All rifling imparts a spin on the bullet before it leaves the gun, but the way it gets the job done is not always identical. The designs, however, share the basics—lands, the raised porti… See more

Even the rifling’s direction of rotation varies from manufacturer to manufacturer. Some companies build barrels to force bullets to exit with a clockwise spin, others the opposite dir… See more

There’s even a gain-twist (progressive) design in which the rifle’s spiral tightens toward the muzzle. The approach theoretically minimizes the effect of spindrift and some l… See more

Bullet weightplays a huge role in all this. Accuracy and bullet preference vary slightly in each firearm, but most agree heavy bullets require a faster rate of twist to remain sta… See more

Common wisdom for 5.56 NATO and .223 Rem.indicates those barrels with a rate of rifling at 1:9 or slower (1:10 etc.), in general, perform best with lighter bullets—60 grains or less. If y… See more