Rifling. The barrel is not smooth on the inside. There are small grooves spiraling down the barrel which makes the bullet spin. Nearly all shotguns do not have rifling in the barrel.
Rifling. The barrel is not smooth on the inside. There are small grooves spiraling down the barrel which makes the bullet spin. Nearly all shotguns do not have rifling in the barrel.
The grooves in the barrel.
Rifling causes the bullet to spin through the barrel and downrange. This spin stabilizes the bullet, allowing it to maintain a straight course to the target. Without the spin, accuracy would be dismal.
The grooves (rifling) cut into the barrel.
There are spiral grooves engraved on the inside of a rilfe or pistol barrel. When a bullet is fired, it is forced into those grooves, which impart a spin to the bullet. The grooves are called rifling.
It can. The rifling in the barrel causes the bullet to spin. This usually keeps the bullet moving relatively straight (because of gyroscopic stabilisation). However, as the bullet slows down at longer ranges, the spinning can cause it to wobble and drift. This is called spin drift. Spin drift can be upwards, so yes, rifling can cause a bullet to go up, but only at extreme ranges.
It causes the bullet to spin which makes it go straighter.
Ballistic spin drift is the tendency of a spinning projectile (such as a bullet) to drift slightly to the side due to the gyroscopic effect created by its spin. This effect influences the trajectory of the projectile and can cause it to deviate from its intended path at longer ranges. Shooters need to account for ballistic spin drift when calculating their shots for increased accuracy.
Direction of spin is dependent on the direction of the rifling on the inside bore of the barrel. A bullet will spin the same direction as the rifling.
The answer has two parts - 1. Why do you want it to spin: It allows the bullet to be more accurate and travel further. The bullet spins for the same reason that football players spin a football when they throw it. 2. Why does it spin (How do you make it spin): Inside the barrel are grooves (rifling) that catch part of the lead of the bullet and spin it like bolt spins when you put it into a nut.
Rifling in the barrel is actually grooves cut into the barrel by the manufacturer to cause the bullet to spin as it leaves the barrel. Before rifling the bullets would tend to tumble when they left the barrel causing them to have shorter range and be less accurate.