• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
MENUMENU
  • Home
  • Training
        • In-Person Training
        • Tactical Training Classes
        • The Journey: Season 1
        • Tactical Hyve's The Journey
        • Training Guides
          • Basics
          • Personal Defense
          • CCW
          • Accuracy
          • Speed
          • Combatives
        • Training Videos
          • Billy's Tips
          • Byron's Tips
          • Coch's Tips
          • Dave's Tips
          • Fred's Tips
          • Greg's Tips
          • Jason's Tips
          • Joe's Tips
          • Matt's Tips
          • Myles's Tips
          • Scott's Tips
          • View All
  • Reviews
        • Class Reviews
        • Class Reviews
        • Gun Reviews
        • Gun Reviews
        • Gear Reviews
        • Tactical Gear Reviews
        • Vetted Directory
        • Vetted directory of shooting lessons in your area
  • About
        • Our Story
        • About Tactical Hyve
        • Our Experts
        • Tactical Hyve Subject Matter Experts
  • Shop
        • Online Training
        • Tactical Hyve Store
        • Tactical Hyve Apparel
  • Newsletter
  • Training Directory

Tactical Hyve

You are here: Home / Training / Basics / What Is A Bull Barrel?

What Is A Bull Barrel?

September 24, 2021 by Tactical Hyve Cadre Leave a Comment
Last Modified: September 24, 2021

What is a bull barrel?

While shopping around for guns, you’ve probably encountered the term “bull barrel.”

Perhaps you don’t know what a bull barrel is (or does), which might explain why you’re here, but you recognize the phrase as an ‘upgraded’ barrel due to the higher price compared to traditional barrels.

By the end of this post, you’ll:

  • Understand what a bull barrel is;
  • Know why some shooters use a bull barrel;
  • And understand the advantages and disadvantages of a bull barrel.

What Is A Bull Barrel?

A bull barrel, also known as a bull pipe, is a gun barrel that does not taper outward like a standard barrel, making it completely cylindrical. This makes the barrel stiffer, which reduces the amplitude of the vibrations in the barrel created by the sudden increase of air pressure in the chamber when a gun goes off.

The bull barrel is known as such due to its resemblance to the male cow’s reproductive organs, which are also cylindrical and large in circumference.

A bull barrel can be made from steel with a “bull profile,” or a company can make it from aluminum alloy. It is typically a thick and heavy barrel.

Based on some reports, the bull barrel concept was first used by British gunsmith Philip Webley in 1876 for his revolvers designed for bullseye shooting. (Some say Freeman Bull was the inventor, but some also disagree.)

However, bull barrels were not particularly popular at the time because bullseye shooters were more interested in a pistol’s trigger action rather than its barrel profile.

In recent years bull barrels have been popularized by bullseye shooters, long-range shooters, defensive shooters, and hunters alike.

Why Use A Bull Barrel?

Using a bull barrel has several advantages, whether you’re shooting rifles, pistols, or shotguns.

First, a bull barrel is stiffer than a normal barrel, which positively reduces vibrations. This effect can give bull barrels an accuracy advantage over other types of heavy barrels.

The bull barrel’s rigidity reduces the potential for twisting forces (torque) on the gun to affect its accuracy.

Secondly, a bull barrel’s temperature remains consistent during firing. Metal expands when hot, so maintaining an even temperature prevents a hot barrel from changing dimensions, ensuring consistency from shot to shot. Consistency is the key to high accuracy.

Thirdly, a bull barrel is heavier, which can help a shooter better manage recoil.

Lastly, for rifle shooters, a bull barrel tends to shift the rifle’s balance towards its muzzle. Many shooters find this to help maintain their rifle’s orientation when offhand shooting.

Who Uses Bull Barrels?

The bull barrel’s reduced vibration (which can increase accuracy) and greater rigidity (which gives greater resistance to twisting forces) make bull barrels particularly suitable for long-range precision shooting where accuracy is essential.

As a result, long-range precision shooters and bullseye shooters make up the largest market of bull barrel users.

However, many defensive or tactical shooters opt to use them, too, for the highest degree of accuracy and increased firing stability due to the extra weight. Some say the heavy barrel results in less recoil, while others mention the lower recoil is negligible.

Bull Barrel Variations

Flutes are sometimes used on bull barrels to reduce weight without compromising stiffness. Flutes are grooves cut into a barrel. The grooves remove some metal, but the barrel is thicker and more substantial than a typical barrel. However, a bull barrel need not have flutes. 

Occasionally plastic is used in bull barrels, but this is mostly for aesthetic purposes. Since they are plastic, they don’t add much weight, even though they are thicker. Metal bull barrels are the best.

Disadvantages Of A Bull Barrel

Bull barrels offer greater rigidity, which is good when you want to be accurate. However, bull barrels are stiffer than traditional or cylindrical barrels and do not bend very easily under stress.

This can be a disadvantage for bull barrel shooters because the barrel’s rigidity does not offer as much resilience to impacts.

The bull barrel also offers greater airflow than other types of barrels. This, too, can be an advantage, or disadvantage, depending on the needs and preferences of bull barrel shooters.

A bull barrel is considerably more expensive than non-bull-barreled firearms. A bull barrel’s accuracy benefits may be offset by any inherent inaccuracy in a firearm’s overall design and performance.

Conclusion

A bull barrel is a type of gun barrel that does not taper outward, making it completely cylindrical. This makes the barrel stiffer, which reduces the amplitude of the vibrations in the barrel created by the sudden increase of air pressure when a gun goes off, providing increased accuracy to shooters.

The bull barrel’s rigidity also offers greater resistance against twisting forces (torque) and is consequently better suited for long-range precision shooting where accuracy is essential.

Filed Under: Basics Tagged With: barrels

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

FOLLOW US

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Popular Posts

Tactical Hyve: "The Journey" - Episode 1 with Retired Navy SEAL Coch

“The Journey” Episode #1: Intro to Combat Pistol with Retired Navy SEAL Mark Cochiolo

Yousef Badou

“The Journey” Ep 10: Situational Awareness 101 with Yousef Badou

"The Journey" Episode 2: Intro to Carbine with Retired Navy SEAL Mark Cochiolo

“The Journey” Episode #2: Intro to Carbine with Retired Navy SEAL Mark Cochiolo

😂 😂
During our trip to the Philippines, we trained wit During our trip to the Philippines, we trained with rising star shooter Bro Tecson, who is one of the best shooters in the Philippines.

During our training session, we were wondering why the country produces a lot of great shooters. Bro shared a number of different benefits to training at shooting ranges in the Philippines versus many other countries.

Not only do Filipinos train and practice a lot, but they can also train very efficiently because of their shooting ranges and the government's support.

Special thanks to Bro for creating this video with us! Make sure to give him a follow. He's most active on IG: @brotecson
AMBUSHED This was not a car-jacking attempt. The v AMBUSHED
This was not a car-jacking attempt. The victim was ambushed and the suspects look like they wanted his life.

Here, there is no deescalation or reasoning. One is instantly placed in a situation where he has to fight to survive.

Fortunately, he does, but after losing a lot of blood and now with 182 stitches. Not seen in this video, the victim’s mother runs outside from the house and the suspects run away.

Situations like this are difficult to handle especially when one is ambushed—in this case, by multiple threats with weapons.

Some things we can learn/consider from this video:

(1) Force multipliers. Having tools and knowing how to use them could definitely have helped here. 

(2) Stay in the vehicle. Lock the doors. Start the car and move. Everything we say here is easier said than done. If this is not a trained reaction, it may not happen in real-life. One can think about it and say they would do so all they want, but if they don’t practice it under stress, who knows what will happen. Here, the victim opens the door for some reason, yet we can see his headlights were already on, possibly signifying his was already in the process of starting his vehicle. We do not know if this is a nervous reaction, if the victim was thinking of going hands-on, etc. Perhaps he didn’t see the other two suspects and thought he could defend himself against one attacker.

(3) Something to think about—at times, if attackers are coming at you from one side of a vehicle, immediately exit on the opposite side and move. Similar to taking fire on one side of a vehicle. Often, it isn’t the best course of action to open the door on the side taking fire and exiting that way. Here, we can’t definitively say this would have worked, but it is another possible option.

(4) Once out of the vehicle and in the open, chaos ensues. Recall some of our previous posts. If you are being attacked by multiple attackers, do everything you can to stay off the ground and keep moving/fighting. Make no mistake, this was an extremely bad situation. Anyone who has no tools caught in the open by multiple attackers with weapons is going to be fighting for their life.

Thanks @farmertanterror for this.
Want to know what Coch keeps in his range bags? . Want to know what Coch keeps in his range bags?
.
#tacticalhyve #rangebag #tacticalgear #sealteam6 #devgru #sealteam #navyseal #navyseals #specops #military #gunsandgear
Some of us can learn a thing or two about situatio Some of us can learn a thing or two about situational awareness from this dog 🐶 
.
#tacticalhyve #sa #situationalawareness #awareness #dogs #karma #takethat #nottoday
#tacticalhye #airstrike #firstcellphone #callofdut #tacticalhye #airstrike #firstcellphone #callofduty #motorola
MOVING INTO POSITION Whether you are a tactical or MOVING INTO POSITION
Whether you are a tactical or sport shooter, entering a firing position efficiently will allow you to shoot sooner/faster, and more accurately.

World and National Champion Shooter, JJ Racaza, shares three ways to orient your hips for efficient movement in our latest YT video. Head to our channel to watch!

Special thanks to JJ for creating this video with us! Make sure to give him a follow. He's most active on IG: @jjracaza

#tactical #tacticalhyve #uspsa #ipsc #competition #movement #competitionshooting #sportshooting #entries #enteringaposition #pewpew
BRIGHTER & BIGGER FRONT SIGHTS / RED DOTS If you'r BRIGHTER & BIGGER FRONT SIGHTS / RED DOTS
If you're in a fast, up-close situation where you have to use your firearm, it's unlikely that you will see a crystal clear front sight or your red dot as one does during traditional firearms training.

In fact, there is a good chance you don't see anything and rely on instinctive shooting/point shooting/natural point of aim.

Knowing this, to increase your chances of getting any/some kind of visual cue that you are on target before you take a shot is preferable. 

Using brighter and bigger front sights and red dots can potentially help provide you with more visual information before taking a shot in a life and death situation.

Check out our latest video on YT to hear more about the topic.

#ironsights #ironsight #reddot #reddots #targetacquisition #aiming #aim #naturalpointofaim #pointshooting #instinctiveshooting #ontarget
Coch’s first rounds down range with the @sigsaue Coch’s first rounds down range with the @sigsauerinc MCX Virtus. Stay turned for his first impressions!
Connect with us on Instagram!

Footer

Tactical Training

Training Videos

Training Guides

The Journey: Season 1

Tactical Training Classes

Tactical Reviews

Class Reviews

Gun Reviews

Gear Reviews

Vetted Training Directory

Resources

Our Experts

Tactical Hyve Store

Online Tactical Training

Newsletter

About Tactical Hyve

Contact Us

Disclaimers & Disclosures

Terms of Use

Privacy Policy


235 W. Market Street
San Diego, CA 92101
Email: [email protected]

Copyright © 2022 · Tactical Hyve

This copyrighted material may not be republished without express permission. The information presented here is for general educational and informational purposes only. What you do with the information is your responsibility.
MATERIAL CONNECTION DISCLOSURE: While we will only showcase products and services we believe in and use, you should assume that this website has an affiliate relationship and/or another material connection to the persons or businesses mentioned in or linked to from this page and may receive commissions from purchases you make on subsequent web sites. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. You should not rely solely on information contained in this website to evaluate the product or service being endorsed. Always exercise due diligence before purchasing any product or service. This website contains advertisements.