| Composite Rifle Technologies Custom Performance Firepower |
| 1408 N Carpenter Rd #6 Modesto, CA 95351 209-544-1911 crtguns.com |
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| The fluted barrel... |
| Barrel Fluting was first sold to the public as a means to enhance the gun's cooling off period. This assumption was somehow stretched to the extreme of insisting that a fluted barrel is actually stiffer than a solid barrel of the same diameter. The fluted barrel has alos been passed off simply as a means to add some "chick factor" to your gun. I shall proceed in a point and comment format for clarity... Cooling off period: Last time they told us we needed a "cooling off period" we called them gun-grabbing liberals. Simple math: Let's say there's a flute, .25 wide, and 16" long. This flute replaces 4 square inches of surface area on the barrel. Circumfrence is defined as ?r. 3.14 time a circle's radius. This flute would have a surface area of 6.28 inches square. Let's say the barrel has 6 flutes- the most common number you'll find out there. The difference in surface area displaced by each flute is only 2.28 inches square. The barrel will increase by 13.68 square inches of surface area. Sounds nice? The barrel, average of 1" diameter, and 26" long, has a total (unfluted) surface area of @ 64 square inches. Add 13 to that- it does not double the surface area- it does not make a 50% increase- not a 25% increase- barely a 20% increase- at the expense of loosing valuable steel mass, that fulfills a more important role as a heat sink and a strut to keep the bullet traveling in a straight line. Air is not better that steel- nevre has been, never will be. Note, that this is assuming that the flutes have been cut to the depth of .125, half the flute's width. Most factory fluting jobs are only .080 deep- that will cut the increased area in half. Even better! Fluted barrels are "stonger" or "stiffer" than solid barrels: Huh? By weight, a fluted barrel can have a slightly higher strength than a smooth barrel- providing the barrels being compared are of the same mass, weight, and length. Very small amount however. Now, if you take two pipes that finish at .800 at the muzzle, like a Remington VLS... same barrels, same material, same length, same weight, same caliber, same wall thickness... One gets flutes cut into it. You do not need a high school diploma to figure out that the barel with the strong steel removed will be weaker and more flexible than the uncut barrel. Chick factor: Yes, they look neat. Fluting, at the root, is not totally defunct in my opinion- some manufacturers do it right- take the Sig Blaser R93... the barrel is all flutes! The surface area of that tube has been increased 130%! That will buy you a faster cool down period. That will give you the strength of a bull barrel, with the weight of a sporter barrel. Fluting can be done to your rifle's benefit, but the guns that come from the factory with 6 little flutes, maybe .080 deep, are completely inneffective. |