Henry Rifle Forums

, they suggest not using BB's because of the rifled barrel

Don't understand that statement. Why does a rifled barrel make a difference?
Are not all BB/pelet guns rifled?
My 760 power master had a magnet on the end of the bolt that kept the steel BBs in place.

Ojaileveraction wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 14, 2020 8:05 am

, they suggest not using BB's because of the rifled barrel

Don't understand that statement. Why does a rifled barrel make a difference?
Are not all BB/pelet guns rifled?
My 760 power master had a magnet on the end of the bolt that kept the steel BBs in place.

Guess I should have asked what the reason is behind that.
I guess I didn't because I don't intend to use BB's. Only thing I can think of is possible bore damage?...dunno.

markiver54 wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 14, 2020 10:25 am

Ojaileveraction wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 14, 2020 8:05 am

, they suggest not using BB's because of the rifled barrel

. . .
Are not all BB/pelet guns rifled? . . .

. . . Only thing I can think of is possible bore damage?...dunno.

Those were my thoughts. I just figured a BB would smooth out the barrel more than a pellet. I understand the barrels are steel. But, a lot of the air guns are under $100. How much effort is put into them? I remember a similar concern about Davis Derringers. They were firearms for less than $100 (and, I still have one). However, it was a concern with the barrels splitting. I probably shot about 100 rounds through it so far. It still shoots the same as the day I bought it in 1993. The rifling is not smooth though. Yet, it was for less than $100. At point blank range (just pass arm length), how good of rifling is required?

BB specific guns, that is, guns that only shoot BBs, are smooth bored. There is no advantage to rifling when shooting BBs because the BBs don't engage the rifling. As for damage, this is direct from Crosman:

"In addition to some low powered guns that are designed to fire only BBs, some models such as the Crosman 760, 66, and 2100 are "dual ammo" guns that also fire pellets. These rifles function as repeaters with BBs, but can be used only as single shot rifles with pellets. Although BBs are much less expensive than pellets, they have some disadvantages. First, a steel BB can not be designed to fit tightly in the bore. As a result, accuracy of a particular rifle is not as good when shooting BBs as when pellets are used. Pellets are made of lead or a lead alloy so they are soft. They can be made to fit the bore by being swaged slightly as they are fired. Therefore, they fit the rifling better, and the result is better accuracy.

Another disadvantage of firing steel BBs in a rifled barrel is that the BBs do not engage the rifling but rather ride on top of the ridges. Prolonged use of BBs in a rifle barrel can cause the tops of the rifling ridges to be worn off because unlike a lead pellet, a BB is as hard as the rifle barrel itself. If this happens, the rifle probably will not shoot as accurately with pellets as before the abrasion occurred. BBs are best used in airguns with smooth bores."

There are target grade Bb guns if that's what you really want to shoot and they have smooth bores. The https://www.daisy.com/product/daisy-mod ... ion-rifle/ is such a BB gun. Not your typical Red Ryder.

Thank you NCG. Kinda what I figured. I figured BB guns that only shot BBs were smooth bore, but didn't know for sure, so I could not profes to know or give an informed response to Ojai.
I really have no interest in BB's for the reasons you stated. I feel safer shooting softer pellets. Less chance of ricochets and better accuracy.

You are very welcome, as always. Good reminder for all you BB gun shooters out there on ricochets. Use BBs only with a soft backstop. They won't deform like a pellet.

So, I was looking at the airgun section here on the forums recently and.........................

went to WalMart....................

The gun is a lot of fun to shoot. These photos are the unboxing and first views. The gold plastic didn't take long to get smeared with my greasy fingerprints. The metal front sight looked beefy enough to hold up. The pump lever, the lever, is fairly stout and is smooth. Unlike my Benjamin pumps, I didn't notice any resistance build up as I pumped all the way to ten pumps. I sighted it in at 10 meters. It was way off. I only shot pellets out of it. They load one at a time. It is not easy to load them, but fairly straight forward. Sorry for the blurry shot of the chamber. The exposed hammer is the safety. Pull it back and it's ready to shoot.
I had fun and will hopefully get to post some photos of the lever and the overall gun and some results.
First impressions are that it was worth the $60.00 spent. It will be a nice companion to my 1873 Colt air pistol. A fun plinker duo I think.