Accuracy vs barrel contour for a varmint gun

[swd]

lt's been proven that FLUTING helps with cooling and weight. lt makes a barrel stiffer too

It doesn't make the barrel stiffer it is only stiffer for a barrel of the same weight of the fluted barrel.

 

[DaveTooley]

Two barrels the same length and same weight. Fluted barrel is stiffer.
Two barrels the same length and same contour. The fluted barrel weighs less and is less stiff.
Also hot is hot regardless of the fluted vs non-fluted comparison.

 

[JSH]

Since this has gotten hijacked, I have had a couple of fluted barrels. I had one done to reduce weight, the other came that way.
I quit spending money on things that doesn’t make a gun shoot better.
Buddy does some ceracoating. A fellow I know brought a rifle in that is an absolute boat anchor, had it beautified. Did zero for anything else.
Yeah, life is to short to shoot an ugly rifle, but only accurate rifles are interesting. Even if they look like Frankenstein.

 

[DaveTooley]

I tell my customers it's $175 of sex appeal. With a quality barrel just make it smaller if weight is a concern. I do like the way it can change the balance of a rifle. A fluted #5 makes up into a nice hunting rig.

 

[searcher]

I managed to shoot my first triple last winter when I had a pack of 6 come running in hard and fast. Packs of 6-7 aren't unheard of where we hunt here in Southern Saskatchewan. I'd say of the stands we make, over half require a walk of over 300 yards and there one place I go to every year where I walk a mile and and a mile out.

We get doubles about half the time it seems - and have called in triples many times. Most I ever shot in one morning without moving was six - and my barrel never got close to being hot. I choked on two or it could have been 7 - though they were way out and heading to Texas. I'm sure some guys get a bit luckier - but I doubt many have ever have a barrel heat problem coyote hunting.

 

[searcher]

Fluting is cosmetic. It probably won't make a barrel shoot better and it might make it shoot worse.

I agree. I think it is a common belief among most competitive shooters that fluting adds stresses to a barrel and even if the barrel was drilled and rifled after the fluting - a lot of the stresses are still there. The bullets start to walk around when the barrel heats and cools. Lots of techniques have been used to try and rid these stresses such as deep freezing, heating, etc. If the fluting is added after the barrel is bored and rifled, indentations can actually telegraph to the inside of the bore when the fluting process is performed - just like how barrels become "choked" after threading for a muzzle brake. Whether it makes a particular barrel shoot worse can't be pre-determined simply because the barrel was fluted - but some really suffer afterward. For most hunting rifles for coyote-size and up- a carefully done job doesn't matter much because after a few shots - most game is down for the count and they just don't get hot enough to be problematic. Running a string in a match or in a high-volume varmint rifle may be a different story.

 

[mike a]

Regardless of contour I wrap my barrels with carbon fiber tape. Then I convince myself it’s lighter.

 

[Plumsask]

We get doubles about half the time it seems - and have called in triples many times. Most I ever shot in one morning without moving was six - and my barrel never got close to being hot. I choked on two or it could have been 7 - though they were way out and heading to Texas. I'm sure some guys get a bit luckier - but I doubt many have ever have a barrel heat problem coyote hunting.[/QUO

There isn't a whole lot here in the real south portion of Sask. Aside from mule deer and cattle ranchers. Alot of people won't bother tobout the miles on to be successful either. Barrel heat has never been an issue, the colder the day the better ( preferably with low to no wind) the coolest day last year I hunted was -34 F and calm. I have never seen coyotes charge in so hard and trying to get them stopped before they ran you over was another issue.

I'm thinking after hearing many opinions that I will go with a light varmint contour maybe a #5. I will have to give some thought on reduction of barrel length- as another member stated in this thread losing 150 FPS is miniscule in the big picture, another part of me says you're building a hot rod... might as well squeeze out every ounce of performance if its accurate.

Ave

 

[Intheshop]

Got plenty of all 3,sporter... varmint... fluted.

Depends on several factors which only the end user can ultimately choose from.

On sporters,everything else on the rig starts to play a more important role in precision. The post above about using the same target and cold bore shooting is SOP here. I'll do 3-5 shot,mag dumps(don't own an AR,just like the term) on bolt rigs EVERY day until the whole system is in full check. This is a lot harder with skinny barrels because;

(Also posted above,or something along the same lines)...... Everything "works" on good,or bluebird days. A heavy barrel is easier to tune on,bad days. This usually means less effort thrown at the support side of the system. Long strings of fire and heavy barrels go together well.

Fluting "can" be magic on a rifle's balance. And if the discussion is field positions(vs sitting at a bench) then balance is one of those "support" systems that's a bit different. Fluting effect on balance can help make up a bit of ground on "bad days" or,where other details may go lacking.

All that is a touch confusing,the takeaway is learning to work with a system or rig,to bring out the best characteristics. My days of walking around with fat barrels is over so fluting moves the can down the rd a bit. A well tuned sporter moves it,WAY down the road.

 

[David Milisock]

A varmint barrel depends on the kind of varmint hunting. Long shot strings in rapid or semi rapid secession a heavy harrel makes sense. Once in position bench, stick, prone or sitting shooting with little carrying of the rifle nullifies weight. Hunting where you hump through miles of terrain a lighter barrel quickly makes sense.

My dad had a tripple duce with a very light barrel, printed two shots in nearly 1 hole at 100 yards but heated up quickly and could never print a decent 3 let alone a 5 shot group. It didn't matter he rarely ever shot it twice at a chuck and rarely more than 5 times in a days hunting.

I had a 30.06 with the same issue, 2 shots at 100 nearly in 1 hole, 3rd shot made a 1 1/2" group with 2 1/2", 5 shot groups. It didn't weigh much more than a 30 Carbine. I prepped that rifle for a friend who shot 2 sighters every season, made 1 or 2 kill shots and that rifle has killed more game over the last 30 years than any 10 rifles I know of combined.

So build your rifle for how you're going to hunt, just build it so it's accurate for your style of hunting.