What is 5r Rifling? (Everything You Need To Know)

What is 5R Rifling?

The 5R Rifling is a patented rifling design that is featured in some of the most technologically advanced rifle systems available.

This superior rifling design offers a number of advantages over conventional rifling.

The new shape and configuration of the 5R Rifling allows for: Is 5R rifling better?

• Increased bullet stability.
• Greater bullet accuracy.
• A reduction in fouling.

Conventional rifling is designed to maximize the spin around a single axis, i.e. the bullet’s forward motion or “drop”.

This has the effect of imparting a gyroscopic stability upon the bullet, in other words the bullet will tend to fall on its point of entry even if deflected by wind or the target.

Who invented 5R rifling?

The 5R rifling process was developed by a small group of engineers in the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).

They were looking for ways to increase bullet accuracy and range.

What is the advantage of 5R rifling?

This unique rifling process was a complete rethink on how bullets are stabilized in flight.

It completely changes the shape of the lands and grooves, shortening the distance that the bullet travels under the barrel and reducing barrel wear by up to 40%.

Less time

By shortening the distance that a bullet travels, there is less time for it to move around in the barrel. This means that there is little time for it veer off its intended course.

Uses a radius instead of sharp corners

5R rifling uses a radius instead of sharp corners, which means that the land curves smoothly into each groove.

This reduces turbulence in the barrel and allows greater accuracy and consistency as well as better velocity control.

Easier to maintain

The 5R rifling process also makes it easier to maintain a straight line of sight with your sights, making it easier to acquire targets with your firearm.

The 5R rifling process results in less wear on both your barrel and your ammunition.

With conventional rifling, more than half of all wear happens when a bullet first enters the barrel.

Better looks and Design

Several things make 5R rifling unique, the first being what it looks like. Conventional lands and grooves are 90 degrees to the bore axis.

5R rifling has a 10 degree radius on all corners of the lands and grooves, giving them a rounded appearance.

The second thing that makes 5R rifling unique is how it functions. The sharp 90 degree corners that conventional rifling has get battered by the bullet, eventually rounding them over time.

Since 5R rifling has a radius on all corners, when a bullet passes through the barrel, it tends to sharpen those 90 degree corners instead of rounding them over.

This allows the barrel to stay accurate for longer than one with conventional rifling.

Accuracy over time

The last thing that makes 5R rifling unique is how it improves accuracy over time.

Conventional rifling requires the bullet to overcome a sharp edge when being pushed by the powder gasses.

As the bullet travels down the barrel that sharp edge erodes slightly until it eventually rounds off completely as it travels down range.

5R rifling prevents this from happening because of its rounded design which allows bullets to travel down range without eroding or losing any accuracy.

Is 5r rifling worth it ?

The 5R rifling technique differs from conventional rifling in several ways:

1. The barrel’s rifling does not extend to the chamber end of the barrel but begins approximately 2 inches back from the muzzle end. This allows for less strain on the barrel when it is fired repeatedly.
2. The angle of each groove is less than 20 degrees, as opposed to conventional rifling at approximately 30 degrees. This reduced angle reduces friction and barrel wear while increasing accuracy.
3. The diameter of each groove is wider, which increases bullet stability while also providing an increased surface area for bullet lubrication.
4. Each land has five grooves instead of one continuous groove, with an additional land in between each pair of grooves.

What is the best type of rifling?

1. Heckler & Koch GmbH (HK 416, HK417 and the G36) 2. Walther 3. Bushmaster 4. Steyr Mannlicher 5. Barrett Firearms Manufacturing 6. BAE Systems with their L129A1 7. Colt’s Manufacturing 8. Ruger 9. Remington 10. Sako 11. Smith & Wesson 12. LWRC International 13. SIG Sauer 14. KAC 15. FN Herstal 16. PTR Industries 17. Barrett 18. Remington 19. Savage 20. Armalite 21. SigArms 22. Paulson 23 .Armament Technology 24 .JP Enterprises 25 .PWS 26 .LMT 27 .Colt Canada 28 .JP Rifles 29. Knight’s Armament 30. Accuracy International 31. PSA 32. Spike’s Tactical 33. Lewis Machine & Tool 34. Smith Enterprise 35. Lancer Systems 36 .Smith & Wesson 37. Douglas Barrels 38. Wilson Combat 39. LaRue 40-FN USA 41. Rock River Arms 42. Para USA 43. Barnes Bullets.

5r Rifling pros and cons

Pros

Land and groove configurations have been developed to maximize this effect, but only to one axis.

The 5R rifling configuration uses a very specific shape which has both radial and axial components to impart stability about three axes, i.e. all three axes of rotation (yaw, pitch, and roll).

The 5R rifling is said to increase accuracy by up to 30% over conventional rifling and it has been proven by third party tests.

Cons

They aren’t “traditional” groves and lands