Left hand twist or Right hand twist?

[D Sanders]

I have two .54 cal ML barrels. One is an old Italian made barrel with a left hand twist and the other is a much later made GM barrel with a right hand twist. Never heard of a left hand twist barrel. Why would there ever be an opposite rotation?

HH 60

 

I know that some pistols, notably Colts in the old days, have left-hand twist. I believe that after market barrels for the 1911 come in both directions. Practically speaking, the direction of the twist makes no difference. I have never owned a muzzleloader with a left-hand twist, but, for me, it would not be a factor in buying one. The direction of the twist is strictly a matter of choice for the manufacturer.

 

[trent/OH]

The British Enfield rifles (WW1 & WW2) I've owned had left hand twist barrels, much to my frustration. The bronze brush would just unscrew itself on almost every stroke of the cleaning rod.

Theoretically, there's a physics problem with left hand twist also. I'm not going to mess up a perfectly good explanation, but the "right hand rule" of physics would encourage a right hand twist.

 

[J.D.]

Left hand twists were made for south of the equator. :hmm: :grin:

God bless

 

[Roy]

it would be a good thing to have a left hand twist for the box locks that I am designing :rotf:

 

[necchi]

Left hand twists were made for south of the equator. :hmm: :grin:
God bless

:rotf: Yup! That's it,,, :haha:

On the north side of the equator, left hand twists gotta always be pointed west, not east when shooting for best accuracy,,I mean they'll shoot other directions but not as far,,

 

[2172]

I read many years ago that the Brits had researched where their military actions had taken place, and the research led them to the left hand twist...I'm sure the research showed places like the sub continent and Africa...not exactly where they fought WWI and WWII...so much for theorists..Hank

 

[fho]

I think that I read where the twist of the rifle,when fired, would throw the stock into the check of the shooter with right hand twist and lefthand twist would throw the stock away from the check of the shooter.

 

[paulvallandigham]

That applies to revolvers and pistols, to the best of my knowledge, because of their light weight, and the one hand hold. Sam Colt was apparently Left Handed, and designed his Peacemaker with the gate on the right side to make it easier to up the gate with the LEFT THUMB, while working the ejector, with the Right hand, leaving the left index finger to rotate the cylinder. Colt Firearms Co. also is credited with designing the famous Colt 1911 with a LH twist so that the gun would twist towards the right hand when fired, against the palm, where the right hand fingers could control the gun.

However, I shoot the Colts I own LHed, with no real problem controlling the recoil. It sounds better than it is, I must say.

With long guns, the two hand hold, and the added weight of the guns make any twisting effect highly unlikely to be noticed, no matter how lightly your grip the stock.

I see no evidence of this "twisting the stock" affect when snipers are shooting the intense, .50 BMG cartridge Barrel Sniper rifles. If those guns don't twist the stocks into or away from the face, depending on the direction of Rifling, I doubt it affects lesser guns. :hmm:

I have asked barrel makers why some guns are RH Twist, and others LH twist. The Best Answers I have gotten from them is they do what their equipment is best made to do- ie., its the maker of the barrel Making Equipment that decides the direction the cutters will go.

There once was a book that published all the ROTs and direction of turning of rifling in all guns, rifles, and handguns.

I saw a copy back in 1965. However, someone else "borrowed " it from the library and it has disappeared. It was authored by Julius S. Hatcher, and published in the late 40s or early 50s.

It was obviously out of date by the time it was first published, as every year since there have been new guns designed and made, and the number of gun companies has exploded, while others have gone out of business. It is next to impossible to gather accurate data annually for all these companies, and guns. The closest thing to a complete data base on this kind of thing is probably the FBI ballistic's laboratory, out in Washington, D.C. That information is shared with State Crime Labs, but is generally not available to the general public.

 

[ohio ramrod]

Left or right hand twist determines if the bullet will curve to the left or curve to the right. :rotf: :rotf: Well maybe! :surrender:

 

[BLAHMAN]

The British Enfield rifles (WW1 & WW2) I've owned had left hand twist barrels, much to my frustration. The bronze brush would just unscrew itself on almost every stroke of the cleaning rod.

Correct.....with the exception being 6 groove barrels which were right hand twist's.....

I just think that since the bulk of a population are generally right handed that naturaly the folks making rifling machines decided to do it right handed also.....who knows?