RE: Rethinking the rifle
 

I wonder if a ceramic bore liner would work?
If you had a bore that was made out of an extremely hard, smooth ceramic material, accuracy should improve. The rifling would never wear out and due to the heat resistant nature or ceramics, the throat should never erode making a gun last virtually forever.

RE: Rethinking the rifle
 

I think the limit has pretty much been reached with smokeless powder. Maybe in the future we'll see some kind of rifle where you'll just stick a bullet in there and the propellant will be injected through the breech? Maybe gyro stabilized sighting systems and no more rifling, instead saboted bullets like the projectiles out of the M1 tank gun. Zero lock time ignitions like are coming about with the electric ignition guns. All in all I think the biggest advances are to be had by increasing velocity to 3-4 times current levels by some alternative propellant, lightweight alloy saboted bullets, and smoothbores. Imagine the kinetic energy of a 50 grain tungsten projectile at 12000 fps that has a ballistic coefficient around 3.0. Essentially you'd be shooting a needle with greater energy than a .375 H&H and virtually no drop over the ranges you can see a game animal. Of course, if you hit a deer with that thing you'd probably splatter parts all over the hillside.

I tend to agree with the others, I'm satisfied with the bolt action rifle in it's current incarnation, but it's fun to wonder what might happen.

RE: Rethinking the rifle
 

I am no engineer or riflesmith, but I am fascinated with guns and weapons. For a military style weapon or one where you need to have reduced muzzle jump, why couldn't you build one with the barrel and action suspended below the handgrips? Imagine a Thompson gun turned upside down with two pistol grips above the barrel. Biomechanically, aren't the muscles in our arms/shoulders/backs stronger when we are pushing down rather than trying to pull down?

With an electronic ignition system, it wouldn't matter where the trigger was located.

The Mouse

RE: Rethinking the rifle
 

the only thing i'de change is makeing them all full custom rifles ( better factory tuneing and handwork done on the reciever and bolt,better target quality triggers, better stock fit and finish,better quality on barrels such as muzzle crowning and other acurracy enhancements.) and all of that for an economy model price

RE: Rethinking the rifle
 

Hey, I like the idea of different bore linings. Chrome lining was a good first step. How about Teflon jackets on bullets? 100 times better than molly.

Also, I have contemplated moving the barrel down under the ammunition source to lower the thrust angle and keep the barrel down under auto fire. Safety might suffer, but I was thinking more of a balanced system where the muzzle would neither sink or rise.

I guess the secret to low diameter, high cross sectional density rounds (needles in sabots) is keeping them spinning (they have low angular momentum) and making sure they expand on impact.

Powder needs another quantum leap. Higher density of power would make cartridges much smaller, if not much lighter. But, some wahoo would load a 30-06 with it and blow themselves to kingdom come.

Airguns have been making big technical strides. How about a chemical reaction in the stock that would generate a high-pressure gas to launch a bullet?

Just noodling things through.

Chubber

RE: Rethinking the rifle
 

rail gun? 3miles per second?