Fluted vs. Non-Fluted
jason amaro
Hi Everybody
Just a quick note.... I have a Model 700 Sendero Stainless
Fluted .300 win mag. and somebody asked me if I thought the fluted
barrel was better and I said sure it is .5 pounds lighter. Then he
asked a bunch of other questions that I did not know the answers to.
SO I finally told him that the cow elk that is was "SEXY" and it makes
them come running. ;)
SO my question is what are the real advantages of a fluted
barrel???
thanks
jason amaro
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Steve Danaher
Fluting is a way of reducing weight on a bull barrel. It is also
useful on stainless steel barrels by increasing the surface area to
increase heat exchange. Stainless steel releases heat approximately
1/4 as fast as standard steels. If the stainless was blued or
anodized black it would cool down much faster, also. This is through
the process of "black body radiation".
Regarding the stiffness of a barrel, the farther out the material is
from the center, the stiffer it will be. The stiffness varies with
the square of the distance from the center. Note that a tube is much
stiffer than a solid rod of the same weight and length.
---Steve Danaher
Karl Dahm
There was just a discussion on this issue in Rec.guns. Go to
www.dejanews.com and use the search "fluted barrel".
It all boils down to:
1. The fluted barrel is slightly lighter
2. The UNfluted barrel is stiffer (some claim the opposite is true, but
it just ain't so. I am an engineer or you can ask an engineer you know)
3. The gunsmith makes a dollar a minute fluting a barrel
Robert T. Haas
jason amaro wrote:
> SO my question is what are the real advantages of a fluted
> barrel???
Jason,
Some of fluted barrels claims to fame are: somewhat lighter weight vs. a
similarly sized unfluted barrel, an increase in the barrel's surface
area which would allow it to shed heat more quickly and last, but maybe
most important---they look really cool :).
Fluting will obviously lighten a barrel; the exact amount would depend
on the barrel's unfluted outside diameter, the barrel's length, and the
width, depth, length and number of flutes machined in. Whether this
amount of weight reduction is of any import would be an individual
thing. Personally I like my .243 varmint rifle to be heavy so I can see
where my shot hits; I don't carry it very far so light weight isn't of
any interest to me.
Heat dissipation would obviously be increased by increasing the barrel's
surface area by fluting; how much of a difference there is, and whether,
or not, its even noticeable is open to speculation (mostly wild) until
someone runs some tests and posts the results. Unfortunately, I don't
have enough prairiedogs to shoot at to make a hot barrel much of a
problem for me so I guess I'll just have to keep using my round barrels.
Accuracy would obviously be of concern to anyone buying a varmint rig
and that is why I'm skeptical about fluting a barrel; an unfluted barrel
will always be stiffer than the identical, but fluted, barrel. I'm not
a target shooter but my mechanical-designer's intuition tells me that a
stiffer barrel should shoot tighter groups vs. a less-stiff barrel, if
all other things were equal. Unfortunately I don't have the technical
knowledge to come up with the general form of the Moment of Inertia, I,
for a fluted barrel but if some ME does it would be interesting to
quantify the deflections for a round vs. fluted barrel. Any takers?
Someone mentioned an octagonal barrel vs. round awhile back, in case
anyone is interested, a 1" (across the flats) octagonal barrel would be
approximately 12% stiffer than a 1" diameter round barrel which would
translate into smaller groups if my 'theory' held any water.
There are some other interesting things about fluted barrels that I
don't know about but which are interesting to think about, such as:
would non-symmetrical, or non-concentric fluting affect accuracy? If
the flutes on one side of barrel, or at different places along the
barrel aren't identical what does it do to accuracy? Someone else
mentioned using different patterns to control the vibration modes as a
way of tuning the barrel. I'm sure there are enough variations to keep
us all interested, hopefully there is someone experimenting now.
Gotta go, the wife just came home.
Rob Haas
Dane Lance
jason amaro <jam...@nmhu.campus.mci.net> wrote in article
<34c04d5e...@news.campus.mci.net>...
> Hi Everybody
> Just a quick note.... I have a Model 700 Sendero Stainless
> Fluted .300 win mag. and somebody asked me if I thought the fluted
> barrel was better and I said sure it is .5 pounds lighter. Then he
> asked a bunch of other questions that I did not know the answers to.
> SO I finally told him that the cow elk that is was "SEXY" and it makes
> them come running. ;)
> barrel???
> jason amaro
>
Fluted barrels decrease weight (as you mentioned) and they increase
cooling efficeincy due to the increased surface area of the barrel, at least
that's the theory anyway. I've had fluted barrels on rifles before, but
never ran any tests to see if they actually cooled faster than a plain barrel.
They also look good too....on the right rifle, of course.
Mark Bennett
jason amaro wrote:
>
> Hi Everybody
> Just a quick note.... I have a Model 700 Sendero Stainless
> Fluted .300 win mag. and somebody asked me if I thought the fluted
> barrel was better and I said sure it is .5 pounds lighter. Then he
> asked a bunch of other questions that I did not know the answers to.
> SO I finally told him that the cow elk that is was "SEXY" and it makes
> them come running. ;)
> SO my question is what are the real advantages of a fluted
> barrel???
> thanks
> jason amaro
Supposedly fluted barrels have 2 primary advantages - the first is
weight, which you mentioned. The 2nd is that with a greater surface
area, the barrel is allowed to cool quicker. This advantage would be
useful if you visit the range frequently - or if you varmit hunt.
The Sendero is so heavy to begin with, the fluted barrel might be useful
if you hunt in conditions where you are required to walk alot.
For South Texas shooting however, when you are in a box blind looking
down an 800 yard cut through the brush (a "sendero" - funny that) I just
don't see the point. A heavier barrel provides a more stable shot -
especially from a magnum round.
But then again, maybe it is a multi-purpose thing. A Sendero in .300WM
with a fluted, stainless barrel is about as all-purpose as you can get.
MB