How far can you bend a barrel?

[gspn]

Very interesting bit from Mythbusters. I was surprised by how far they could bend the barrel of this rifle and still have it function:

http://www.discovery.com/tv-shows/mythbusters/videos/90-degree-barrel.htm

 

[AethelstanAegen]

Just like the 1940s German Krummlauf attachment for the Stg44 rifle. I believe the Germans ended up with a 30, 45, 60 and 90 degree version. Neat stuff.

 

[rodregier]

They eventually made a 180 bend on Mythbusters just to see if could be done.
It actually permitted some "version" of the lead projectile to launch
out the muzzle on firing. (reduced velocity).

Shooting dead-soft .22LR would be helpful in getting the projectile to emerge.

They used a 10/22 as their platform. Not a bad choice given the ease with which
a user could change the barrels.

 

[Potatohead]

Superman could bend one all the way IIRC

 

[aarondhgraham]

M3A1 Grease gun,,,

We had one as well,,,

Another 15,469 M3A1 submachine guns were produced before the end of World War II. Some others were made in 9mm with integral suppressors over and around the barrel for use by the shadowy OSS guys operating behind the lines. The Army even experimented with a model that had a curved barrel model that could fire around corners. The bad thing is it broke up the round and had no accuracy, but hey, it still shot around corners.

There is a decent picture on this webpage if you scroll down a bit.

Aarond

.

 

[19-3Ben]

There modern version would likely be the CornerShot invented in Israel, and does not require bending a barrel.

Interesting stuff indeed.

 

[rodregier]

The Cornershot is a quantum leap over playing with bent barrels.
It also permits using an unaltered autopistol as the basis for the launching platform.

Mythbusters played with a Cornershot too in a different episode using Simunitions
to test out versions of real-world usage scenarios. Rather fun.

 

[Tommygunn]

That depends on who you ask, Pee Wee Herman or The Six Million Dollar Man.....

 

[stonecutter2]

There modern version would likely be the CornerShot invented in Israel, and does not require bending a barrel.

Interesting stuff indeed.

Wow that's awesome, thanks for the link!

 

[CB900F]

Fella's;

You don't need to be superman at all. All ya needs is a big vise, good torch, and a big hammer. I'm bettin' I can get a full 360 degrees. No, I'm not even gonna try to shoot something through it afterwards. After all, I gots a double-digit I.Q.!

900F

 

[moojpg2]

I would imagine maintaining dimensions of the bore while bending the barrel is the real challenge. If u could keep the bore perfectly round im sure the bullet could turn the corner

 

[MarkDido]

Superman could bend one all the way IIRC

Yeah, but he always ducked when he got one thrown at him.

 

[rodregier]

I got a giggle when I learned what the Mythbusters used to heat the barrel in prep for bending it. It was a (commercial packaged gas burner-based) sword forge furnace that one of the players had already purchased for possible original design usage.