octagonal vs round barrel
- Thread starter Seb C
- Start date
manbearpig
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Somewhere in the Third World
IIRC in another thread here (dont remember which) someone was just complaining about shot stringing during rapid fire with round barrels once the barrel heated up, and someone else pointed out it is not a problem with the heavier octagonal barrels.
On the rifles I've owned or do own that have octagon barrels, the barrel is thicker than the same rifle in the round barrel version. I believe that octagon barrels:
a) absorb heat better because of their large mass
b) are stiffer (i.e., less prone to 'whipping' when firing); the edges of the flats stiffen the barrel (look at the cross section and note that the edges of the flats stick out further than the center of the flats, almost like external stiffeners).
c) as a result of the above, are more accurate.
The downside is that they are heavier. Of course, you can get the same advantage with a round barrel if you make it heavier, which is what bench shooters do.
a) absorb heat better because of their large mass
b) are stiffer (i.e., less prone to 'whipping' when firing); the edges of the flats stiffen the barrel (look at the cross section and note that the edges of the flats stick out further than the center of the flats, almost like external stiffeners).
c) as a result of the above, are more accurate.
The downside is that they are heavier. Of course, you can get the same advantage with a round barrel if you make it heavier, which is what bench shooters do.
- Location
- marmora ontario
Weight!!! JITC
wow post #7 and no one mentioned that awesome looking triangular barrel on the remmy 700 VTR. suprising it didn't get dragged in earlier by someone.
Pipe wrenches grip better on the Octagonal barrels.
And you don't need to hog down on the vise to keep them from slipping when you want to put the pipe wrench to the action.
Most of the advantage to them was that they could be shaped and cleaned up with files and abrasives. Important when you don't have a lathe, but have customers. Now, it's mostly about the look.
Cheers
Trev
And you don't need to hog down on the vise to keep them from slipping when you want to put the pipe wrench to the action.
Most of the advantage to them was that they could be shaped and cleaned up with files and abrasives. Important when you don't have a lathe, but have customers. Now, it's mostly about the look.
Cheers
Trev
No.
Accuracy will depend more on the individual barrel than on whether it is round or octagon.
Life expectancy. Totally unrelated.
Heavy barrel? That depends on the dimensions. An octagon barrel could be light, medium or heavy depending on its size. So could a round barrel.
Muzzleloading rifle barrels were often octagon because it was easier to forge and finish an octagon barrel with the tools available than to make a round one.
Style and appearance are major factors in the modern use of octagon barrels.
Hex? Hexagon barrels are extremely uncommon.
