Button rifling

[Airpirate]

Does anyone on this forum have experience with button rifling?
I am making a small derringer in .32 caliber out of 4140 annealed steel and plan to rifle it with a button rifling tool.
Looking for any advice or experience in the amount of force required and results.
Thanks.

 

[Karl_T]

I did a 9mm barrel for practice. I used my shop press. its a 30 ton air over hydraulic unit. The force to push the button came NO WHERE NEAR the press capacity. I guess most any hydraulic press would do this job.

 

[westsailpat]

Airpirate , are you making this from a design you designed ? Kit ? Pictures ? Thanks .

 

[Silverbullet]

If your only making for self defense no rifling needed. The whole deal with rifling is for accuracy at a distance. But it's nice to have if your planing on targets .

 

[magu]

If your only making for self defense no rifling needed. The whole deal with rifling is for accuracy at a distance. But it's nice to have if your planing on targets .

I would argue that, even with a Derringer, it it is for defense, accuracy is very important. Not moa level, but enough to be effective for the intended task.

Rifling is also important to avoid prison sentences, and it is probably best not to advocate otherwise on an open forum where people might read and not do their own due diligence.

As to the OP's question, I have seen it done with reasonable results; though I don't recall off hand the force, I would like it to using a broach for key cutting with doesn't require an excessive about of force. It might be a good idea to rough bore your barrel blank, then rifle it, then do what ever machining required to finish it after indicating off the resulting bore.

Waffenshmieden x has a 15 video series on YouTube where she builds an 1880s Colt SAA revolver from scratch. I forget which video it is, but she rifles her own barrel in that project, the same technique could be applied for your Derringer.

 

[Hozzie]

Rifling is also important to avoid prison sentences, and it is probably best not to advocate otherwise on an open forum where people might read and not do their own due diligence.

I have to admit, I was not aware of this and I know gun laws pretty well (or so I thought). Rifles with no rifling is ok, pistol with no rifling isn't. Go figure.

 

[magu]

Gun laws are funny sometimes. Unfortunately logic isn't always the rule of the day.

 

[JPigg55]

I've researched this topic myself without a lot of success.
For those that have rifled their own barrels, do you prefer to make your own buttons or buy them ???
For myself, I've found very few sources of buttons and little to no info on making them. Any suggestions/links to information would be appreciated.
Any thoughts or opinions on cut vs button rifling would be appreciated as well.

 

[aliva]

A little off the topic but why would a non rifled pistol be illegal?

 

[magu]

A little off the topic but why would a non rifled pistol be illegal?

To cut down on what are called "zip guns" basically homemade guns which are usually open bolt and smooth bore to just cause destruction.