Flute or not flute

mjcmichigan

Handloader
Dec 26, 2016
2,307
134
As the owner of a pile of rifles with fluted barrels. I always had read fluting helps cool the barrel and make it more accurate.

So earlier this week, I was reading on the top 50 bench rest shooters.

None of the top 50 shoot fluted barrels in completion.

The observation backed by data, fluted barrels warm up unevenly, which can behave badly for harmonics which opens groups.

Well, that burst my bubble.

Have you guys witnessed a difference?

As primarily a hunter, I'm concerned with cold barrel shooting more than warm/hot.

Thoughts?

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I have several custom hunting rifles with fluted barrels. All of them have shot impressively small groups. It would not be unusual for me to shoot enough ammo to get the barrel warm (not hot) and for it to shoot just as well or better.

It may be a different issue where 10-20 shots are fired in rapid succession but that's not a reality for a hunting rifle.

IMO, fluting is about the visual appeal rather than any real benefit in barrel cooling or weight reduction.
 
I've got experience with one fluted barrel and it shoots well. I can't tell any real difference in cooling or groups from other rifles. I'm no bench shooter and my range shots are limited to 400 yards or less and I do not often shoot more than 3 shots before cooling so it may not be an issue for a hunting rifle. That said once I did put 10 rounds down range in about 10 minutes. The group opened up to 1.5 inches @ 100 yards with 9 inside 1 inch.

With a big old sample of 1 rifle with a fluted barrel my opinion can't be worth that much. Since then I've had 3 new barrels attached to actions and none have been fluted. Just can't see any reason to flute one when there is a chance it may effect something.
 
I have a few fluted barrel hunting rifles , I don't see a problem with them .

for the top shooters ,if you could prove a fluted barrel had an advantage they would all be using one .

I have three thoughts on why top shooters are not using fluted barrels .
there could be a chance that the flutes could cause a problem in how accurate it shoots .

some of these guys set the barrels back when the throat gets bad . if the flutes would interfere with this , it means replace the barrel .

these guys replace barrels fairly often . having the barrel fluted just adds more money to the expense .
 
For a hunting rifle, a fluted barrel allows for a thicker contour while still being a moderate weight rifle.

I've had several that shot perfectly well, but like you, I'm a hunter and don't fire long strings where heat will be an issue.
 
On a bench gun with a bull barrel, the flutes would have to be huge to appreciably increase the surface area. They are probably not all that concerned with saving 3-6oz. either.

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Keep in mind that in some situations fluting might make you more accurate even if it makes the rifle potentially less accurate. I think that in some CMP matches (might be Palma or tactical matches) fluted barrels are common. Shooting is from offhand, prone and kneeling out to 1000 yards. The fluting makes the rifle much more handy in offhand and aids in cooling for the longer shot strings (especially in the summer heat). A rifle's ultimate accuracy potential typically isn't realized by the shooter in the field or offhand in a competitive setting. If fluting helps my realized accuracy in the field then I would personally take it, even if my accuracy potential at the bench suffers a little.

Personally, I'm indifferent on flutes. There are weight saving advantages to them and for some hunters and competition shooters they are a definite plus. Varmint hunters who might shoot a lot in a day or during the summer with heat waves coming off of the barrel along with sheep, goat and older hunters come readily to mind as benefitting from the barrel cooling or weight reductions.

Fluting I think has its reputation for uneven heating and negatively affecting harmonics due to uneven metal removal. Some cheaper barrels are bent to achieve the factory's internal bore straightness specs; on a few barrels I've seen some noticeable external bulges. These "stressed" barrels I would generally not recommend fluting.
 
Benchrest shooters want rigid, accurate barrels. They don't drag them up and down mountains all week. Fluting is a lightening compromise that may not stand up to the heat of competition, or it may. Why take the chance if you're a competitor?
 
Get a carbon barrel from Proof Research. It does what fluting was supposed to do. It is best you can get for what you want. Bench or hunting .

My wife thinks I only have 3 guns
 
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