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Old March 29, 2012, 06:20 AM   #7
Bart B.
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Join Date: February 15, 2009
Posts: 8,927
JohnKSa claims
Quote:
All else being equal, stiffer barrels tend to be more accurate and heavy barrels tend to be stiffer than light-weight barrels.
Why? Isn't rifle accuracy just the simple thing of having the rifle, ammo and shooter do the same thing from shot to shot? Does it really matter how heavy or light or stiff or flimsy each is?

Surely you can explain why you think stiffer barrels tend to be more accurate else you've got no credibility with me. Probably most others, too.

My reasoning is simple. As long as the barreled action, stock, sights, and shooter repeat how they move from the shock of the round firing, all bullets will leave the barrel at the same place following the same trajectory and end up going into the same hole in the target down range. Of course, the ammunition has to be pretty darned repeatable, too.

If light weight, long and skinny Palma rifle barrels 30 to 32 inches long were not accurate, then the best of them would not shoot test groups at long range the same size as benchrest rifles with heavy stiff barrels do.

One thing's for sure, if I shot benchrest matches, I'd want the rifle to be as heavy as possible. And a heavy rifle recoils less for the same ammo as a light one does. When shot in free recoil (best way for best accuracy) untouched by humans except for one finger on their 2-ounce triggers, they stay on the rests and don't slide off onto the ground. Besides, us humans just don't hold rifles exactly the same way into our body for each shot, and that causes accuracy problems.

Last edited by Bart B.; March 29, 2012 at 06:39 AM.
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