Does Rifling in Barrels Help Increase Paintball Gun Accuracy?
Rifling entered the scene in the mid-1800’s as a way to improve the firing capabilities of cannons. Cannon balls were not perfect spheres. It was believed that the natural spinning of the balls as they were fired from the cannon decreased the accuracy of the shot. Linear grooves were milled into the inside of the cannon. These grooves reduced spin and greatly increased the accuracy of cannons. It wasn’t long before the concept of rifling was incorporated into other areas of ballistics. Today, rifling is used widely in many industries. Many guns use a helix-shaped pattern cut into the interior bore of the barrel. The pattern twists at a certain rate down the barrel length controlling not only spin but also the rate of spin. The spin causes a gyroscopic effect on the projectile which aids in stabilizing and controlling the flight path. The debate of rifling in paintball is a heated one. Some say it does not work while others will not use anything other than a rifled barrel. There are rea
