Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Fluted Barrels?

That's cause you're old and soft...........

If ounces matter, get flutes.

Would a 20" #5 be less stiff than a 24" fluted #4 then if they weighed the same ?

I am not a metallurgical engineer, but...

I don't believe in the value of fluted barrels. As stated, for a given weight the fluted barrel in theory will be stiffer, although there isn't that much in it because the loss in stiffness with fluting is actually greater than the loss in weight. So if you remove say 20% weight, you will lose about 30% stiffness. I have seen no evidence that the whole cooling thing actually works - in fact the experiments i have seen have actually suggested fluted barrels may heat up faster!. When you think about it, a round barrel just has more metal to soak up the heat which tends to offset any benefits thru enhanced convection. And conduction into the surrounding metal is much faster. Of course, the other issue is, has your barrel getting too hot ever been a problem when you are actually hunting. If it has, i would suggest it is your markmanship you need to work on, not your barrel.

The big problem with fluted barrels seems to be that they just aren't done properly. As a simplification, most people put the flutes in such a way that then introduces stresses into the metal and may affect the bore. You can make a whippy barrel produce great accuracy, if you take the time to carefully tune your ammunition to the harmonics of your barrel. You will never get a barrel with unrelieved stresses or non-uniform bore to shoot great. And this only gets worse as a barrel heats up. So if you want a fluted barrel, make sure you get one from a reputable barrel maker - and it'll cost you a lot.

Another observation i'll make is that most fluted barrels i see are done to produce a relatively stiff but lightweight barrel. But they are done in stainless steel. If you want a stiff barrel for weight, i would suggest my understanding is that you are still much better off with plain, old, boring Cr-Mo steel, which is still significantly stiffer than any of the stainless steels currently being used in rifle barrel manufacture. There are some promising aerospace stainless steels out there, which come close to Cr-Mo steel, but they aren't being used in rifle barrels as yet (to the best of my knowledge).

If you really want a stiff, lightweight barrel, i'd currently be looking at the CF-wrapped barrels. Personally, i am sticking with my plain old boring blued steel sporter barrel - which is giving me sub 1/2 MOA accuracy.

I see I was too casual in my conversation by not constraining the length.

Just seeing if you were paying attention.........


My next question was going to be about indexed fluting...

Played around with Lilja's barrel weight calculator for a possible project.

For a .284, 24" barrel:
Standard #4 weighs 3.20lbs
Standard #2 weighs 2.69lbs
A fluted #4 weighs 2.54lbs

It is my understanding that fluting a barrel does not increase stiffness, but going to a larger contour that is fluted is stiffer while weighing the same.

Unless you've just gotta have it, for a one shot one kill big game rifle, I just don't see any sense in it.

I like the theories in support of a fluted barrel, and like the looks, so my latest build has a fluted #4. When deciding on the interrupted vs straight fluting, the guys at Brux thought the interrupted fluting would offer marginally more stiffness, so that's the way I went.




John

A3 or A5?

On a light weight they're outa the question all together. On a sporter weight they look cool as with a varmint or larger tube. I had Karl spiral flute my varmint barrel on my 223 AI and love how it looks......that said I will have a hard time doing it again because what you spend on flutes will pay for half another barrel.

Then again bolt flutes do nothing and the price is worth it to me.....lol?

they are cool as chit!!! that being said i have a few and know for the cost i could be half way to another barrel... cool yes but worth it?? maybe? just for cosmetics in my book!

actually the spiral flutes in the bolt can help rid an action of dirt and sod and stuff.... don't ask... it's works good though!!!

Hurry and buy that Extreme Weather and then you will have

I like my 2 rifles that have fluted barrels. One is a FN PBR XP 300 wsm and the other is my winchester model 70 extreme weather. If you want one then get it!!!!!!

Wish they still made the original "Extreme Weather" rifle..


[color:#990000][u]Winchester CS Extreme Weather II[/u][/color]

Yeah, but they were damn expensive!!!!!! But you are right they were nice and you could even get one in left hand. Come to think of it Roy, my FN PBR XP 300WSM is basically one except in a blued finish. Better trigger (old style) but mine was worked over by the boys at FN.....

This was my favorite (but don't tell BobinNH that)


[color:#990000][u]Mod 70 Custom Ultimate[/u][/color]

That barrel is hideous.