Direction of twist

[Bountyhunter]

After shooting for almost 50 years, and taking a lot of it for granted, a couple of the recent posts have aroused my curiousity.

I have looked at my books and resources and at internet research and nothing comes up to answer the question:

Does it make a difference in which direction the barrel is rifled?

Some makers do a right hand twist, and some do a left hand twist. Are there advantages to either, or is it tradition?

Bill

 

[Bookie]

Bill, I rifle barrels from both directions. My personal preference is left hand twist. Why? Because very few people ever do a left hand twist and I prefer to be different. At the ranges that muzzle loaders are normally used, direction has nil effect that I can detect. Mind you, I must admit that I don't know it all, but I'm familiar with the corolius (spelling is not one of my specialties) effect and feel that it plays no part. Bookie

 

[BS]

A left hand twist barrel would rotate the cheek piece away from the shooter? Not into his face.

That is the only difference that I could see, other than multi barrel guns, with both[all] barrels fired at the same time could affect the push of the gun.

 

[boar]

Bookie What is your take on a gain twist? I have one hand cut i-60 50 cal.One old timer ( Tom Pike ), passed on, Won shoots at Frendship and his wife too, He made her gun and many others. He said it didn't do any thing. Dilly

 

[Bookie]

Dilly, I think they are best suited for target shooting such as with a bench gun. I've done two in small caliber hunting rifles and feel somewhat dismayed at the accuracy. Not that the accuracy was bad, it just didn't improve for what I was using it for and the distances I was shooting. I will tell you this, gain twist grooves are a regular bugaboo when you lay out lines for a rifling guide on the floor and try to get the grooves correct. :grin: Sign me Lazy Boy!

 

[Bountyhunter]

OK, this seems to make sense, so, let me ask this. Assuming that the direction of rifling determines the direction of torque on the recoil, which barrel should I order to shoot left handed so that the stock torques away from my face instead of into it?

Bill

 

[GreyWhiskers]

Theoretically, a right hand twist would "torque" the stock to the left, away from a left-hander's cheek. Not so sure it makes a noticable difference with a rifle as it does a handgun.

 

[Dave K]

I would think those that shoot in the southern hemisphere, would do better with a left hand twist barrel. :winking:

 

[Bountyhunter]

Six Shooter Siding is a wee bit south, but it is still north of the equator.

 

[paulvallandigham]

Supposedly, Sam Colt designed his .45 Colt Peacemaker with left hand rifling so it would torgue into the right hand, and aid in rotating the cylinder faster. With heavy caliber handguns, you can feel the gun twist towards or away from your hand, but its nothing to worry about or hard to overcome. I suppose if you fired a very large caliber ML rifle, in 7 ga or larger, shooting a round ball, you might feel the torgue in your hands,but I don't think it is much of a factor considering the weight of the projectiles we fire in ML guns.

 

[BS]

Good thing, my 7ga. is a smoothbore, no torque? :rotf:

 

[Bountyhunter]

Yes, Paul, I do remember what you are saying, as we developed a hold on the 1911's for CQC (Close Quarter Combat) such that the torque offset the recoil, if you will..I just hadnt put it into the terms of a rifle. Some things you just dont seem to need to remember, I guess. Thanks.

Bill