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As a pellet passes down the bore of a rifled barrel, the lands and grooves impart spin, stabilising the projectile and giving it more accuracy - important when shooting at longer distances.
Unlike powder-burning firearms, the pressures involved are much less violent with airguns, so the projectile's velocity is lower. However, grain for grain, the pellet or ball still gets blasted down the barrel, dragged into a spin by the rifling before leaving the muzzle. Examining a spent pellet will reveal marks to the head and skirt where they have engaged with the lands and grooves.
Examining spent
