Why only the muzzle gets angry

[Virendra S Rathore]

Gentlemen,

Out of curiosity, it came to my mind when my cousin in Air Force told me hold how they got their hands burnt by accidentally holding the muzzle of their rifles.
Question is, why is it the muzzle end of the barrel to get so heated upon firing and not the rest of the barrel or any other part of the rifle for that matter?

Hoping for a technically elaborate answer.

Best wishes & regards,
Virendra

[Vikram]

I am taking a guess here. Could be they were shooting 7.62 chambered Enfields,where only the muzzles are exposed and the rest under wood. So, obviously the only exposed part of the barrel is the muzzle.My guess.Could you please tell us what they were shooting?

Best-
Vikram

[MoA]

Actually the entire barrel heats up. in most military and sporting rifles the barrel is tapered and the muzzle happens to be the thinnest part of the barrel. Hence the fastest are in percieved heat and cooling. This is also made more perceptible by the fact that the gasses escape from the muzzle and have a shot at heating up the crown, so to say.
With bull barrels the heat build up is a little more uniform.

[Virendra S Rathore]

Thanks a lot for clarifying.

Regards,
Virendra