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When trying to make weight, run a thinner barrel profile or flutes?

Normaly I call B.S. on 85% of fluting claims. In your case flutting makes perfect sense. That said a thinner barrel contour makes sense as well. Combining both is often a good.

What is the norm in your sport in the caliper you want to build? In weight restricted classes and in most sports their is a lot of monkey see monkey do because other's that have come before you have had to solve that same problem. When it comes to making weight reinventing the wheel is often not worth the squeeze!

In Silhouette if you order a High Power Silhouette barrel from Douglas it only comes in one length and one profile to gurantee you make weight.

I have SS Bergara 338 barrel that is 32" long and 1.45 straight cylinder it is a beast of a blank!
 
Hi,
I have fluted more than 250 barrels for customers over the last 10 years. Mostly factory tikka , a few Remingtons , browning and howas, and good number of bartlein barrels and other custom barrels. So far I never had a complaint regarding the accuracy of those barrels. The trickiest part is when I have to flute a barrel with a bend in it or an outside contour which is not concentric with the bore.In those particular cases, I generally try to go more for the an even aesthetic look rather than an even depth. That does not seems to affect accuracy either .
Also, I have shorten and threaded hundreds of factory fluted barrels, and despite having the bore perfectly indicated ,quite often the bottom the flutes are not at an even depth . And it does not seem to affect accuracy at all.
 
... In Silhouette if you order a High Power Silhouette barrel from Douglas it only comes in one length and one profile to gurantee you make weight.

I'm curious what length/profile that would be.

I'm on my second barrel now. The first was a Kreiger, the second is a Benchmark. Both are #5 contour, both finished to 26", both chambered the same way. The Kreiger is about one-and-a-half ounces heavier than the Benchmark due to a slightly fatter profile to their #5 contour versus the Benchmark #5 contour.
 
Hi,
I have fluted more than 250 barrels for customers over the last 10 years. Mostly factory tikka , a few Remingtons , browning and howas, and good number of bartlein barrels and other custom barrels. So far I never had a complaint regarding the accuracy of those barrels. The trickiest part is when I have to flute a barrel with a bend in it or an outside contour which is not concentric with the bore.In those particular cases, I generally try to go more for the an even aesthetic look rather than an even depth. That does not seems to affect accuracy either .
Also, I have shorten and threaded hundreds of factory fluted barrels, and despite having the bore perfectly indicated ,quite often the bottom the flutes are not at an even depth . And it does not seem to affect accuracy at all.
Well good thing no one mentioned accuracy degradation from fluting in this thread including me! It has been talked about to death and has in some cases been proven to be a factor. Just like it is not a conspiracy theory that the bore diemensions can sometimes be affected when threading the crown for a muzzle device. We know when this is likely to occur and that it does occur so it is not opinion it is a fact. That is why we have qualifing situations like "sometimes, never, maybe"! LOL

I question the rational of fluting as a means of weight savings over just running a lighter barrel contour on a hunting rifle one intends to cary. In some competitive shooting sports the barrels are so large and heavy that one can actualy flut deep and agressively and remove a significant amount of weight which is where I see it as a useful tool. The idea of 99% of fluting doing anything to actual statisticaly significantly enhance cooling I can nonsense on and I do the same for anyone claiming it makes the barrel stiffer!

Most fluting is eye candy for men it is a high fashion for rifles! Nothihng wrong with it just sell it as such! Generaly you need a N0.3 or larger profile to flute enough to remove significant weight with out harming the barrel. This assumes you are fluting button rifled and hammer forged barrels since this is not an issue with cut rifled barrels. So if weight is a real concern going to a lighter profile will save more weight than can be removed untill you get into super thick, heavy comp countours.

I have seen more issues with stringing especialy as group volume increases on factory fluted rifles than anything else until you get to factory pencil profile barrels. No one accuses me of conspiricay theories when I point out the obvious about pencil thin profiles. Fluting fan boys and carbon wraped barrel fan and those that sell those services ignore anything engineering or science related that does not fit their twisted perception of reality and or their marketing.
 
I'm curious what length/profile that would be.

I'm on my second barrel now. The first was a Kreiger, the second is a Benchmark. Both are #5 contour, both finished to 26", both chambered the same way. The Kreiger is about one-and-a-half ounces heavier than the Benchmark due to a slightly fatter profile to their #5 contour versus the Benchmark #5 contour.
Give Douglas a call. I shot silhouette competitively starting in the 1980's but I have not run one of their barrels since Early 2000's. I have been meaning to give them a call since right before Covid-19 hit and then I got a bunch of other barrels that just landed in my lap at fantastic prices. Maybe that is not a thing anymore? I just know a lot of people have to make weight in various sports and a lot of barrel makers can help you because they know what they sell and who they sell it to and who is buying their gear! You can guess and maybe get it right or give the guy making your barrel a call or email them and likely get a better outcome!
 

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