whats the skinny on barrel fluting

[Frankr]

what the general consensus on fluting barrel's
for it or against it?
im playing with some fluted barrel's so the jury's still out--but so far im seeing a benefit.
now my experience is very limited, but in the 6 BR i feel that the lighter contour to begin with and fluted barrel
will take 3 more shots to get as hot as the reg HV 1.250 contour. im attributing it to the fluting, but its very limited so i could be wrong(maybe just a difference in the barrels peroid)
i have two more fluted stainless match barrels so i should learn more from them.
but so far im in favor of fluting..my big concern was putting stress in the steel but that has not been a problem(yet)..all my fluted barrel were ordered from the manufacture that way.
i also think they shoot better. ???

 

[dreever]

They are pretty, and they do cut down on weight, and perhaps they do cool just a tad better, but when weighing the cost of a consumable (yes barrels are consumables they wear out eventually) the added initial cost isn't worth the perceived benefits in my opinion.

Danny

 

[Preacher]

I personally would not spend the money on fluting a barrel for what the gains would be...

 

[Chuckhunter]

I think it depends on what the rifle will be used for. All of my P.D. rifles are fluted as they cool off much quicker between sessions. I wanted a nice stiff barrel on my 7MM-08 and got it fluted to cut down on the weight a little. My match rifles are not fluted, don't need to compensate for weight or heat. I personally have never seen a degradation of accuracy in a fluted barrel. My fluted barrels shoot just as well or better than the unfluted ones. I guess it's a matter of whether you think it's worth the extra cost. For me personally, sometimes it is and most often it's not.

 

[NateHaler]

There's only one inarguable result of fluting: it makes that barrel lighter.

If you think fluting a barrel will also make it cool faster, then have at it. On the other hand, why not add fins to a barrel like you see on air conditioning coils.

Another, arguable result of fluting is that it also LOOKS cool.

 

[Larryh128]

Off of the bench, strickly a toss up, looks cool so that's a big +. Hunting world, definitely beneficial for weight reducion & being able to start with a heavier contour. You'll never see 2 people agree on it. Personally, I like it because most of my buddies don't have it. ;D

 

[BigBamBoo]

On the other hand, why not add fins to a barrel like you see on air conditioning coils.

I do....on my AR's. See info here: http://www.jprifles.com/1.4.5_hs.php They work REALLY well for long strings of fire,etc.

 

[Frankr]

My fluted barrels shoot just as well or better than the unfluted ones.

yes im thinking its possible that if fluted properly(as said in the right point in makeing) they shoot better.
like i said my experience is very limited(very) with fluted barrels,but i believed it enough of a benefit to give not one but two more a try..

i read somewhere in a test of fluted and unfluted barrels, alot of techo-mumbo jumbo and engineeering type stuff that was hard to understand,it seemed they contradicted themselves several times or i just could not understand it.
but it went something like this. a barrel of the same weight that was fluted was more ridged and had less vibrations than a unfluted barrel of the same weight. ok i kind of get that.. so you would say a fluted barrel is more riged and has less vibration than a unfluted barrel..NO..! so if we have two barrels of the same weight and flute one the fluted barrel is more riged and has less vibration..NO! ..so if we have a bigger barrel and flute it so it weighs the same as a smaller barrel its more riged and has less vibration,,YES!. i kind of get that..
so i would think i theory if he had a HV barrel and fluted it to the weight of a LV barrel we would have a barrel
that was more riged less vibration & cooled faster,so it would shoot better.(in theory)..

well i have two more fluted barrel's so i guess i will see if they shoot well.
as far as cost $$ go..im up in the air on that..hey if you can give me a better shooting barrel for 150 bucks more,its lighter(better rifle balance)cools faster(maybe slightly better life) ect ect ..im in for a buck fifty..
hey some guys have 3k in a scope.. whats a buck fifty for a better shooting barrel, some guys spend three times that on a stock paint job, ect ect..

 

[dreever]

If fluted barrels were any better all of the top shooters would be using them. Go to the Super Shoot, 600, or 1000 yard Nationals, and see how many are on the firing line. Not many I'd gather. But heck, ones rifle is a personel thing, if you like them use them. Myself, I'm hard pressed to spend an extra $150 on something that will need replaced sooner rather than later on a competition rifle. Once that gilt edge of competitive accuracy is gone it just becomes another tomato stake.

Danny

 

[Klong]

Fluting is really just to make the rifle lighter and not done to improve accuracy.

 

[Robert]

I really question the values of barrel fluting. Seem to me more valuing the work made on barrels than real technical reasons. This final process need to be machined under specific tolerances of concentricity, difficult to obtain and even more to control. I wonder on the effect of possible absence of absolute concentricity of the grooves, otherwise not possible to control once the process is finished.
I am also interrogative about the constraints liberation this process obviously induces?
As for other claims, this one is based on affirmations, not backed by technical or scientific evidences.
More interrogations:
-Weight saving?: what is the REAL difference in weight of a given barrel before and after fluting? Too lazy to calculate, but what does it comapres in regard to 1 inch shortening of the barrel?.
--Heat dissipation: Here should account thermal condcticity of the metal, specific heat generated, time of exposure to heat, interval betwee those exposures…etc, etc…to notice incidentally that the part the most exposed to heat is the reinforce, who is not fluted at all…. Also, the’’ increase’’ of surface exposed to air is so marginal that I doubt it is of any consequence… Would need high-conductivity fins (Vickers air-cooles MG) or larger diameters rings (Hotchkiss 1914) to be of some efficiency. To notee the circular cooling rings of the Hotchkiss are ar the chamber level, not on the barrel length.
-Vibration dampening;: I have always learned vibration expand axially from chamber to muzzle on a regular mption. What does mean to impair this propagation? Moreover, how the cross sections differences influences this?.
-Increased rigidity. This could be of influence if a barrel was submitted to buckling, which induces axial or uneven lonfgtudinal compression constraints. A barrel is submitted to expansion and nothing is better for that than a plain cylinder of even wall thickness.
On this aspect, does anyone ever considered the positipnning of the flutes: 12-2-4-6-8-10 O’clock, 1-3-5-7-9-11 O’clock , or random positioning? I presume most of the fluted barrels are screwed randomly with no consideration for positionning, and this is perhaps of consideration for vertical, hori zontal or indifferent grouping sizes?.
Finally fluting is weakening the barrel walls in points, and I recall havigs seen a fluted one split lenghtwise along the flutes…..
Just my point FWIW.
R.G.C

 

[dreever]

Bartlein told me on a M24/40 contour barrel finished at 24 inches fluting removes approxmately 12 ounces.

 

[Frankr]

I really have no idea if its a good idea or not,,up in the air on price, but wanted to try it on another barrel or two.so i have the barrels and i will see if it works out.. now the question why dont you see every match barrel fluted if it was so great, is a very good question, it could be answered in many ways, mostly unfluted barrels shoot very well...and why change something if aint broke..i really dont think many match shooters would try one on the fact the unfluted barrel shoot good enough,why take a chance and spend the extra money..same question i have asked my self many times..but i wanted to try it again and see if maybe it would shoot better..
check out this link
http://www.varmintal.net/aflut.htm

 

[TheSnake]

I read all the time how fluted barrels cool down faster but I never hear anyone talk about heating up faster. Wouldn't it stand to reason that they would?

 

[serial # 001]

FJIM,

I am having a special .257 Weatherby made up by the gunsmith. He is fluting the barrel to reduce weight. There is no way Iwould cut an inch off to reduce weight. It is already too short at 24" to me. He did the eight flutes as deeply as he could and took almost a pound off.

 

[Frankr]

#1 di you read the link i posted earler...what would be your thoughts on that?
its in reply # 13

 

[Scott Harris]

They are pretty, and they do cut down on weight, and perhaps they do cool just a tad better, but when weighing the cost of a consumable (yes barrels are consumables they wear out eventually) the added initial cost isn't worth the perceived benefits in my opinion.

Danny

+1
When you shoot thousands of rounds per year, the extra cost of fluting simply does not add up. If you want a lighter barrel, order a lighter contour.

 

[Frankr]

http://www.varmintal.com/aflut.htm

Do they shoot better. ?
idunno maybe .

did they say 21% reduction in group size.

 

[TheSnake]

I read all the time how fluted barrels cool down faster but I never hear anyone talk about heating up faster. Wouldn't it stand to reason that they would?

Anyone care to comment on this question? Anyone???

 

[mikecr]

That VarmintAl testing contradicted itself six ways to sunday..
Lotta pretty 'simulations', but i'm positive that it would be shot down in flames with any real peer review.

Snake
The context of cooling described with fluting relates to outer metal sinking heat from a bore.
Fluting increases the outer metal surface area thereby providing more potential sinking -away from a bore, to be affected by cooler air surrounding a barrel.
Hard to predict this as either good, or bad, really.