Rifle Barrel Heat Generation Analysis  What causes your rifle
barrel to heat up? Is it the burning gun powder, or friction
between the bullet and bore? What happens to the energy released
from the smokeless powder when you fire your rifle? I recently
asked these questions, and my 'cronies' at the AllOutDoors
Coffee Shop had the right answer regarding the primary cause of
barrel heating. Most of us just 'knew' the answer but couldn't
prove it. One fellow had the proof (thanks again, Robert). From
the analysis, about 3/4 of the barrel heat is from the burning
gas, while the remaining 1/4 is due to bullet/barrel friction.
I knew I read about this before in Hatchers notebook. According
to tests done at Springfield Armory in the .30-06 Browning
machine gun the breakdown was as follows:  heat to cartridge
case 131.0 calories 4.26 % kinetic energy of bullet 885.3
calories 28.78 % kinetic energy of gases 569.1 calories 18.50 %
heat to barrel 679.9 calories 22.10 % heat to gases 598.6
calories 19.46 % heat generated