Lonegun1894
02-14-2012, 12:37 PM
I jas just reading the post a few below this regarding .410 handgun patterns and another poster asked "what is the definition of rifling?" and got me thinking. I hope making an extra post doesnt confuse the issue, but I didnt want to hijack that previous thread. Now we all know rifling is grooves inside the barrel that rotate thereby adding spin to the bullet to keep it stable and increase accuracy. Now please bear with me cause I may be going off in left field and may need you all to pull me back to sanity. Regarding that post about using birdshot in .410 handguns, the rifling is required per fed regs on any barrel less than 18 inches long, but seeing the question posed got me thinking :shock: . I have always seen the laws state that shotgun barrels 18" + can be smooth, but anything under 18" has to be rifled. I have yet to see a law that says the rifling has to provide rotation or spin. And I know there have been experiments in the past with shotguns designed to shoot shot having "straight rifling" which is just straight grooves cut into the barrel. I believe the idea was to prevent the shotcup from rotating in order to provide more consistent patterns. Now, I know every handgun I have seen chambered to also accept .410 shells was chambered in .45 Colt to allow the manufacturer to claim that it is a handgun chambered in a handgun caliber, but can also chamber .410, and I think the straight rifling would be a serious handicap as far as stabilizing .45 Colt boolits goes--but it seems like it would be an answer to the patterning problems when the gun is used with shot. Sorry for the lenght of this, but the thought just struck me and I haven't got my thoughts organized enough just yet to express them more scientifically. Besides, unless there is a law somewhere that I just havent seen that specifies that rifling has to rotate, maybe this is an option. I mean, if it just defines it as grooves cut into the barrel, then it may not matter if its straight or spirals--at least as far as legalities are concerned. And if legal, it may provide patterns that would outperform anything possible with a rifled bore that has a straight rifled choke tube in the end.
Now before anyone goes and does this, lets make sure I'm not barking up the wrong tree and giving anyone ideas that will end up getting them locked up. I personally dont have a .410 handgun, and the only one I ever had gave patterns so horrible that I sold it first chance I had. Thankfully met a man who wanted a gun with a horrible pattern for snakes at his fishing spot when they got up close and personal. So what do y'all think? Is this legal, and if so, would it provide enough improvement to make it worth the time and effort to do it?
Now before anyone goes and does this, lets make sure I'm not barking up the wrong tree and giving anyone ideas that will end up getting them locked up. I personally dont have a .410 handgun, and the only one I ever had gave patterns so horrible that I sold it first chance I had. Thankfully met a man who wanted a gun with a horrible pattern for snakes at his fishing spot when they got up close and personal. So what do y'all think? Is this legal, and if so, would it provide enough improvement to make it worth the time and effort to do it?