AR-15: Should I flute the barrel

Hawk · 03-03-2007, 01:01 PM

I'm ordering a 16" heavy barrel for my AR and I wondering whether I should go through the time and expense of having the barrel fluted?

Any suggestions?

Also, being a newbie to AR's, do they flute under the FSB/gas block area?

PIR8 Hook · 03-03-2007, 02:41 PM

Why not just buy one already fluted?

adobe wall · 03-03-2007, 04:40 PM

no advantage at all to it (mho) and if it's done wrong will do more harm than good by imparting machining stresses into the barrel.

The weight savings is minimal, but my AR's carry lead under the handguards and in the buttstock so I'm probably biased towards heavy anyhow.

The barrel cooling is also questionable. I've shot 22 rounds in 22 minutes in 85-95 degree heat out of my rifles week after week and they still go to around 4k rounds with match accuracy on the button rifled ones. I haven't shot out my Kreiger yet. This is pretty close to abuse, especially with a heavy barrel, but they seem to plug right on along. Rapid fire stages are 10 shot strings fired in 60 or 70 seconds a few minutes apart.

I've always been of the opinion that fluting is just "bling" on a ratgun. There may be some advantages on some seriously heavy calibers but not the .223

jmho, aw

SLEDDER · 03-03-2007, 06:11 PM

Hunt'nFish · 03-05-2007, 11:01 AM

I agree with Adobe to an existent. Most fluting is not deep enough to increase cooling surface area enough to matter. And again since it is so shallow the weight reduced is nearly un-noticable.

The most common solution to weight is to simple reduce barrel diameter.
I personally like big barrels w/ deep fluting. But the barrel has to be cryo treated after fluting to remove barrel warping stress, and it needs to be deep enough to make a differance.

This is why I've always been partial to Olympic Arms barrels, they are big .920 dia and they are fluted deep. Cooling surface area is probably doubled and my 24" fluted Stainless Ultra Match (SUM) is lighter than my buddies unfluted 20". Both shoot better than we can hold and once I shot 40rds as fast as I could pick up another ground squirrel and when done the barrel was simply only warm.
My

Hunt'nFish