Polygon vs Land and groove, what advantage?

[nwbobber]

I am cheap and have always had Land and groove barrels in my pistols so I could shoot lead without undue problems. Now I am curious, what advantage, if any does the polygon rifling give? Is there a velocity advantage, or does it preserve the integrity of the jacket and somehow improve terminal performance? Perhaps easier to manufacture?

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[techiej]

Supposed to improve accuracy...downside is that you shouldn't shoot unjacketed bullets through polygonal.

 

[nwbobber]

Perfect, then. The accuracy of the pistols is much better that the shooters, anyway.

 

[Unicorn]

The bullet isn't damaged as much by being pressed into the deeper sharper rifling. It makes a better gas seal so velocity is higher, is easier to clean, and soupposedly lasts longer.
You can safely shoot hard cast bullets, but need to shoot less rounds between cleanings.

 

[NavyBob]

One of my favorite handguns I've owned over the years was one from H&K. It's a oldie form the '70's/80's called the P9S in .45 ACP. Polygonal rifling was one of it's claim to fame. I no longer own it, but wish I did. I can remember hitting the metal target on the rifle range with this handgun with open sights.
Polygonal rifling keeps all the pressure behing the bullet to produce higher velocities and in my case, excellent acuuracy.

 

[nwbobber]

I miss all the guns I no longer own. What gets into a guys head anyway. I have one of the first USP40's that did have the land and groove rifling, almost sold it a couple months ago, but came to my senses. I might give one of those polygon guns a try, when I can find some bullets.
Thanks for the replies.

 

[NavyBob]

Can you imagine if you kept every firearm? I would need a bigger house. The USP40 is an excellent product from H&K, and glad you kept it. Finding replacements are expensive.

 

[mrblond]

I watched one of Hickock45s videos on the G20 a while back and he was shooting hard cast rounds from the factory barrel and it was all over the place. It shot MUCH better after he installed a Lonewolf barrel on it which has L&G rifling.

 

[nwbobber]

I love his videos, wish I could shoot like that. These days all my jacketed bullets are safely stowed. Cast bullets are still relatively easy to get, and cheap. My wife wants to go shooting ALL the time, I've learned not to argue.