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Several barrel makers are offering 5R rifled nitride barrels.
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Faxon What and Why 5R Rifling?
5R is an improvement over conventional rifling by changing the shape and configuration of the lands and grooves.
No polygonal rifling is not the same as 5r. Polygonal rifling the lands and grooves are replaced with hills and valley's. 5r barrels are simply barrels where instead of the lands and grooves being at 90deg angles they have an angled shoulder giving it more surface area to grip the bullet and also in my opinion less copper fouling as there not so many sharp angles to get stuff hung up in.
That said there is not necessarily any barrel type that is better than the other and there is a lot of misconceived notions on the different rifling and there benefits and such. Hybrid 5R or 5R with angled lands but few have completely rounded lands. There are also female poly and male poly shapes. "The term "polygonal rifling" is fairly general, and different manufacturers employ varying polygonal rifling profiles. Polygonal Rifled Barrel benefits include increased accuracy, reduced cleaning, increased barrel life, and increased velocity. This is the rifling of choice on world famous sniper systems like the H&K PSG1 and MSG-90. Columbia River Arms(BlackHole Weaponry), Lothar/Walter, & Noveske offers polygonal AR barrels.
The More You Know: Polygonal Rifling
Lothar-Walther .223 Wylde Match Grade Barrel – LiFe HD®
16in or 18in True Match Grade Barrel
Proprietary LiFe HD® Treatment Process
.223 Wylde (can shoot .223 or 5.56)
Proprietary LW-50 Stainless Steel
16" SOCOM Weighs 2lb 1oz, 16" Mid Weight is 1lb 13oz, 18in Light Medium is 2lb, 18in Medium Rifle is 2lb 6oz
All barrels Are Mid Length Gas Except for Medium Rifle Which Is Rifle Length
Polygonal Rifling
Extended/M4 Feed Ramps
The new LiFe HD® (Lithium & Iron) process is a proprietary process similar to Melonite/QPQ, but with better options. The LiFe HD® process creates a smoother (less porosity) surface finish, this imparts higher corrosion (twice the corrosion resistance as QPQ) resistance and lubricity characteristics. The hardness and depth are almost identical to QPQ, but LiFe HD® accomplishes it’s goal with a single one step procedure compared to the multi-step processes of QPQ (quench polish quench). A more uniform/deeper black finish also seems to be a byproduct of the process.
These barrels offer the best in every aspect of performance. The stainless steel allows for seamless machining with a nearly perfect bore and chamber, the polygonal rifling offers less bullet deformation and increased velocity, and the proprietary steel composition greatly increases barrel life, durability and corrosion protection.