No argument about the competition barrels.I'm not particularly an advocate for fluting.
There are a lot of folks who build rifles that never get carried farther than from the vehicle to the firing line.That is perfectly OK.Have fun how you like to.
Folks who have a passion for those competitions will have a set of priorities in part based on the rules,in part based on the guy that beat them,and maybe,in part,based on bang for the buck.
That's not wrong. It makes perfect sense.
I respect that group of shooters.
I suspect that the time allowed to shoot a string favors heat soaking mass over heat dissipation. Sounds true.
Even if there was time for the cooling to work,competition requires a fresh barrel periodically.Fluting,done right,may cost as much as the barrel itself.An extra $300 a barrel may not add up competitively.
I understand your point of looking at what the winners use. Valid!
I've already expressed my skepticism over folks who take a finished barrel,that willnever be sress relieves again,put it in there 4 axis CNC and spiral flute it with a carbide ballmill. IMO,that is cosmetic and probably detrimental
I only replied because there is a lot of mis information about fluting
If you made a rule change to your competition that the rifle would have to be carried for 5 0r 6 miles in a day,over 10,000 feet of up and down altitude change while wearing body armor and carrying 80 lbs of other gear,where an occasional quarter mile sprint was required,and where the length of a string of fire is unknown,but its measured in magazines
"What the winners use" might include a fluted barrel.
Or if the rifle was purpose built for a once in a lifetime sheep hunt,where the "string" was one shot from a cold barrel at 10,000 feet,It might be a fluted barrel.
My point,"What the winners use" is a good plan,to a point. Its what the followers use.There are innovators ,like David Tubbs,who do things no one else is doing.The folks who use "What the winners use" are playing catch up.
And while all aspects of rifle shooting can benefit from proving grounds such as benchrest, a pure benchrest rifle would be what the ridiculous losers carry on a high altitude elk hunt.
"The Winners" and those who aspire to be winners at the competition game may represent a large portion of the custom gunsmith's business,and therefore,focus.But they represent a very small percentage of shooters.What is the correct answer for them may not apply to a prairie dog shooter.
I can think of a couple of rifle ideas where a fluted Krieger barrel might be ideal. One might be a DMR style AR and the other might be a 338 Lapua that would be carried.
And at 65 yrs old I probably will never build them.