Polygon Barrels?

[AirGunEric]

These appeared awhile back- but I never gave them much thought.

Now, say hello to the newest Lothar-Walther dealer in Canada- and I can order any LW product from the factory and the polygon barrels aren't much different in price than the 'regular' barrels- so maybe it's something to look at?

Anyone got some information on the polygon product- advantages/disadvantages/reason for this shape?

[Scottster]

Congratulations, Eric. Nice addition to Scopes and Ammo...
I'm not convinced there's a lot of benefit to this kind of rifling, but I have no first-hand experience with it.
I have one concern with these, though- If I install one, will that make me a polygon-ist?

[AirGunEric]

Hmmm, a polygonist- sounds interesting- is that a crime in Canada?

[rsterne]

I have one in .25 cal for my Hayabusa but haven't tried it yet.... From what I've read, they deliver a slightly higher velocity but tend to be more pellet fussy.... IIRC, RandyHub said his was great with JSB Kings.... Mine, unfortunately, is a ways down the list of projects....

Bob

[SeanMP]

To be honest the only time I've ever used a polygonal is in black powder and that seemed to work pretty good.

They haven't been adopted in the high end/target world to any degree. There are concerns that the stresses that are imparted `during the hammer forging process can never e totally relieved without the process of relieving causing distortion.
What they are supposed to excel at is less deformation of the pellet that causes a loss of BC and stability issues. I can say for sure that legendary rifleman Harry Pope proved that the key to accuracy was to have the projectile leave the barrel with an absolutely flat base and in order to achieve this he devised a system of loading the projectile from the muzzle then putting the charged casing in the normal way from the breech. His 110 yr old records still stand today....Point of that is any thing that distorts the base less is probably a step in the right direction.

They are also supposed to provide a better gas seal and decreased leading.

Overall I think they should be great, but they may require a complete rethink of current pellet design to realize their full potential.

[sholo]

Now, say hello to the newest Lothar-Walther dealer in Canada

Don't have any experience with Polygon barrels, so I'm less than useless there, just wanted to say congrats on being the new Canadian LW dealer. Great news, for sure!

Todd

[AirGunEric]

Well, perhaps getting one in and comparing it with, for example, some of these 'bullet' like shaped pellets (i.e. units that don't seem to work too well in most airguns) to see if they would become more usable generally would be an idea?

[SeanMP]

Thats what I'm thinking at this point. The polygonal rifling may lend itself to the higher sectional density of the longer pellet.

[SeanMP]

As well if anyone has aspirations of making a shoulder cannon LW recently released 30 cal and 9mm air rifle barrels. What with all the off the shelf ammo for the Rogue the 9mm could be fun.

[Gippeto]

Never know what the future holds now do ya.;)

Good work on acquiring LW Eric...can't tell you how happy I am that barrels of this quality are now if not IN stock...at least an available option/alternative.

Al