- Location
- Niagara Region, Ontario. For now
Yet above in response to me, you are comparing a fluted barrel to a contoured sporter?
Pros and cons of fluting barrel
- Thread starter ryanshaw44
- Start date
Yet above in response to me, you are comparing a fluted barrel to a contoured sporter?
- Location
- Niagara Region, Ontario. For now
I am talking about 2 identical barrels in length and contour, then having one fluted.
Your argument is quicker cooling and lighter weight. OK
The other side is that barrel will heat up faster, and that their is no noticeable effects on accuracy.
To experience any real benefit from the fluting you would have to be shooting fast enough to get the barrel hot enough to need the fluting, which is not typically gonna happen, even varmint hunting!
And like I said that fluted barrel will get hotter faster if both barrels are shot at the same rate! To make your argument relevant this rate of fire has to be quick enough that it makes the fluting necessary.
The fluted H.S precision barrel was tapered and sporter thickness, so there is no set guideline for proper fluted barrel, also fluting was mentioned as a idea to lighten up hunting rifles.
Most hunting rifles have tapered sporter barrels.
Most hunting rifles have tapered sporter barrels.
Yes... because on a hunting rifle they are the two barrels that are generally available.... so when comparing performance they are the only two that are relevant here... i have never advocated fluting of a target barrel.... if you can get a manufacturer to make you a barrel that is not fluted and not tapered but not as heavy as a bull barrel then we may have a better comparison but I am comparing what is available in hunting platforms... which as I stated earlier is where the benefits of fluting could be seen....
The shots aren't quick enough... that's the point.... fluting is generally only available on bolt action hunting rifles... not semis... why do you think that is?
- Location
- Niagara Region, Ontario. For now
Shots aren't quick enough for what?
If you shoot 2 bolt rifles side by side with identical barrels, one fluted, at the same fast rate of fire, the fluted barrel will heat up faster.
There is simply less material to heat.
The cooling really only happens if you are taking time between shots, or when you are done the string, but you are arguing about a quick string of shots out of a varmint rifle!
If we are no longer talking about shooting rapidly then you have changed your argument, and we are now talking about slow deliberate fire, and the BR guys have already proven their point on that front.
My argument has always been that fluting had a place on bolt action varmint rifles... If you look where I mentioned firing rapidly I put it into the context of shooting gophers or trying for a double while yote hunting...
You are mistaken when you say that cooling only happens after all firing is done or between strings.... Sure, while you are firing the barrel is heating up but heat is also being dissipated by the barrel... the more efficient your barrel is at dissipating that heat the slower your rifle will heat up....
As for your BR argument I already agreed.... Br guys don't shoot fluted rifles because they don't have to... they have extremely thick barrels... a 14 pound hunting rifle is not an option to me...
As for your "identical barrels one fluted one not" it is a moot point.... that is not how fluted barrels are made.... the barrels aren't identical... they use thicker non tapered barrels to make fluted barrel rifles...
I am not arguing that a fluted barrel is the best way to cool a barrel... nor am I arguing that fluting is the best solution for all applications... I am simply arguing that fluting can make a rifle more accurate by keeping it cooler in some applications....
- Location
- calgary alberta
There is absolutely NO science to support this.
Physics and common sense are against your argument in every way. Fluting is fad that some think makes a rifle "look cool" but that does NOT make it in reality. No matter how you cut it, the detriments of fluting a barrel grossly outweigh any positive points. The "reputable" gun makers will do ANYTHING to try and sell a gun. The next thing we will see is triangular barrels being touted as the superior barrel to use. Oh wait 1 reputable gunmaker already does this.
Facts are.
Fluting is NEVER uniform, the depths vary from flute to flute and even in the same flute over the length of the barrel. Steel by nature tends to deflect and become mildly banana shaped when milled longitudinally.
Differing thickness of material in the same plane will cause distortion at a differing degree from heat/cold. Uneven surfaces heat and cool unevenly. Uniformity equals accuracy, the basic theory of harmonics.
Firecracking occurs more prevalently on the thinner areas than the thicker areas, this can readily be seen with a borescope, you can actually see the flutes from the inside of a fluted barrel as the firecracking is considerably worse where material has been cut.
Fluted barrels are seldom truly straight due to the warpage of the barrel during the machine work to make the flutes. Seldom is the stress relieveing sufficient to release all the stress's induced by the machining.
Seldom does a properly turned barrel blank need to be straightened, yet most fluted barrels REQUIRE starightening after fluting is done.
We took an old heavy barrel and fluted it whilst collecting all of the chips, the weight saving was a whopping 5 ounces. If that is so terribly significant a weight reduction, 1 needs to seriously contemplate some quality time on the stairmaster. There are better ways to save weight.
If 1 needs to worry about their barrel heating up so much because they need to take so many shots at something, maybe some shooting lessons and practice would be an idea. I have never figured out why 1 needs to take many shots a coyote, I have shot hundreds of them and seldom required more than 1 shot to make 1 play dead.
Please do not take offense as none is intended, just trying to help you see the facts.
lejarretnoir
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- 162km from Connaught
Can't wait for the next rebuttal.
Not sure which of your to argue with.... the one that always only takes one shot predator hunting (apparently even on doubles) and doesn't believe that increasing surface area helps with cooling or you who wants to add fins to his hunting rifle.......
Fluting..... your doing it wrong....
I am not talking about aftermarket fluting... again bud, not saying everything should be fluted.... A manufacturer designed fluted barrel is not a heavy barrel and it is not a sporter barrel... it is a barrel designed to have flutes... and they are indeed uniform... material is actually added for the flutes... the taper is taken out of the barrel so wall thickness isn't lowered by the fluting.... the barrel is actually thicker where there are no flutes then it is on a sporter barrel...
- Location
- calgary alberta
HUH?? "material is actually added for the flutes"
You are saying that material is ADDED to make part of the barrel thicker?
FAIL
Are you suggesting that the assorted barrel manufacturers have "designed" a barrel differently for 1 that is fluted versus 1 that is not fluted?
FAIL
I am not sure you grasp the concept of how barrels are made in the first place.
- Location
- AB foothills
That is not what I am saying.... what I am saying is that the barrel they flute is thicker to begin with.... the misconception people have is that the barrel that they flute is the same od as a regular tapered sporter barrel and that the fluted areas of the barrel are thinner than a non fluted tapered barrel would be.... "Material is added" was bad wording on my part.... what I mean is they start with a thicker blank.... people have a misconception that fluted barrels rifles are lighter than their regular sporter counterparts.... this is also not true....
Instead of thinking of taking a regular barrel and machining flutes into it think of taking a barrel that is a bit thicker and machining flutes into it.... that is what the manufacturers do so that they don't have to sacrifice the integrity of the barrel.... fluted barrel rifles are actually heavier than regular sporter barrels because they are thicker to begin with.... again, the misconception is that the two barrels are the same and you just grind flutes into one.... that is not how fluted barrels are made...
