Bud Hyett
posted this
22 January 2022
The grinding wheel shaping the cutter is easiest set to straight sides and flat bottoms. Any variation to this grind for a different rifling form greatly adds to the cost. And building tooling to repeat the from also adds to the cost. Plus there must be an "Economic Order Quantity" to justify the overall expenditure where the burdened cost to the tooling is spread over many barrels.
At one time, labor was cheap and people could spend the time forming the grinding wheels to produce these cutters. Today, not so. The person setting up the grinder to sharpen the cutter must understand the process and sharpen in a minimum of time. The cutter and button made today lasts longer in usage than a half-century ago, but it will need sharpening.
One other consideration is todays' barrels produce great accuracy. The one adjustment needed is the nut behind the buttplate. Why go to the added cost of a new (reborn old) rifling form when it will not shoot better than the current offering?
All businesses are run by the accountants in the final summation. If the product costs too much to sell and has a limited market, they will not build it. Note: I've always wanted to try the Shilen 5R rifling on cast bullets in a superior action and stock that I know shoots, but Shilen no longer offers it.
In my two Stevens 44 1/2 actions, I have two Shilen, one Krieger, one RKS gain twist barrel. All shoot far better than I can right now, but I'll keep practicing.
Final thought - In today's technological world, if everyone does not want it, no one gets it.
Rifling Types - Layne Simpson .
Farm boy from Illinois, living in the magical Pacific Northwest