Why fluted barrels

An example of diamond fluting pattern on a rifle barrel. Image courtesy: LRI. You can also find barrels with a diamond pattern. Manufacturers create this by cutting two spiral grooves that run in opposite directions.

This gives the barrel a diamond shape as the grooves cross over. You will generally find shooters use fluted barrels for either competition shooting or hunting. The reduction in weight and potential gains in accuracy are usually the goal for these types of barrels, so gun owners who compete or hunt may find use from fluting.

However, it seems that among general gun owners who prefer casual target practice, fluting will do little beyond giving the barrel a unique appearance. First, you can purchase a rifle with a barrel that is already fluted. There are many options available.

You can even find them online. So, you should be able to find a fluted barrel in the brand and caliber you need. The second option is to have your barrel fluted by a professional. There are barrel experts across the country that can take one of your barrels and have it fluted.

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The Lodge AmmoToGo. Look for tips for the range here. About Us Contact Us. Shop at AmmunitionToGo. What are their advantages over non-fluted barrels and should you get one? Now we come to the one advantage claimed for fluting that is generally taken for granted, and that is that fluting makes a barrel stiffer. I always assumed that contention was true, but is it really? It is therefore difficult to imagine it flexing to any extent, but it definitely does as a bullet accelerates down the bore.

Imagine a garden hose stretched in a straight line along the ground. If you pick up one end of it and shake it violently up and down, a wave action is created that travels down the length of the hose.

A gun barrel does much the same when a bullet is sent through it. It seems logical then that the stiffer the barrel, the more accurate it can be. One need only look at benchrest records comparing Light Varmint pound and Heavy Varmint Most of the miniscule difference in accuracy is due to the fact you can hold a heavier gun steadier. Another common sense notion about stiffness comes from everyday experience. An ordinary sheet of paper goes limp when you pick it up at one end.

Another good example is a steel tape measure. If it were flat, it would not extend far. So chalk up another seemingly intuitive thing that tells us a fluted barrel must be stiffer than a smooth barrel. Fact of the matter is, fluting does not stiffen a barrel as logic would seem to dictate, not according to the several structural engineers and metallurgists who wrote me after I had said so in print.

The gist of what they all said was that whenever you remove material from an object, you weaken it. This can be demonstrated quite graphically by a procedure my friend and colleague John Dustin came up with to satisfy his own curiosity. John is a well-known accuracy gunsmith and competitive benchrest shooter as well as a writer, and he devised a simple demonstration using a lathe chuck, a weight and a dial indicator.

He took a chambered, unfluted 6. He also noted the amount of torque applied when locking the jaws of the chuck so there would be no disparity there. At the unsupported muzzle end of the barrel, a dial indicator was placed and set at an arbitrary value. The results?

Forums Bolt Action Rifles. JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly. You should upgrade or use an alternative browser. Oct 19, 33 0 31 OK. Ive heard that heavy fluted barrels are more rigid than heavy non fluted barrels. Jan 1, 1, 14 Miami Florida. Re: fluted heavy barrel or non fluted heavy barrel. From my personal experience, fluting does nothing more than add cool looks to the barrel.

Flutting removes a small amount of metal, there for making it lighter. It makes the flutted area concave instead of convex so you really don't add cooling surface because now you have the same amount of metal exposed to air, only in a negative instead of a positive.

Unless you make the cut very deep. Anyways, the barrel does not cool that much faster that it would be worth doing for that reason. Accuracy has never been an issue for me, as I order my barrels flutted from the barrel manufacturer. They have the proper equipment to ensure a stress free barrel after they flute it. Hope this helps a little. I know there will be different opinions on this subject. I personally like flutting for the looks alone, so I would do it. Colonel Full Member.

Jan 9, 7, 13 Southern Indiana www. Removing metal does not make a barrel more rigid. Removing metal will allow a barrel to cool faster Most fluting is for cosmetic purposes.

Sometimes it's to get under a weight limit in competition. The basic rule is if you don't need it, don't get it.

You just spend more to get less. Dec 10, 4, 13 41 Michigan. There is no actual evidence o suggest that fluted barrels: 1.

Are any more or less accurate than non fluted 2. Cool significantly faster 3. Do anything for you other than save a little weight and provide an aesthetic difference. I like fluted barrels, so I get them. When possible, get your fluted barrel from the barrel maker that way. Like many things in the world of shooting I think there are some advantages behind the engineering aspects of fluted barrels and they have some merit.

At the end of the day, it's whatever works for you and makes you happy Diablo Road Warrior Supporter. Full Member. Aug 29, Agree with what LoneWolf said. As for those of you that think fluting adversely affects accuracy, how UN-accurate do you think the barrels are with "decorative" twist-fluting and intermittent fluting? And yes, cutting flutes does result in more surface area in contact with air, thus it likely will cool faster even if you haven't figured out a way to measure the difference.

Who really cares? Get whatever you like. The important thing is to get out and shoot it. Feb 6, 1, Wolftown. I like it but that is just me. That would be hard not to like, looks good! I'm a firm believer fluting makes the barrel more rigid, but don't want to get into any arguments over it. From my standpoint, if I'm going to hammer a gun, and shoot the barrel out in a one year period, fluting is just a waste of money. I had my last barrel fluted, with vulcanized rubber imbedded in it, shot it out in 7mos.

If it is a hunting gun, or one I will not abuse, I would flute it. Captain Moroni Well armed easily annoyed Full Member.

Jan 20, 1, 4 42 Pocatello ID www.