To Flute or not to Flute?

[Wind Gypsy]

Why would they contour or do any other operation after stress relieving when the could simply do it before especially if that's what a customer is ordering?

My understanding is that process of button rifling induces stresses in the steel. If you contour/flute/thread or just machine the outside of the barrel prior to relieving the stresses induced during the rifling process you risk having changes to the bore dimensions. Thus, makers of quality button rifled barrels stress relieve after rifling to mitigate issues from further machining after rifling.

I don't claim to know how these places run their operation, but if you order a Remington contour barrel from Hart do they pull one off the rack that's already finished and re-contour it or wait until the particular barrel comes up in the schedule and do it then.

I'd bet its done differently by different manufacturers. It seems patriot valley arms with their Opsrey barrels contours them to order (has a rack of uncontoured blanks that they contour as orders come in) or takes bulk orders based on a limited # of common contours. I bet most are done in batches by order. Like if company X is making 8 twist 6mm barrels in 2 weeks but 7mm barrels in 2 months, the time id receive a barrel order likely depends on which of the 2 i chose.

 

[2Die4]

If you are looking for stiff, but light weight, carbon fiber wrapped barrels are hard to beat.

 

[Redmt]

I couldn't be happier! Paul at boltfluting.com did a fantastic job. I ran about 50-60 rounds through it in about an hour and a half shooting squirrels and it barely got warm. It is a huge difference from the same plain bull barrel.

 

[dan.kirkpatrick]

i just recently got a savage high country 7mm mag with the factory spiral fluting and like it so far,,upon shooting it ,it seems to not heat up as fast as a plain barrel and just looks nice too

 

[Mattmann]

My builder is fluting my 300 PRC as we speak. Now if my stock would come in that would be great!

My Seekins is CF or it would be fluted as well!

 

[WapitiBob]

Alex Wheeler​

Well-known member​

“I have had this discussion a few times this week so I figured a post would be worth while. The vast majority of barrels I chamber are not fluted. I dial in the breach end only when I chamber so there will be some runout at the muzzle end. 90% of barrels fall into a normal range. Even the carbon barrels are in the normal range. But when I do fluted barrels they are typically far more out than normal. Like double the high end of normal. That would be spiral and diamond flutes. The straight flutes dont seem to be an issue. So why is this a problem? If we assume the bore is perfect, its not but its very close, and then we do something to that barrel to make it move we have distorted the bore. Also with the spriral you have made a 360 degree cut so the minor diameter of that cut has really reduced the stiffness of the barrel. A straight flute really doesnt reduce the stiffness much. Not to say a spiral or diamond wont shoot but in my opinion your odds of getting a great barrel go down when you do that.“

 

[Redmt]

Not all spiral barrels are 360* fluted. In the case of mine that is as wicked accurate as it was originally, it is only 270* or a 3/4 rotation. Any input on that?

 

[Wind Gypsy]

If you are looking for stiff, but light weight, carbon fiber wrapped barrels are hard to beat.

They aren’t hard to beat. Steel barrels of the same weight generally seem to be just as stiff. And they have the distinct advantage of not being subject to the possibility of getting stresses induced from machining down to a thin liner and then gluing a bunch of carbon to it. Not to mention the $300 upcharge.

Alex Wheeler CF vs. Steel Barrel Deflection Video

I thought I recall watching a video where he measured the deflection of CF and steel blanks but cannot find it in searches. Does anyone have a link? Thanks!

forum.accurateshooter.com

 

[Kimber7man]

Alex Wheeler​

Well-known member​

“I have had this discussion a few times this week so I figured a post would be worth while. The vast majority of barrels I chamber are not fluted. I dial in the breach end only when I chamber so there will be some runout at the muzzle end. 90% of barrels fall into a normal range. Even the carbon barrels are in the normal range. But when I do fluted barrels they are typically far more out than normal. Like double the high end of normal. That would be spiral and diamond flutes. The straight flutes dont seem to be an issue. So why is this a problem? If we assume the bore is perfect, its not but its very close, and then we do something to that barrel to make it move we have distorted the bore. Also with the spriral you have made a 360 degree cut so the minor diameter of that cut has really reduced the stiffness of the barrel. A straight flute really doesnt reduce the stiffness much. Not to say a spiral or diamond wont shoot but in my opinion your odds of getting a great barrel go down when you do that.“

Thanks. Good info from Alex.

I like straight fluted barrels, I have one 6.5 SAUM with a Bartlein #3 straight fluted that is likely my most accurate rifle. However it is a 8.7 twist so only use the 140 class bullets…

You can also chop straight fluted barrels to thread them, just need to build a collar for it.

 

[Ericbender]

I have a Ruger m77 mkii that I rebarrelled with a 26” bartlien. I’m looking for someone who can cut it down to 24”, flute, and rethread. So if anyone knows someone in the 208 give me a holler.

 

[Potsie]

I have a Ruger m77 mkii that I rebarrelled with a 26” bartlien. I’m looking for someone who can cut it down to 24”, flute, and rethread. So if anyone knows someone in the 208 give me a holler.

Drop it in a shipping tube and send it to Country Custom Metalsmithing in Fallon, NV.

He’s a member here, just search for @p_ham and you’ll find plenty of good references.

 

[cahunter805]

I have a Ruger m77 mkii that I rebarrelled with a 26” bartlien. I’m looking for someone who can cut it down to 24”, flute, and rethread. So if anyone knows someone in the 208 give me a holler.

If you don’t use p_ham who by the way does incredible work I’d contact Kampfeld if you want to stay in the 208.

 

[Darkside]

I have a Ruger m77 mkii that I rebarrelled with a 26” bartlien. I’m looking for someone who can cut it down to 24”, flute, and rethread. So if anyone knows someone in the 208 give me a holler.

Howdy, if you are still looking to get your barrel fluted. Bug Works/ Southern Precision in Tennessee. I have had close to a dozen barrel fluted by them. And barrel co. Will not void warranty. I have
Diamond
Straight
Spiral
Most With Deep Cuts
All barrels shoot 1/2moa.
Hope this helps.

 

[noharleyyet]

I couldn't be happier! Paul at boltfluting.com did a fantastic job. I ran about 50-60 rounds through it in about an hour and a half shooting squirrels and it barely got warm. It is a huge difference from the same plain bull barrel.
View attachment 369715View attachment 369717

...snazzy

 

[Boarmaster]

If I was wanting a lighter weight rifle I would start with one. Unless I just wanted an expensive project to call my own. If you want flutes and you like the look and that rifle I would say get it done. For myself trying to lighten up a rifle is too many dollars for the weight I could get reduced. Others will differ.

 

[Cemetery Sling Blade]

For the flutes to do anything close to listed advantages they have to be deep. Flutes on thinner contours and shallow are purely cosmetic. MTU profile with deep flutes is where they do something. That something is still debated if juice worth the squeeze.

 

[xOutlawx]

fluting will not affect the accuracy or the safety of the firearm. That being said, if its not done properly. Their is a maximum depth the flutes can be and an inexperienced gunsmith can easily make a mistake. Make sure you're using a well known gunsmith. I've had LongRifles Inc. do my fluting and they are very well known for excellent work and excellent prices. You can check them out on their website by googling their name. The only downside is if they are not local you will need to send your rifle to them, which isn't really a big deal.