Rifling

[35Whelenshooter]

Groves, I'm sure this has been asked before, but I could use some education. I have seen 2 grove 3' 4' then you have 5R lefts 6 groves is anyone better that the other? I would think that you get into button barrels hammer forged along with cut barrels.

Respectfully
Mike


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[Dennis]

Mike,

Some claim with fewer grooves, the bullet has less drag. I wouldn't go less than a 3 groove, and probably most I have shot are 4 or 5 grove barrels.

We will see what everyone else says.

Dennis

[psharon97]

I'm more concerned about who chambers the barrel, not so much the groves. If you get a ~$300+ barrel, and an experienced smith who excels at chambering barrels, you'll get a shooter.

[LoneWolf]

I'm more concerned about who chambers the barrel, not so much the groves. If you get a ~$300+ barrel, and an experienced smith who excels at chambering barrels, you'll get a shooter.

This^^ The only thing that makes one better than the other is if you own it and it shoots for you.

[Dennis]

I'm more concerned about who chambers the barrel, not so much the groves. If you get a ~$300+ barrel, and an experienced smith who excels at chambering barrels, you'll get a shooter.

This has definitely been proven.

[Ryfulman]

I've got 2 Thompson center dimension rifles. 243 and 7mmRM. They are switch barrel type. Great shooters. TC uses that 5R rifling and they are legitimately the best shooting rifles I've ever owned. I'm a minimalist when it comes to cleaning and only clean when groups become inconsistent and with those 2 rifles I can't remember the last time I cleaned them and I've put himdreds down the pipe since.
The military/Remington is using 5R too,and a couple of custom barrel manufacturers are using either 5R or a variation of it,so there has to be some kind of advantage to it or it would have lost its appeal.
But if you look at competition shooters I think most guys use barrels with cut rifling. I'm sure there are some who use button rifled barrels as well but from what I've read the majority have cut rifles barrels. Again there must be some kind of advantage.
As far as how many grooves and lands go I think less rifling coupled with less twist makes a barrel that will allow bullets to fly faster however you have to use lighter projectiles or they won't stabilize.
More lands and grooves will increase the barrels ability to spin the bullet which then means you can use heavier for caliber projectiles however they won't move as fast.
This is just what I've learned to this point. I never really paid attention before. I just used to grab my open sight 30-30 for hunting for years and used it for shooting pretty much everything. However we only went out for deer in the fall and the odd coyote in the off season.
It's only been in the past year or so that shooting has become more of a hobby,so I've read a ton because I also started reloading which means knowing what is the max bullet length each rifle will stabilize and so on.
So cliff notes. Less lands are meant to push shorter bullets faster whereas more lands stabilizes longer for caliber but they move slower.

Oh. And 5R rifling is supposed to reform the bullet less as it engages the rifling make it spin better downrange. The lands where the bullet engages is slightly rounded making the transition more smooth.
I'm sure there more little things it's meant to do as well. This is just off the top of my head.

[eddiesindian]

Another vote for 5R barrels. My 5R was the most consistent out of 3 rigs I use. up until recently it showed signs of wear but much to my surprise my smith brought it back to life.
Its back to giving me tight groupings again.
theres plenty of info out there about the 5R (radius) rifling.