Fluting a barrel

[krisw]

I’ve heard that about it making the barrel stiffer before, I was just wondering what makes people say it. I get the heat dissipation because of the surface area, but I don’t even think that’s a big bonus.

[Dhbwa]

Couple things....Figure out what you want your end weight to be and back into the barrel contour. Guess being a mountain hunter I have a different opinion on contours....To me a Bartlein #3 is a heavy sporter.....

Most all the weight and potential weight savings are in the barrel and stock......

Once you determine your weight goal w/o optics come back for more info...��

Lastly if you decide on a CF barrel I’d recommend Bartlein in their #4.....I’ve used Proof...

[BDKeeling]

BSF carbon fiber barrels are another option also. I have them on our AR 15 and love them.


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[Eastexhunt]

BSF carbon fiber barrels are another option also. I have them on our AR 15 and love them.


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I just checked them out. I like what I see


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[sir shovelhands]

I’ve heard that about it making the barrel stiffer before, I was just wondering what makes people say it. I get the heat dissipation because of the surface area, but I don’t even think that’s a big bonus.

The heat dissipation you get from fluting a barrel is pretty insignificant, especially with wide shallow cuts. If you wanted legit heat dissipation you'd need deep thin cuts while ensuring enough spacing so your boundary layers don't overlap, which is not only prohibitively expensive from a machining standpoint, but likely to be far less awesome than you'd hope, especially with natural convection.

Stiffness depends upon the amount of material in the same plane as the force acting upon it. Take an old wooden ruler, and try to bend it along the skinny side: you'd need some serious muscle to bend it, much less break it. Whereas a child could snap it in two bending the fat side. Same amount of material, just depends on where the force is acting and the material thickness in that plane.

But honestly a fluted barrel weighing 5# won't be that much stiffer than a un-fluted barrel weighing 5#.

Basically I don't think it's worth it as far performance goes. Didn't stop me from owning some. Why? Because they look awesome.