I just rewatched The Winter Soldier the other day and a lot of the big guns on the helicarriers made me think about this. Does it make the bullet more accurate?
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Other posters have addressed why they’re used (cooling/rapid fire), but no one addressed “does it make the bullet more accurate?”
Yes, it does.
As a barrel heats up, it expands, which means the projectile doesn’t fit as snugly, so it’s not as accurate. By keeping barrels cool, accuracy is increased.
One of the most famous examples is the A-10 Warthog, which they discovered during testing was actually *too accurate.* The bullets all hit in a straight line, even after traveling thousands of feet. They added an offset weight to the end of the barrel ([the little round thing above the central nut](https://nationalinterest.org/sites/default/files/main_images/Cannon_0.jpg)), which made the whole assembly wiggle and decreased accuracy.
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