A gun barrel is a crucial part of gun-type ranged weapons such as small firearms, artillery pieces and air guns.

What is the purpose of a rifled gun barrel?

rifle, firearm with a rifled bore—i.e., having shallow spiral grooves cut inside the barrel to impart a spin to the projectile, thus stabilizing it in flight. A rifled barrel imparts much greater accuracy to a projectile, as compared with a smoothbore barrel.

Which is better smoothbore or rifled?

The chief advantages of smoothbore designs are their greater suitability for fin stabilised ammunition and their greatly reduced barrel wear compared with rifled designs. ... Most modern main battle tanks now mount a smoothbore gun.