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Flute barrel or not?

R

rg1911

Gunny Sergeant
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Minuteman
Oct 24, 2012
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Laramie, Wyoming
I'm having a rifle built on an Armalite AR-10 lower I had kicking around and have a Krieger barrel on order. When finished, the barrel will be between 24 and 26 inches. My inclination is to have Krieger flute it ($150) strictly as a weight-saving measure.

The rifle will be used for matches and long-range varminting.

Does fluting it make sense? (If it makes a difference, it will be chambered for .260 Remington.)

Thank you,
Richard
 
Re: Flute barrel or not?

Barrel fluting serves a few purposes, weight reduction, aids in barrel cooling, and it looks cool. It doesn't make the barrel more rigid as many claim, but if you remove material you reduce weight, and by increasing surface area you increase a barrels ability to dissipate heat.

Kirk R
 
Re: Flute barrel or not?

Yes, it sheds enough you'll notice.

This one has 12 flutes from ahead of the chamber to just behind the gas block.

ar_10_sniper_rifle_tube.jpg
 
Re: Flute barrel or not?

If you really want weight savings, then altering the overall contour of the barrel may go a LOT further than fluting (even the most extreme fluting designed to remove a LOT of material).

By way of example, the Krieger AR-10/LR-308 heavy barrel is well over 1" in diameter under the handguards, 0.937" at the gas block, and 0.900" straight from there to the muzzle, which makes for a real whale of a barrel for an already muzzle-heavy rifle at roughly 7-7.5lbs. I would "guesstimate" that fluting will shed roughly 0.75lbs of weight if you are lucky.

As Kirk said...fluting has its advantages and if those all appeal to you...then go for it. Just don't go into it thinking that you'll somehow have a much lighter, more easily portable rifle when you get done.

And FYI...unless they've raised prices recently, Krieger only used to charge $130 for AR barrel fluting up to 30" in length IIRC just in case the $20 savings over the price you mentioned pushes you over the edge toward fluting.
wink.gif
 
Re: Flute barrel or not?

If you want it to be lighter, the best thing is to chop the length down.
 
Re: Flute barrel or not?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Caelumatra</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Not sure which one reduces more weight but my 18" Noveske is dimpled and I'm pleased with it. Marvin Pitts did it in the KAC style
ADCO does it as well
http://www.adcofirearms.com/shopservices/shop_.cfm?code=21</div></div>

Do you mind posting a picture of it? I have an 18" Noveske and I'm really curious as to what it looks like.
 
Re: Flute barrel or not?

Forgive my ignorance, but if the barrel is fluted off spec, can it not create pressure points and theoretically worsen the accuracy of the barrel?
 
Re: Flute barrel or not?

Grgkng,

Not sure what you're meaning by "off spec", but yes, if fluting is done improperly it can seriously degrade accuracy. I have several fluted barrels on a variety of rifles. and haven't had any problems with any of them. However, they were all fluted by the barrelmakers themselves, who know the problems of creating stresses, and therefore take pains to avoid doing so. Properly done, nothing to worry about. That's the key; making sure it's done right.
 
Re: Flute barrel or not?

As said above, dimpling is also a good option. I once spoke with a man with the last name "Noveske" and he told me he would prefer to dimple as opposed to fluting. And personally the dimpling looks awesome!
 
Re: Flute barrel or not?

i picked up a ar10 a few weeks ago, lol 930 bull straight barrel 24", lol i need some flute or dimple, 16 lbs dry 17.5 with load and optics. heavy **B**
 
Re: Flute barrel or not?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Cowboy1978</div><div class="ubbcode-body">i picked up a ar10 a few weeks ago, lol 930 bull straight barrel 24", lol i need some flute or dimple, 16 lbs dry 17.5 with load and optics. heavy **B** </div></div>

Get with Steve and the fine folks at ADCO and have them chop it down, turn it down, dimple it, flute it, etc. and shed some of that weight.
wink.gif


If you aren't familiar with them, I can personally vouch for the high quality of their work and relatively fast turnaround times (usually 2 weeks or so at most in my experience). Here is a link to their site: http://www.adcofirearms.com/
 
Re: Flute barrel or not?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Pigman</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Caelumatra</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Not sure which one reduces more weight but my 18" Noveske is dimpled and I'm pleased with it. Marvin Pitts did it in the KAC style
ADCO does it as well
http://www.adcofirearms.com/shopservices/shop_.cfm?code=21</div></div>

Do you mind posting a picture of it? I have an 18" Noveske and I'm really curious as to what it looks like. </div></div>

If I can remember to take a picture of it I will tonight
 
Re: Flute barrel or not?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: RG1911</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I'm having a rifle built on an Armalite AR-10 lower I had kicking around and have a Krieger barrel on order. When finished, the barrel will be between 24 and 26 inches. My inclination is to have Krieger flute it ($150) <span style="font-weight: bold">strictly as a weight-saving measure.</span></div></div>

If you are really contemplating it for weight, then run a lighter contour and/or shorter barrel.

Otherwise it's for looks. Don't kid yourself.
 
Re: Flute barrel or not?

if youve got the money to spend and like it..then know yourself out. its mostly for looks imo
 
Re: Flute barrel or not?

I just talked to GAP about weight savings on a new bolt gun build and they told me a reduced contour is the way to go. The contour they recommended can still be fluted, so win-win.

If it's purely a cosmetic thing, let's be honest, fluting makes a rifle look pretty damn sexy. It's like makeup for a woman. Sure she looks good without it, but...
 
Re: Flute barrel or not?

make sure the barrel maker flutes before rifling---dont have any aftermarket fluting on an existing barrel---a premium 22 barrel went from .5 MOA to 1.5 MOA when fluted
 
Re: Flute barrel or not?

Im currently having this same debate.
As military. Road marches and patrols I'm used to carrying a weapon.
I've decided to get the Legion Hex barrel 16 inch with welded brake on it.
ALSO
a Nosveske barrel without flutes.
Going to do a side by side comparison with them when Im done with my build.
 
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