gain twist vs straight twist

[Daryl]

Modern ctg. BR shooters who are quite serious, have or used to have their barrel blanks 'diagramed' and printed out in cross section as to their twist exactly. This would allow them to cut from each end, to place the BEST 20" or whatever length they were making it, from the section with the most exacting twist, with the gain at the muzzle.  

What can be drawn from this?  Merely that having a slight gain at the muzzle, is productive to the accuracy potential of the rifle, all else being equal.

What does this mean to our iron sighted round ball rifles?  Less than with a ctg. gun with scope, but the potential for improved accuracy is still there. It will take a good competitor and experimentor to find and utilize that potential, but that's what makes a consistant winner in any game. The one who doesn't care or doesn't think anything matters, as I'm only shooting offhand anyway, also shoots in the match.

[Paul Griffith]

I guess the biggest thing holding me back from setting up & rifling gain is that it's next to impossible to prove one way or another that it's better. When gain is talked about it's generally theoretical or a matter of opinion or outright speculation.

I like your adding "all else being equal" Daryl. I've been dinking around in the barrel making trade for the last 20 years or so & have come to the conclusion that it's very seldom that one barrel is equal to the next. So if I cut a gain & it shoots good, is it because it's gain or is it just that it happens to be an exceptional barrel in other regards?

Also it's a fact that if gain is better, then Getz, Large, Rice & everybody else would have been & would be making it.  Stick a radius sine bar on the rifling machine & you're up & running. Or in Rice's case just program in the gain.

[Don Getz]

Paul.....you got that right.    If gain twist would have proved that it was actually better, we probably would have done it.
Lately you and several others have been shooting some awesome chunk gun targets, with open sights to boot.   Can't
imagine doing much better...........Don

[smokinbuck]

Paul,
If you want to look over the Borron rifle, for what it's worth, I will have it with me at the York in 2 weeks.
Mark

[Daryl]

In that post of mine, I should have added, that the special barrels, those with the slight gain at the muzzle, win a lot of the time, but not more than about 50%. They are fewer in number than 'normal' barrels, so that speaks in their favour, but they do produce more 'screamer' barrels.  It is also said that in varmint and big gme shooting, their abiliities would go unnoticed.

[Dphariss]

A good gain barrel is a good barrel. But a good straight twist SHOULD shoot as well.
But if I had to BET on which would shoot better all things being equal. I would bet on the gain.


Jim McLemore,  will make a gain twist if you like the ones I have are EXTREMELY uniform internally.
 http://www.sleepyhillbarrels.com/

Bartlein makes modern barrels in straight or gain twists.
http://www.bartleinbarrels.com/index.htm
They are developing a pretty good rep in the BR world from what I have heard.
If I wanted a custom cartridge barrel I would order one from them with 1/2" gain.
But none of this is cheap compared to what most want to pay for a ML barrel.

There are others I am sure.

Dan