Smoothbore refers to a firearm or cannon which does not have a rifled barrel.

History of firearms and rifling

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Early firearms had smooth barrels, and fired projectiles with no significant spin. These projectiles had to be stable shapes, such as finned arrows or spheres, to minimize tumbling during flight. However, spherical bullets do tend to rotate randomly during flight, and the Magnus effect means that even a relatively smooth sphere will curve when rotating on any axis not parallel to the direction of travel (see knuckleball for an example of intentional random tumbling).

Rifling imparts a spin to the projectile, which stabilizes it and prevents it from tumbling. This does two things; first, it increases the accuracy of the projectile by eliminating the random drift due to the Magnus effect, and second, it allows longer, heavier bullets to be used from the same diameter barrel, increasing range and power (see external ballistics). In the 18th century, the standard infantry arm was the smoothbore musket; by the 19th century, rifled barrels became the norm, increasing the power and range of the infantry weapon signficantly.

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McCarthy Adds to Gun-Control Drumbeat
Mon, 04 May 2009 02:00:00 -0000
Do you hear the drumbeat? The growing clamor from those who hate the Second Amendment and think your rights are what's wrong? It's unmistakable, undeniable, and growing louder as anti-gun politicians and media elites are chumming the waters to try and gain support for every gun-control scheme they can imagine. Gun bans, national registration and licensing, ammunition bans and taxes. The list keeps growing. Now comes New York Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy ... one of the most anti-gun politicians in the country ... vowing to introduce a stream of gun-control bills within weeks. "In the coming weeks and months, I will be introducing several pieces of legislation to address the rising gun violence in our country," McCarthy said in a statement released from her office. As if another McCarthy gun law or two against the law-abiding would have any effect at all on the armed violent criminals who roam our streets. It's ridiculous. But McCarthy went on to say, "We can and must pass common-sense gun legislation to keep guns off our streets." The problem with Carolyn McCarthy is that she won't admit what every NRA member and most Americans know. You can't reduce violence by passing another law to be ignored by criminals who remain free ... you reduce violence by taking the bad guys off our streets. It's just that plain and simple. Enforcement works. McCarthy's plans can't, and never will.
Pelosi- "We Want Them Registered."
Mon, 27 Apr 2009 02:00:00 -0000
The Obama administration wishes it hadn't happened. Most of the media has swept it under the rug. But they can't deny it any longer and there's no doubt about it ... They're coming after every law-abiding gun owner in America- and they want your name and personal information in a federal database. That's right- national registration of all firearms. And the speaker of the House- Nancy Pelosi- fully admitted her gun registration plan, in an admission wrapped around outright lies about the Second Amendment and our freedom. On ABC's "Good Morning America," when pressed about her goals for gun legislation, Pelosi said the following: "... the Supreme Court has ruled in a direction that gives more opportunity for people to have guns. We never denied that right. We don't want to take their guns away. We want them registered ... and we have to rid the debate of the misconceptions that people have about what gun safety means.” Pelosi's idea of "gun safety" is every gun ban, ammunition ban and licensing scheme that has come across her desk. She's spent an entire congressional career voting to deny the rights of lawful gun owners. And now, she's laid out her congressional agenda- coming soon- "We want them registered." They can't deny it. And they can't deny the determination and might of America's lawful gun owners, who don't want their names in some national government database, just waiting to be abused by gun-hating bureaucrats. So bring it on, Nancy. We're ready.
Feinstein Vows to Renew Gun Ban
Thu, 23 Apr 2009 02:00:00 -0000
While the Obama administration wants to lull gun owners into complacency, it's only a matter of time before a massive campaign is launched to deny our firearms freedom. That's straight from the mouth of one of the most aggressive gun-haters on Capitol Hill- United States Senator Diane Feinstein. "I'll pick the time and the place, no question about that," Feinstein told CBS on "60 Minutes," when asked if she planned on mounting an effort to renew the Clinton Gun Ban on lawful semi-automatic firearms. Feinstein made that comment after claiming- wrongly- that American gun shows were responsible for arming drug cartels and violent gangs with so-called "assault weapons." But despite the facts that prove her claim wrong, the anti-gun senator from San Francisco is as determined as ever to bring back the old gun ban ... and she knows she'll have support from President Barack Obama. When reporter Lesley Stahl pointed out that it seems the president has a full plate of critical issues to deal with right now, Feinstein agreed. "I agree with you," Feinstein said, "I wouldn't bring it up now. I'll pick the time and place, no question about that." But what Feinstein and Stahl and the rest of the anti-freedom crowd don't know is that American gun owners are not complacent. We're not easily duped into a false sense that our freedom is safe. We know it's just a matter of time, and we'll stay ready to defend our rights.

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