Barrel Fluting

Dakota Yote

Dakota Yote

New member
Last week I picked up a Win. model 70 Coyote with a 6.5-20x50 Zeiss conquest. I am thinking at fluting the stainless steel barrel. Do you think this will affect my accuracy, good or bad? Another guy I know at the local shop had a few barrels done and said he had no adverse affects on the accuracy, but I would like to hear from you guys. The accuracy of this gun has been good the two times I have had it out. I will be using this mostly for prairie dogs and coyotes. Thanks.
 
I have heard that it may add stress to the barrel, some have claimed no change while others have claimed accuracy loss. I have never heard anyone claim that it added accuracy. It will make it a little lighter as you must already know. I thought about fluting a couple of my rifles, but didn't. I just bought a lighter rifle for carrying around for coyote hunting. (Another excuse to buy a rifle). /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

If it shoots good I wouldn't mess with it. By taking a gamble.
 
My question is why do you want to flute the barrel? Are you trying to cut weight? Because in my opinion fluting is not going to cut that much weight. Even if you lost a pound, a pound is not going to make that much of a difference hiking around all day. I have always thought fluting was for heat dissipation because it essentially provides more surface area to cool. It might be advantagious with the stainless since stainless tends to hold heat more than chrome moly. If it aint broke, don't fix it. Like said above, it gives you another reason to get another gun! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
 
Dakota,

I would have to agree with the others who responded. I personally would not spend anymore cash on a "factory" barrel. If you really want the fluted barrel buy yourself a custom tube with flutes. From what I have read about fluting, it is a good thing. Cuts a bit of weight, aids cooling and I believe it also stiffens the barrel, makes the barrel less whipy. Not sure how a barrel gets stiffer when metal is removed but I think I read that some where. I just don't think that factory barrel are that good to begin with so I would think twice about money spent on fluting one. Just my opinion. Good luck!

Brent
 
The advantage I was looking to get was weight and heat dissipation. The barrel has gotten 0.35" groups with hand loads so far and the flutting would run $110. It would be nice to flute this barrel but why change something that is working. Shooting at a prairie dog town can really hear up a barrel and I was looking for a way to help it out. Thanks for the replies. I think I will just leave it alone and look at a custom barrel at a later date.
 
Flutes give you more suface area. A thing to consider is that with the groves (Flutes) cut in the barrel are gonna give you differnet thicknesses of metal on the out side of the tube causing uneven heating and cooling of the barrel. Less metal being at the bottom of the flute, thicker at the top. I have not heard if the ffluting hurts accurracy nor that it has been a help.I would get a different barrel for sure. A good quality barrel on a trued and square action should not be affected by fluting in a negative way. I am considering this on a rebarrel for a deer rifle to cut weight with a heavier barrel (the bolt also). And it looks really cool. I wont get the barrel hot so it should not matter. Shaw barrels have a helical flute that is supposed to give even more surface area and counter act rotational twist of the bullet going down the bore
This might be hype. It will depend on who you talk to.
 
I agree with Quarterbore!

I have seen several reports on this issue and more are against the idea of having it done.

But it sure won't be worth it on a factory barrel, just do like the other guys have said and get a new lighter weight barrel. But with the accuracy that you are now getting I would just leave it alone.
 
I'm not sure which maker said what but I think it was Shilen barrels who does not like fluted barrels and another maker Hart maybe? said it's all right if you flute before you punch the hole and rifle it but not after. Like I said I'm not sure who said what but this was what I found while doing research on a new barrel. I agree with everyone else here get a new barrel if you've got to have flutes.
 
http://www.hartbarrels.com/other_services.shtml

http://www.gaprecision.net/content/services.php

http://www.kriegerbarrels.com/fluting.php

Hart, Krieger and GA Precision flute their barrels. If these companies believe in it I will not give any merit to those who say it's bad. George Gardner, GA Precision, is one of the best custom builders of long range (1000 meter) rifles in the country. His AR-10 rifles are simply the best in the world. There is no way he would offer fluting if it adversly affected accuracy.

Doug Shilen makes fine barrels but he has not been at the top of the heap for quite a while. I don't know anyone who can dispute Mike Rock, Hart, Krieger and GA Precision.

That said, I would rebarrel your rifle with one of the forementioned mfgs and shoot the groups of your life.

Cheers!
 
I am thinking about getting the Winchester Coyote model myself. What caliber did you get? What don't you like about it? I know they weigh 9 lbs.

I am glad you posted this question as I like fluted barrels for the reasons mentioned above.
 
Hello
From what I have seen, most flutes dont do a darn thing, except for cosmetics. They just are not deep enough to get to the core of the barrel, where most of the heat is.

If you would cut them deep enough, to exhaust heat, you risk the chance of distorting the barrel.

Not worth it.

If you want a lighter barrel, hack off a few inches. If still too heavy, cut off more. A side effect of doing it this way, is you get that shorty length of barrel, preferred by 200 meter bench shooters. More rigid with less whip.
 
I agree Tackdriver;
It is mostly a cosmetic thing. It removes little weight, may hurt accuracy, and is expensive because it is a PITA to do.

Jack
 
Dakota Yote

I few comments regarding fluting, and fluting of a factory barrel:

Fluting a barrel can (and usually does) change the internal dimensions of the bore. This can be compensated for by perfoming bore lapping (premium aftermarket barrels only) AFTER the fluting has been performed.

Fluting will NOT increase barrel stiffness. It will decrease stiffness, which is often equated with precision. (A fluted barrel is stiffer than a non-fluted barrel OF THE SAME WEIGHT. Visit Varmint Al's website for an excellent mathematical analysis of barrel fluting and stiffness.)

If done correctly (very slowly with adequate cooling), fluting will not impart significant stress to a barrel. If done rapidly, or with inadequate cooling, it can impart stress into the barrel.

The improvement in heat dissipation of a fluted barrel vs. an unfluted barrel due to increased surface area in minimal. However, with less metal, a fluted barrel will heat up faster.

Fluting will definitely reduce barrel weight. Fluting 18" of barrel with six 1/4" wide flutes cut 1/8" deep will reduce barrel weight by about .7 pounds. It is up to the individual to decide if this reduction is significant or worthwhile.

The fluting you are considering apparently costs $110. The value of your barrel, should you unscrew it and try to sell it, is likely considerably less than this. This is comparable to investing $2500 in a 1987 Bronco II with 217 thousand miles that is worth about $1500! (Better to invest good money in a barrel with a higher value?)

If you decide to have your barrel fluted, consider specifying having the fluting end about 3" from the muzzle. This will help preserve the internal dimensions of the bore at the critical end/muzzle portion.

Stysh

BTW: I have had several fluted premium barrels on both varminting and competition rifles, and all have shot very well, however, I will not likely flute another barrel for personal use on a varmint rifle. I just don't think it's worth the price/cost for the weight reduction.
 
Thanks all for your replies. I think I will leave it be for now. Why mess with something that aint broke. A custom barrel may be in order later.
 
Flutes in a barrel make for a great debate and in my opiion are a great sales gimmick, anything to make gun nuts spend more money and keep coming back for more. Half a pound in weight reduction, I can solve that problem, get in the Gym and pump some Iron. My brother has a Coyote M70 in 300WSM with a custom fit Kreiger barrel in 28" stainless with flutes. Let's just say the rifle will reach way out a touch something. The Coyote is awesome and it looks great too. I want the Coyote in 223 WSSM. Yes Shilen, just 45 miles from me, they do not like flutes. I don't listen to Jethro Tull because of that damn flute. That girl in the Movie "American Pie" did something interesting with a flute.
 
It is of general policy that fluting needs to be done before the barrel is made and not after. I personally like the looks of fluted barrels better than anything else. It does make them lighter, can effect cooling, and increase stiffness. As far as accuracy goes have never seen it make a difference in group size either way. A good barrel is a good barrel.

I have a coyote rifle in .270 WSM that won't do any better than 3 inches at 100 with factory ammo but have not had the chance to reload for it yet. Glad to here others have had better luck with the factory ones than I, so far.
 


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