barrel fluting.. worth the cost?

Pass on the $50.00 plus extra charge and buy ammo. There has been a number of posts on this same subject on a few boards. It looks sorta high tech and cool but it does about as much as a Muzzle Brake on an AR...well other than the brake makes then noisy as heck.

Just may opinion

Karsten
 
Although fluting is less annoying to the guy shooting the next table over. I shoot off a wool army blanket and have had the side blown up over the table by an AR with muzzle brake in the next lane (suprised the daylights outta me... never would have thought).
 
I've read all of Gale McMillan's posts, and I remember him not getting too excited about fluting. I also remember him saying that if you're going to get it, it should be done before the heat treatment of the barrel, not after. That means you'll be looking at a custom barrel.
 
The only reason to get fluting is to lighten the weight of the barrel, assuming a giving length and general outside diameter. I like how Hart flutes its "hunting" weight barrels...

I've got a fluted 6PPC barrel on my bench gun right now, and I think I got an inch or so extra barrel from the fluting (I have to keep inside a weight limit). The dang barrel just flat out shoots, but I suspect it'd shoot well regardless.

We're going to see a lot more fluted barrels in benchrest, since the new Leupold scopes are going to weigh about 4 oz more than the old ones...
 
I have used fluted barrels in pistols and rifles. I find, in competition guns (numerous shots) if the flutes are correctly lined it is worth the trouble and money.

The flutes should be right and left of the top center. This puts the thick part in line with the sight and removes some of the heat waves (mirage) during an exteded shooting session. In my opinion they are functionable for heat dispersion as it allows the heat to be directed away from the sight radius. Used them and liked them.

HJN
 
Gale MacMillan, IIRC, said that a bbl had to be stress relieved because the metal is often straightened, but when it heats up the "memory" makes the bbl warp to where it was crooked. Flutes will not help that either.:cool:
 
How flutes work:

Okay. You want a 26" barrel, and you want it to about an inch in diameter at the muzzle.

That's gonna be a heavy puppy, but the truth of the matter is, larger diameter barrels are less subject to "whip" or barrel vibration when fired. They just group tighter because of this.

Now, you're gonna get a hernia lugging that thing around. But you want the big diameter. What do you do? You call someone like Billy Stevens or Speedy Gonzales, and they flute the darn thing to take off some weight. You've got roughly the same diameter, so the barrel won't whip.
 
I can see only two reasons to have flutes on your barrel. The weight saving is a must for you or you will be firing enough shots where heat will actually become an important factor.
 
If you like spending money for no real benefit, by all means get the fluted barrel. You could just save the extra money for other stuff, like ammo.
 
The thing about heat is that fluted barrels cool faster, but they also heat up faster...

I'm seriously considering an enclosed tension barrel for a rail gun project. About 1.450" diameter, threaded both ends, tensioned inside a large aluminum cylinder, containing a heavy oil...
 
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