230RN
2A was "political" when it was first adopted.
I I R C
I believe Hatcher remarked in a conversation with a designer (I believe it was Cutts of Cutts compensator fame), that the recoil suppressor hanging off the end of the barrel increased accuracy because (as noted above) the extra weight stabilizes the barrel and reduces whip. The same would be true of sound suppressors.
You've got to remember that with the enormous pressures involved (10-50 Kpsi), the steel of the barrel is not exactly like butter, but does deform and swell and stretch quite a bit. (Which is why one can use strain gauges on the barrel to measure these pressures --the strain gages measure the barrel deformation, which is then related to the pressures involved.) These pressures are still around 5Kpsi to 10Kpsi on bullet exit.
These stresses and strains make the barrel ring like a tuning fork, even before bullet exit. The trick is to make it "ring" the same way for each shot --which is why many Bench Rest shooters use free floating or clamped barrels and or actions. Most glass bedded sporting rifles which are fully glass bedded have almost the same effect --that is, the full glass bedding dampens the barrel vibrations. (Another effect is to eliminate variabilities of humidity swelling the wood and changing the forces on the barrel--which is not a concern with plastic-stocked rifles.)
The desiired effect is to have the bullet exit at the same point in the barrel's oscillations for each shot and extra weight definitely helps in this respect.
The extra weight also slows down and reduces the "drift" of the barrel when sighting, much like with a heavy barreled target arm. This effect may be as important as anything else with respect to an increase in accuracy. (Although there are enough variables involved that an "increase" may not always be observed --hence the debate.)
Also, as Hatcher remarked elsewhere, the most critical area of the bullet in terms of accuracy was the base of the bullet, which, as also noted above, is still being affected by the blast of gases behind it for at least a couple of inches after muzzle exit. The effect of these gases on any deformities on the base of the bullet would be reduced by the fact that their pressure is less after being "stifled" by the suppressor or partially vented by recoil compensators or porting.
(This is one reason that BTHP bullets are usually considered the most accurate for target shooting. By virtue of the method of manufacture and the shape of the base of the bullet, these effects are lessened. It is also the reason why somewhat reduced loads {with the attendant lower exit pressure} are almost always found to be more accurate.)
(My Hatcher's Notebook is elsewhere right now, so I can't provide page references -- sorry.)
I believe Hatcher remarked in a conversation with a designer (I believe it was Cutts of Cutts compensator fame), that the recoil suppressor hanging off the end of the barrel increased accuracy because (as noted above) the extra weight stabilizes the barrel and reduces whip. The same would be true of sound suppressors.
You've got to remember that with the enormous pressures involved (10-50 Kpsi), the steel of the barrel is not exactly like butter, but does deform and swell and stretch quite a bit. (Which is why one can use strain gauges on the barrel to measure these pressures --the strain gages measure the barrel deformation, which is then related to the pressures involved.) These pressures are still around 5Kpsi to 10Kpsi on bullet exit.
These stresses and strains make the barrel ring like a tuning fork, even before bullet exit. The trick is to make it "ring" the same way for each shot --which is why many Bench Rest shooters use free floating or clamped barrels and or actions. Most glass bedded sporting rifles which are fully glass bedded have almost the same effect --that is, the full glass bedding dampens the barrel vibrations. (Another effect is to eliminate variabilities of humidity swelling the wood and changing the forces on the barrel--which is not a concern with plastic-stocked rifles.)
The desiired effect is to have the bullet exit at the same point in the barrel's oscillations for each shot and extra weight definitely helps in this respect.
The extra weight also slows down and reduces the "drift" of the barrel when sighting, much like with a heavy barreled target arm. This effect may be as important as anything else with respect to an increase in accuracy. (Although there are enough variables involved that an "increase" may not always be observed --hence the debate.)
Also, as Hatcher remarked elsewhere, the most critical area of the bullet in terms of accuracy was the base of the bullet, which, as also noted above, is still being affected by the blast of gases behind it for at least a couple of inches after muzzle exit. The effect of these gases on any deformities on the base of the bullet would be reduced by the fact that their pressure is less after being "stifled" by the suppressor or partially vented by recoil compensators or porting.
(This is one reason that BTHP bullets are usually considered the most accurate for target shooting. By virtue of the method of manufacture and the shape of the base of the bullet, these effects are lessened. It is also the reason why somewhat reduced loads {with the attendant lower exit pressure} are almost always found to be more accurate.)
(My Hatcher's Notebook is elsewhere right now, so I can't provide page references -- sorry.)
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