new run 642 NL owners.....question

[Rmart30]

I was admiring my new NL 642 and happened to look at the barrel muzzle on it...
Mine actually instead of looking round, it looks almost 5 sided.... Looks like the way the rifling was machined in caused it.. is it just mine or has anyone else noticed this?

 

[Gary A]

If I "see" the picture correctly, normal.

 

[Rmart30]

after some digging Im assuming it is what they call polygon rifling and is normal.

 

[azredhawk44]

Interesting... I'm picking up one of these today.

Are 642's usually polygonally rifled? I don't think I've heard of a revolver with polygonal rifling since lots of wheelgun shooters tend to use lead bullets.

 

[BoneDigger]

This was discussed about a year ago on either THR or TFL, can't remember which one. A guy posted pics of his 642 and said that it looked 5 sides rather than round. After a l.ot of debate, it was determined that this is perfectly normal. So, try it out and if it shoots well, then don't worry about it.

Todd

 

[Gary A]

Although it may look 5-sided, I believe polygonal rifling refers more to the replacement of lands and grooves with more rounded hills and valleys in a pattern ranging from hexagonal to octagonal. I'm not sure how many lands and grooves the J-frame has.

 

[Titus]

This has come up here and elsewhere. Here is one thread. I go with the "optical illusion" explanation. I think you'll find most of the cases of this are based on looking at rather than shooting results.

Here's the wiki entry on polygonal rifling.

 

[welldoya]

I picked up the same gun a few days ago and noticed it at the gunshop. No worries. It's my understanding that it's normal.