Hybrid gun barrel

摘要

A new hybrid gun barrel can be successfully used with modern hotter propellants without unacceptable erosion of the breech section of the gun barrel and while retaining the accuracy and ballistic characteristics of a fully rifled gun barrel. The gun barrel comprises a smooth bore breech section and a longer gain twist rifled muzzle section. The smooth bore breech section can better withstand the high heat and pressure of modern hotter propellants than prior art rifled breech sections. The smooth bore breech section will always be less than one-third the total length of the gun barrel and preferably less than one-fifth the total length of the gun barrel. It can be made of a different material than the rifled muzzle section and can be coated with a material harder than the rest of the gun barrel.