They 'swamped' the barrel by slimming the middle of the barrel with a gradual taper. The barrel's width across the flats would be the same in the area of the breech and the muzzle whereas through a gradual taper the middle of the barrel would be thinner in diameter. This takes a lot of weight off a long barrel
Out of curiosity... Why not just taper it? Is there an advantage with octagonal barrels to leave them wide at the muzzle? Easier to manufacture? Shoot? Load?
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