Kibler's Longrifles Knowledge Base

Rifled or smooth, what is the difference?

A rifled barrel spins the ball for accuracy at distance and is the choice for target work and hunting with a patched round ball. A smooth bore trades some of that precision for versatility, since it can shoot round ball or shot, which suits a fowling piece or an all-purpose frontier smoothbore. Our Fowler is smooth by design, and several rifle models offer a smooth-bore option in the larger calibers.

Category: Options & VariantsLast verified: 2026-07-31Also called: rifled, smooth, smoothbore, fowler, shot, round ball

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