on the target range was an important part of development. The American Buffington sight has windage built in to the elevation adjustment to compensate for this drift. Some say the right hand twist was used because it was felt that the torque from the left hand twist would loosen the barrel with it's RH threads. The Norwegian Krag uses left hand threads but I don't recall the rifling twist. Does anyone out there? One fellow told me that the real reason the british used the left hand rifling was so the jags wouldn't come loose on their Parker hale cleaning rods. He said this explained why the English shooter would look so smug as he cleaned his rifle even though he might be in last place! Could be. Regards, Bill.
Canuck - The easiest way to counter the Coriolis force is to always shoot facing North when hunting South of the Equator. The other possibility is to shoot right handed bullets out of a left handed barrel - but only do this South of the Equator, otherwise the bullets will make a right hand turn when in the Northern Hemisphere. . . . . . . . Hey, is anybody actually buying this crap???
Posts: 10780 | Location: Test Tube | Registered: 27 February 2001
I think I might have to track down some of those right handed bullets. With a little practice I should be able to arc my shots around obstacles, like brush or trees. Nothing is safe now!
Canuck
Posts: 7123 | Location: The Rock (southern V.I.) | Registered: 27 February 2001
in the end if the 19th century Husqvarna made combination guns with a compromise solution of this fascinating problem: right barrel cal. 28 for round bullet of lead and left barrel cal. 20 s-t-r-a-i-g-h-t rifled for shots or round bullet.
Best regards,
Fritz
P.S. It has been discussed if this straight rifling was intended for use in the polar regions or at the equator, where there isn�t any coriolis power. It hasn�t, however, been sufficiently prooved.
Posts: 846 | Location: Sweden | Registered: 19 April 2001
There used to be a gunsmith/barrel-maker called Al Peterson (Riverhurst Rifle Ranch) Riverhurst Sask. Al built all his barrels with a left hand twist. I have an M17 he built in 375 H&H Also a 222 barrel for a 340 savage. Peterson claimed LH was more accurate.358MARK could most likely tell us more about him. Does anyone have a M17 with the origional barrel is it LH twist? as I believe they used Enfield Rifling.
Rich
and remember it's that time of year so don't eat yellow snow.
Posts: 227 | Location: West Central Sask | Registered: 16 December 2000
I belive that blood contains most of right rotating moleculas and of course if you know blood path in body and you know that most of shots in war is made from the front so right rotating bullet can give you better result because it is not slowered by this stuffs. I remeber that guns made for KGB and simmilar stuff which shoot you often from back are made with left twist . . .
Bill has it pretty close, in actual fact the rifling is right handed twist to allow the rifling marks in the bullet to catch the air, much like the lacing on a baseball, which will cause it to veer to the right, much like a curve ball. The earth being roughly 24,000 miles in circumference and rotating once a day, travels approximately 1,000 miles an hour. Thus the target we are shooting at, is no longer in the same place it was when we pulled the trigger. Rifling compensates for this movement allowing us to hit the target and believe we are great shots. If you are shooting south of the equator,you must rotate the bullet one-half turn to the left to achieve the same effect, either that or have the barrel re-mounted with a 180 degree turn, in effect having the barrel upside down. This is the same phenomena that causes drunks to think they can sing and some women to believe hairy legs are a turn-on.
I am patiently waiting for the scientific world to accept my theories: so far they have not responded.
Posts: 8355 | Location: Jennings Louisiana, Arkansas by way of Alabama by way of South Carloina by way of County Antrim Irland by way of Lanarkshire Scotland. | Registered: 02 November 2001
Lots of good "explanations." I always thought it had something to do with the barrell threads (into the action). Would a right hand twist help keep the barrel tight? Ken
When the first rifling twist was discovered, it was by one who was quite fond of the drink, and in fact so dizzy he cut it right-handed, as he was listing in that direction! Left-handed came about due to another's dislexia. ~~~Suluuq
In addition to the Coriolis Effect, whenever you shoot left or right handed bullets with a steel core you must adjust for the magnetic declination from true north for your area. Most topo maps will give you this correction. In Alaska I missed a duck once while shooting steel shot because I failed to consider the massive declination for the Cook Inlet area (something like 28 degrees as I recall).
not quite sure but in college physics class i remember the right hand rule of torque. if you wrap your right hand around a spining object fingures go with the direction of the spin with your thumb sticking out. your thumb points in the direction of the torque. i.e. counter clockwise it wants to move up clockwise it wants to move down. or the professor could have just blown a lot of smoke up our a--es
Good post! Being an Artillery Man and master gunner of the US Army's Gunnery Advanced Course, I find humor in that. Would you believe that when computing firing data for howitzers, the curvature of the earth, drift caused by the spin of the projectile, and the wind values at altitutes corresponding to the trajectory of the fired round can be calculated by hand? I've done it hundreds of times to double-check the computer solutions of the Army's latest "gee-wiz" computers.
Right hand twist: It would be extremely difficult to re-calculate all the reference data we have for long range (mesured in 10's of miles!) for a left hand twist...
In fact, it's because of a little-considered aspect of recoil, which as we all know is a product of propelling the bullet forwards. Not only does the gun come back as a reaction, but it also rotates, the opposite way to the bullet. Thus, for a right-handed shooter, it tucks into the shoulder. Having the rifling going the other way would cause the rifle to fly off the shoulder and into the bushes. Very dangerous.
redleg, aw,the scientific community is responding- thank you for your keen interest in my theories, unfortunately I have failed to keep a comprehensive record of my calculations and findings, so to keep it simple, I just take a step to the left when I pull the trigger.
