Everybody knows about barrel-twist right? The most basic feature that makes a rifle a rifle is often a very overlooked subject, and one that today we will dive into a bit more. But first, are you one of the many shooters out there who is under-twisted?

What is a Twist?

For those following the conversation that may not have a perfect understanding of the concept, lets state it clearly. Lands and grooves are the interior features of a rifle barrel, they are like threads to a screw but they run the length of the barrel. If you’ve ever looked down the bore of a rifle, you’ve seen the long twisted lines that force a bullet to rotate as it accelerates. Barrel twist is specified to dictate a bullets rate of rotation (or spinning). Much like the threads on a screw, the rifling in a barrel are cut to a specific rotational value to stabilize the bullets that will be fired down the bore. For every inch down the bore traveled by a bullet, it is rotated along its axis a certain degree, just how much depends on how aggressive the twist rate is. The twist rate is universally referred to as ONE rotation in every XX.X (numerical denomination), such as one rotation every ten inches (1-10). So if your barrel is a 1-10 (common parlance: “one-in-ten”) twist, and twenty inches long, it will have completed (in theory) two complete rotations by the time it leaves the muzzle. Continue reading here…