d_holliday
Member
An old hunting guide once told me that my rifle will always be a better marksman than me.But for many shooters, the gun will still be more accurate than the operator.
An old hunting guide once told me that my rifle will always be a better marksman than me.But for many shooters, the gun will still be more accurate than the operator.
Is that why ammo comes in 20 rd boxes?That's because the pedal depressed pan-chromatic resonance effect doesn't occur until after the 21st shot.
The law of inertia in physics: heavier objects are more resistant to movement, ie wind currents pressing against the side of barrel. As a military truck mechanic, and later an automobile mechanic by trade, I was schooled that thicker brake drums and rotors dissipate heat faster, more metal, than thinner ones so thicker drums/rotors are less prone to brake fade than thin ones due to less heat buildup. All drums/rotors are made of steel as is all gun barrels.
Also a lighter barrel is going to be more sensitive to a shooter that has jittery hands or a jittery trigger finger and is more likely to move off target when the rifle is fired. Heavier guns like heavier vehicles are inherently more stable with added mass. A big, heavier car is smoother running than a lighter car over the same bumpy road at the same speed. This is why heavier guns recoil less: added mass makes them more inert, resistant to movement from the thrust of the discharging bullet and propellant gasses.
It could be that heavy barrels are just a way for gun makers to get more of people's money. A sales gimmick. On the bench the rifle is going to be supported on sandbags. A heavy barrel might be great for winning matches or shooting long-range varmints on a Harris bipod. I can't see any use for it for tactical reasons or for hunting deer. My army M16's never had heavy barrels. In basic training my tired arms sagged enough as it was with my M16A1 during a 15 mile road march. The drill sergeant kept yelling at me to get my muzzle up at port arms under the threat of an Article 15. That stupid weapon was only 6.50 pounds dry. One of my sergeants told me not to use my M16 barrel as a lever or a cheater bar for assembling army cots as it would bend the barrel. It was awfully difficult to get that end bar in place on the cot. The cot fabric had to be stretched real tight for enough clearance to get the tab into the hole. I was tempted to use my weapon as a lever for this for prying the end bar into place right at the corner. A rifle is no pry bar though army manuals say M16's can be used as improvised leg splints for casualties.On the other hand, more weight levered out on the barrel end, the more difficult to hold steady.
We are not talking huge differences here.
A heavy barrel might be great for winning matches or shooting long-range varmints on a Harris bipod. I can't see any use for it for tactical reasons or for hunting deer.
tactical use or hunting, tactical use = personal defense weapon as in AR-15, doesn't the front sight get in the way of your view when a scope is mounted on the pic rail after the carry handle is removed? Does the rifle have to be re-zeroed each and every time the carry handle and/or pic-rail mounted scope is removed and reinstalled?Tactical hunting? 230 yd shots on varmints? Heavy long barrel works wonders.
I was schooled that thicker brake drums and rotors dissipate heat faster, more metal, than thinner ones so thicker drums/rotors are less prone to brake fade than thin ones due to less heat buildup.
You're both right. Dissipation is a matter of perspective; from what to what.A heavier barrel will take more energy to heat-up.
And it’s mass means it will retain this heat longer.
The law of inertia in physics: heavier objects are more resistant to movement, ie wind currents pressing against the side of barrel. As a military truck mechanic, and later an automobile mechanic by trade, I was schooled that thicker brake drums and rotors dissipate heat faster, more metal, than thinner ones so thicker drums/rotors are less prone to brake fade than thin ones due to less heat buildup. All drums/rotors are made of steel as is all gun barrels.
A thicker barrel will not necessarily dissipate heat faster. It will heat slower and distribute the heat through more mass. You need more surface area to dissipate heat faster. Thinner surfaces assists with that, such as fluted barrels or fancy heat sinks.
tactical use or hunting, tactical use = personal defense weapon as in AR-15, doesn't the front sight get in the way of your view when a scope is mounted on the pic rail after the carry handle is removed? Does the rifle have to be re-zeroed each and every time the carry handle and/or pic-rail mounted scope is removed and reinstalled?
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Yep. Easier to get heat exchange off a thin large surface. JP Industries makes some actual finned heat sinks for their competition guns. They're same principal as a radiator or a heat sink on a computer processorKind of why they put fins on radiators. To increase surface area to dissipate heat faster.