MODULE 9

THE GUN BARREL

It is very important that a Ballistics Report or Firearms Examiner be sufficiently

familiar with the various steps in the manufacture of a firearm in order that he will be able
to explain the source or cause of the different markings which may be found on firearm
evidence which may be found as the basis of his identification. There should always be a
sound reason for all markings, scratches, or dents visible examiner to determine how and
why they are made, and also to interpret their significance both to him and to the court.
Most of these minute details caused by deliberate or accidental operations of the tools
during the process of manufacture.

RIFLING

Rifling of a 105 mm Royal Ordnance L7 tank gun.

Rifling in a .35 Remington microgroove rifled barrel.

Rifling is the process of making spiral grooves in the barrel of a gun or firearm,
which imparts a spin to a projectile around its long axis. This spin serves to gyroscopically
stabilize the projectile, improving its aerodynamic stability and accuracy.

Rifling is described by its twist rate, which indicates the distance the bullet must
travel to complete one full revolution, such as "1 turn in 10 inches" (1:10 inches), or "1 turn
in 30 cm" (1:30 cm). A shorter distance indicates a "faster" twist, meaning that for a given
velocity the projectile will be rotating at a higher spin rate.

A combination of the weight, length and shape of a projectile determines the twist
rate needed to stabilize it – barrels intended for short, large-diameter projectiles like
spherical lead balls require a very low twist rate, such as 1 turn in 48 inches (122 cm).
Barrels intended for long, small-diameter bullets, such as the ultra-low-drag, 80-grain
0.223 inch bullets (5.2 g, 5.56 mm), and use twist rates of 1 turn in 8 inches (20 cm) or
faster.

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 In some cases, rifling will have twist rates that increases down the length of the
barrel, called a gain twist or progressive twist; a twist rate that decreases from breech to
muzzle is undesirable, as it cannot reliably stabilize the bullet as it travels down the bore.
Extremely long projectiles such as flechettes may require impractically high twist rates;
these projectiles must be inherently stable, and are often fired from a smoothbore barrel.

History
Traditional rifling of a 9 mm handgun barrel.

Muskets were smoothbore, large caliber weapons using ball-

shaped ammunition fired at relatively low velocity. Due to the high
cost and great difficulty of precision manufacturing, and the need to
load readily from the muzzle, the musket ball was a loose fit in the
barrel. Consequently on firing the ball bounced off the sides of the
barrel when fired and the final direction on leaving the muzzle was
unpredictable.

Barrel rifling was invented in Augsburg at the end of the fifteenth century. In 1520
August Kotter, an armourer of Nuremberg, improved upon this work. Though true rifling
dates from the mid-16th century, it did not become commonplace until the nineteenth
century.

Recent developments
Polygonal rifling

The grooves most commonly used in modern

rifling have fairly sharp edges. More recently, polygonal
rifling, a throwback to the earliest types of rifling, has
become popular, especially in handguns. Polygonal
barrels tend to have longer service lives because the
reduction of the sharp edges of the land reduces erosion
of the barrel. Supporters of polygonal rifling also claim
higher velocities and greater accuracy. Polygonal rifling
is currently seen on pistols from Heckler & Koch, Glock
and Kahr Arms, as well as the Desert Eagle.

Extended range, full bore concept

For tanks and artillery pieces, the extended range,
full bore concept developed by Gerald Bull for the GC-45
howitzer reverses the normal rifling idea by using a shell
with small fins that ride in the grooves, as opposed to using
a slightly oversized projectile which is forced into the
grooves. Such guns have achieved significant increases in
muzzle velocity and range. Examples include the South

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African G5 and the German PzH 2000.

Manufacture
Rifling in a French 19th century cannon.

Most rifling is created by either:

• cutting one groove at a time with a machine tool (cut rifling or single point cut
rifling);
• cutting all grooves in one pass with a special progressive broaching bit (broached
rifling);
• pressing all grooves at once with a tool called a "button" that is pushed or pulled
down the barrel (button rifling);
• forging the barrel over a mandrel containing a reverse image of the rifling, and often
the chamber as well (hammer forging);
• flow forming the barrel perform over a mandrel containing a reverse image of the
rifling (rifling by flow forming)

The grooves are the spaces that are cut out, and the resulting ridges are called lands.
These lands and grooves can vary in number, depth, shape, direction of twist (right or left),
and twist rate (see below). The spin imparted by rifling significantly improves the stability
of the projectile, improving both range and accuracy. Typically rifling is a constant rate
down the barrel, usually measured by the length of travel required to produce a single turn.
Occasionally firearms are encountered with a gain twist, where the rate of spin increases
from chamber to muzzle. While intentional gain twists are rare, due to manufacturing
variance, a slight gain twist is in fact fairly common. Since a reduction in twist rate is very
detrimental to accuracy, gunsmiths who are machining a new barrel from a rifled blank will
often measure the twist carefully so they may put the faster rate, no matter how minute the
difference is, at the muzzle end (see internal ballistics for more information on accuracy
and bore characteristics).

Construction and operation

Conventional rifling (left) and polygonal rifling (right).
A barrel of circular cross-section is not capable of
imparting a spin to a projectile, so a rifled barrel has a non-
circular cross-section. Typically the rifled barrel contains one or
more grooves that run down its length, giving it a cross-section
resembling a gear, though it can also take the shape of a
polygon, usually with rounded corners. Since the barrel is not circular in cross-section, it
cannot be accurately described with a single diameter. Rifled bores may be described by
the bore diameter (the diameter across the lands or high points in the rifling), or by
groove diameter (the diameter across the grooves or low points in the rifling). Differences
in naming conventions for cartridges can cause confusion; for example, the .303 British is
actually slightly larger in diameter than the .308 Winchester, because the ".303" refers to
the bore diameter in inches, while the ".308" refers to the groove diameter in inches
(7.70 mm and 7.62 mm, respectively).

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 Despite differences in form, the common goal of rifling is to deliver the projectile
accurately to the target. In addition to imparting the spin to the bullet, the barrel must hold
the projectile securely and concentrically as it travels down the barrel. This requires that
the rifling meet a number of tasks:

• It must be sized so that the projectile will swage or obturate upon firing to fill the
bore.
• The diameter should be consistent, and must not increase towards the muzzle.
• The rifling should be consistent down the length of the bore, without changes in
cross-section, such as variations in groove width or spacing.
• It should be smooth, with no scratches lying perpendicular to the bore, so it does not
abrade material from the projectile.
• The chamber and crown must smoothly transition the projectile into and out of the
rifling.

When the projectile is swaged into the rifling, it takes on a mirror image of the
rifling, as the lands push into the projectile in a process called engraving. Engraving takes
on not only the major features of the bore, such as the lands and grooves, but also minor
features, like scratches and tool marks. The relationship between the bore characteristics
and the engraving on the projectile are often used in forensic ballistics.

Fitting the projectile to the bore

Three recovered
7.62x51mm NATO
bullets (next to an unfired cartridge), showing
rifling marks Cannonball equipped with winglets for
rifled cannons circa 1860.

Ogival shell of the La Hitte system, 1858.

The original firearms were loaded from the muzzle by forcing

a ball from the muzzle to the breech. Whether using a rifled or
smooth bore, a good fit was needed to seal the bore and provide the
best possible accuracy from the gun. To ease the force required to
load the projectile, these early guns used an undersized ball, and a
patch made of cloth, paper, or leather to fill the windage (the gap

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between the ball and the walls of the bore). The patch provided some degree of sealing,
kept the ball seated on the charge of black powder, and kept the ball concentric to the bore.
In rifled barrels, the patch also provided a means to transfer the spin from the rifling to the
bullet, as the patch is engraved rather than the ball. Until the advent of the hollow-base
Minié ball, which obturates upon firing to seal the bore and engage the rifling, the patch
provided the best means of getting the projectile to engage the rifling.

In breech-loading firearms, the task of seating the projectile into the rifling is
handled by the throat of the chamber. Next is the freebore, which is the portion of the
throat down which the projectile travels before the rifling starts. The last section of the
throat is the throat angle, where the throat transitions into the rifled barrel.

The throat is usually sized slightly larger than the projectile, so the loaded cartridge
can be inserted and removed easily, but the throat should be as close as practical to the
groove diameter of the barrel. Upon firing, the projectile expands under the pressure from
the chamber, and obturates to fit the throat. The bullet then travels down the throat and
engages the rifling, where it is engraved, and begins to spin. Engraving the projectile
requires a significant amount of force, and in some firearms there is a significant amount of
freebore, which helps keep chamber pressures low by allowing the propellant gases to
expand before being required to engrave the projectile. Best accuracy, however, is typically
provided with a minimum of freebore, maximizing the chances that the projectile will enter
the rifling without distortion.

Twist rate
For best performance, the barrel should have a twist rate sufficient to stabilize any
bullet that it would reasonably be expected to fire, but not significantly more. Large
diameter bullets provide more stability, as the larger radius provides more gyroscopic
inertia, while long bullets are harder to stabilize, as they tend to be very back heavy and the
aerodynamic pressures have a longer "lever" to act on. The slowest twist rates are found in
muzzle loading firearms meant to fire a round ball; these will have twist rates as low as 1 in
60 inches (1,500 mm), or slightly longer, although for a typical multi-purpose muzzleloader
rifle, a twist rate of 1 in 48 inches (1,200 mm) is very common. The M16A2 rifle, which is
designed to fire the SS109 bullet, has a 1 in 7-inch (180 mm) twist. Civilian AR-15 rifles are
commonly found with 1 in 12 inches (300 mm) for older rifles and 1 in 9 inches (230 mm)
for most newer rifles, although some are made with 1 in 7 inches (180 mm) twist rates, the
same as used for the M16. Rifles, which generally fire longer, smaller diameter bullets, will
in general have higher twist rates than handguns, which fire shorter, larger diameter
bullets.

In 1879, George Greenhill, a professor of mathematics at the Royal Military Academy

(RMA) at Woolwich, London, UK developed a rule of thumb for calculating the optimal twist
rate for lead-core bullets. This shortcut uses the bullet's length, needing no allowances for
weight or nose shape. The eponymous Greenhill Formula, still used today, is:

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where:

• C = 150 (use 180 for muzzle velocities higher than 2,800 f/s)
• D = bullet's diameter in inches
• L = bullet's length in inches
• SG = bullet's specific gravity (10.9 for lead-core bullets, which cancels out the
second half of the equation)

The original value of C was 150, which yields a

twist rate in inches per turn, when given the diameter D
and the length L of the bullet in inches. This works to
velocities of about 840 m/s (2800 ft/s); above those
velocities, a C of 180 should be used. For instance, with a
velocity of 600 m/s (2000 ft/s), a diameter of 0.5 inches
(13 mm) and a length of 1.5 inches (38 mm), the Greenhill
formula would give a value of 25, which means 1 turn in
25 inches (640 mm).

Improved formulas for determining stability and twist rates include the Miller Twist
Rule and the McGyro program developed by Bill Davis and Robert McCoy.

A Parrott rifle, used by both Confederate and Union forces in the American Civil War.

If an insufficient twist rate is used, the bullet will begin to yaw and then tumble; this
is usually seen as "keyholing", where bullets leave elongated holes in the target as they
strike at an angle. Once the bullet starts to yaw, any hope of accuracy is lost, as the bullet
will begin to veer off in random directions as it processes.

Conversely, too-high a rate of twist can also cause problems. The excessive twist can
cause accelerated barrel wear, and also induce a very high spin rate which can cause high-
velocity projectiles to disintegrate in flight. A higher twist than needed can also cause more
subtle problems with accuracy: Any inconsistency within the bullet, such as a void that
causes an unequal distribution of mass, may be magnified by the spin. Undersized bullets
also have problems, as they may not enter the rifling exactly concentric and coaxial to the
bore, and excess twist will exacerbate the accuracy problems this causes. Lastly, excessive
spinning causes a reduction in the lateral kinetic energy of a projectile, thereby reducing its
destructive power (the energy instead becomes rotational kinetic energy).

Bullet revolutions per minute (rpm)

A bullet fired from a rifled barrel can spin at over 300,000 rpm, depending on the
bullet's muzzle velocity (MV) and the barrel's twist rate.

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The general formula for calculating the rpm of a rotating object may be written as

•
where υ is the linear velocity of a point in the rotating object (in units of distance/minute)
and C refers to the circumference of the circle that this measuring point performs around
the axis of rotation.

For a bullet, the specific formula below uses the bullet's MV and the barrel's twist
rate to calculate rotational speed:

• MV(in fps) x (12/twist rate in inches) x 60 = Bullet rpm

For example, a bullet with a muzzle velocity of 3050 ft/s fired from a barrel with a
twist rate of 1 in 7-inch (180 mm) (e.g., the M16A2 rifle) spins at ~315,000 rpm.

Excessive rotational speed can exceed the bullet's designed limits and the resulting
centrifugal force can cause the bullet to disintegrate in a radial fashion.

PARTS OF THE RIFLED BARREL

1. LAND – the raised or elevated portion of the gun barrel.

2. GROOVE – the depressed portion of the gun barrel.

Land

Groove

BREECHFACE
MANUFACTURE

The breech face of all

firearms is machine cut in the
first place, and in the higher
grade weapons are finished off
by hand rifling and grinding.

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Similarly the strikers (rifling pin) of all weapons are cut and shaped, receiving different
degree in which they are to be use.

Another face to face of firearm manufacture which is of great importance to the

firearms identification field is the finishing operations on the breech face of the weapon.
This is that portion of the firearm against which the cartridge case and the primer are
forced backwards when a shell will be imprinted by the tool markings on the breech face of
the gun. This happens because the base of the cartridge case is softer than the breech face
of the firearm and it naturally follows that when a soft surface comes in contact with a
harder surface under tremendous pressure, it is the softer surface that is engraved or
imprinted with the tool mark from the harder surface.

The purpose of the barrel is to provide a consistent seal, allowing the bullet to
accelerate to a consistent velocity. It must also impart the right spin, and release the bullet
consistently, perfectly concentric to the bore. The residual pressure in the bore must be
released symmetrically, so that no side of the bullet receives any more or less push than the
rest. The muzzle of the barrel is the most critical part, since that is the part that controls the
release of the bullet. Some rimfires and airguns actually have a slight constriction, called
a choke, in the barrel at the muzzle. This guarantees that the bullet is held securely just
before release.
To keep a good seal, the bore must be a very precise, constant diameter, or have a
slight decrease in diameter from breech to muzzle. Any increase in bore diameter will allow
the bullet to shift. This can cause gas to leak past the bullet, affecting the velocity, or cause
the bullet to tip, so that it is no longer perfectly coaxial with the bore. High quality barrels
are lapped to remove any constrictions in the bore which will cause a change in diameter.
A lapping process known as "fire lapping" uses a lead "slug" that is slightly larger
than the bore and covered in fine abrasive compound to cut out the constrictions. The slug
is passed from breech to muzzle, so that as it encounters constrictions, it cuts them away,
and does no cutting on areas that are larger than the constriction. Many passes are made,
and as the bore becomes more uniform, finer grades of abrasive compound are used. The
final result is a barrel that is mirror-smooth, and with a consistent or slightly tapering bore.
The hand-lapping technique uses a wooden or soft metal rod to pull or push the slug
through the bore, while the newer fire-lapping technique uses especially loaded, low-
power cartridges to push abrasive-covered soft-lead bullets down the barrel.
Another issue that has an effect on the barrel's hold on the bullet is the rifling. When
the bullet is fired, it is forced into the rifling, which cuts or "engraves" the surface of the
bullet. If the rifling is a constant twist, then the rifling rides in the grooves engraved in the
bullet, and everything is secure and sealed. If the rifling has a decreasing twist, then the
changing angle of the rifling in the engraved grooves of the bullet causes the rifling to
become narrower than the grooves. This allows gas to blow by, and loosens the hold of the
bullet on the barrel. An increasing twist, however, will make the rifling become wider than
the grooves in the bullet, maintaining the seal. When a rifled-barrel blank is selected for a
gun, careful measurement of the inevitable variations in manufacture can determine if the
rifling twist varies, and put the higher-twist end at the muzzle.

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 The muzzle of the barrel is the last thing to touch the bullet before it goes into
ballistic flight, and as such has the greatest potential to disrupt the bullet's flight. The
muzzle must allow the gas to escape the barrel symmetrically; any asymmetry will cause an
uneven pressure on the base of the bullet, which will disrupt its flight. The muzzle end of
the barrel is called the "crown", and it is usually either beveled or recessed to protect it
from bumps or scratches that might affect accuracy. A sign of a good crown will be a
symmetric, star-shaped pattern on the muzzle end of the barrel, formed by soot deposited,
as the powder gases escape the barrel. If the star is uneven, then it is a sign of an uneven
crown, and an inaccurate barrel.
Before the barrel can release the bullet in a consistent manner, it must grip the
bullet in a consistent manner. The part of the barrel between where the bullet exits the
cartridge, and engages the rifling, is called the "throat", and the length of the throat is the
"freebore". In some firearms, the freebore is all but nonexistent — the act of chambering
the cartridge forces the bullet into the rifling. This is common in low-powered rimfire
target rifles. The placement of the bullet in the rifling ensures that the transition between
cartridge and rifling is quick and stable. The downside is that the cartridge is firmly held in
place, and attempting to extract the unfired round can be difficult, to the point of even
pulling the bullet from the cartridge in extreme cases.
With high-powered cartridges, there is an additional disadvantage to a short
freebore. A significant amount of force is required to engrave the bullet, and this additional
resistance can raise the pressure in the chamber by quite a bit. To mitigate this effect,
higher-powered rifles tend to have more freebore, so that the bullet is allowed to gain some
momentum, and the chamber pressure is allowed to drop slightly, before the bullet engages
the rifling. The downside is that the bullet hits the rifling when already moving, and any
slight misalignment can cause the bullet to tip as it engages the rifling. This will, in turn,
mean that the bullet does not exit the barrel coaxially. The amount of freebore is a function
of both the barrel and the cartridge. The manufacturer or gunsmith who cuts the chamber
will determine the amount of space between the cartridge case mouth and the rifling.
Setting the bullet further forward or back in the cartridge can decrease or increase the
amount of freebore, but only within a small range. Careful testing by the ammunition
loader can optimize the amount of freebore to maximize accuracy, while keeping the peak
pressure within limits.
Accuracy and bore characteristics
Nearly all small bore firearms, with the exception of shotguns, have rifled barrels.
The rifling imparts a spin on the bullet, which keeps it from tumbling in flight. The rifling is
usually in the form of sharp edged grooves cut as helices along the axis of the bore,
anywhere from 2 to 16 in number. The areas between the grooves are known as lands.
Another system, polygonal rifling, gives the bore a polygonal cross section.
Polygonal rifling is not very common, used by only a few European manufacturers as well
as the American gun manufacturer Kahr Arms. The companies that use polygonal rifling
claim greater accuracy, lower friction, and less lead and/or copper buildup in the barrel.
Traditional land and groove rifling is used in most competition firearms, however, so the
advantages of polygonal rifling are unproven.

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CALIBER – term used to indicate the bore diameter measured from two opposite land.

LAND LAND LAND

Bore diameter
Groove

WHAT IS CALIBER .45 – indicate the bore diameter measured from land to land is about .45
hundredths of an inch.

EQUIVALENT OF CALIBERS IN INCHES AND MILLIMETERS

AMERICAN EUROPEAN
1. Caliber .45 = 11 mm.
2. Caliber .38 = 9 mm.
3. Caliber .32 = 7.65 mm.
4. Caliber .30 = 7.63 mm.
5. Caliber .25 = 6.35 mm.
6. Caliber. 22 = 5.59 mm.

CONVERSION OF CALIBER TO MILLIMETER

Example
.22 x 25.4 mm = is about 5.59 mm.
25.4 mm is a constant given

CONVERSION FROM GRAMS TO GRAINS

? X 15.432 CONSTANT

CALIBER .30 – 3000 – 3000 is the muzzle velocity of the bullet in feet per second. The .250
is the caliber in thousandths of an inch.

CALIBER .30 – ’06 – the ’06 is the shortened form of 1906. The year the cartridge was
introduced. The .30 is the caliber.
1. Fired U.S Springfield Armory (Garand Rifle)
2. Machine gun
3. BAR – Browning Arm Rifle
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CALIBER .30 – 30 – the second 30 refers to the loaded in this cartridge when it was
introduced.
CALIBER 7.92 X 57 mm. – the 57 mm. is the measurement of the case length.
M14 Rifle – Cal. 7.62 mm. x 51 mm.
References:
• Forensic Ballistics by Manlusoc,2012
• Forensic Ballistic by Erdulfo M. Grimares, 2003
• Hughes, David (1990). The History and Development of the M16 Rifle and Its
Cartridge. Oceanside: Armory Pub. ISBN 9780962609602.
• W. Hays Parks, Colonel, USMC, Chief of the JAG's International Law Branch (1985-
09-23).
• "Winchester Ranger Talon (Ranger SXT/Black Talon) Wound Ballistics". McCarthy v.
Olin Corp., 119 F.3d 148 .
• BARIŞ GÜN and ILHAN GÜVEL. Rifling By Flow Forming.
• Sam Fadala (2006). The Complete Blackpowder Handbook: The Latest Guns and Gear.
Gun Digest. ISBN 0896893901. Chapter 18, The Cloth Patch
• Miller, Don. How Good Are Simple Rules For Estimating Rifling Twist, Precision
Shooting - June 2009

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