Including industry standards, or the lack thereof.

I second this

I remember that as well. AI eventually gave in and fluted their barrels to meet the weight requirement on a military acquisition. They didn't want to, but they had to meet weight requirements. The increased shot dispersion at long range has to do with the flute machining, barrel material grain structure and hardness. The grain structure and hardness change along the length of the barrel, and thus act differently during long shot strings. Combine this with the flutes, which no matter how precisely they're done, are minutely different in dimension. These all combine to cause the barrel to flex/expand under heat differently, causing more dispersion at long range. Fluting simply adds another avenue for dispersion to enter the equation. Fluting also DOES NOT increase rigidity, deflection tests on the same barrel before and after fluting show DECREASES rigidity. The dame barrel after fluting will be slightly more rigid than a non fluted barrel of the same weight.

From an engineering perspective, it makes no sense.

I would say definitely yes.

Cooling is a double edged sword. Flutes increase the surface area - more surface area to dissipate heat means faster cooldown. But, flutes reduce mass - meaning there is less mass to absorb the heat - these the barrel heats up faster. Whether or not it’s a wash at the end of the day…I’d say that takes some testing.

Which is why spiral fluting doesn’t make sense to me. Simple straight fluting that runs with the barrel makes sense (angle iron or I-beam type example), but I cannot see how spiral fluting would give a barrel a relative stiffness similar to a thicker barrel.

Spiral fluting makes sense. Reasearch moment of inertia its a little hard to grasp if its your first time but khan academy will explain it. From there you need to understand basics of mechanics of materials which has the equations for deflection.

@@Freedom_35 I don’t think it does. Not relative to a straight fluted barrel and with regard to limiting barrel whip. I get the point you’re making about angular momentum, but a spiral fluted barrel just woudn’t have the same structural strength to prevent whip as a straight fluted barrel. Obviously most of the benefits of a fluted barrel don’t ever manifest in real testing, but if we’re taking as fact that a fluted barrel would provide a “stiffer” barrel with less weight, then I think a straight fluted barrel makes more structural sense.

@jimyeats its not about angular momentum. it's about moment of inertia. I studied structural engineering. Barrel whip is deflection. A bodies moment of inertia plays a major role is a bodies ability to resist deflection. You would have to run the numbers to determine what is better because the fluting could be more agressive on one or the other. Really it probably doesnt matter as much as people think unless you are doing long range target work. I have pencil barrels that will shoot 5 shot moa groups. With that accuracy you can shoot big game at 1000 yards if it werent for wind and other field conditions. Unless your livelihood depends on accuracy, it probably doesn't matter. Get the penciliff you want to save weight. Get the fluting if you want to look cool.

@@Freedom_35 You’re saying that moment of inertia doesn’t have anything to do with angular momentum? Moment of inertia has everything to do with rotational momentum. Anyways. I agree that in reality fluting likely does nothing, but again, structurally, spiral fluting doesn’t make as much sense as straight fluting from a deflection/whip standpoint. Straight fluting would be more equivalent to having angle iron or T-beams running down the barrel at even intervals, hypothetically retaining stiffness while reducing weight. While spiral fluting wouldn’t add that as it’s not retaining continuity longitudinally.

It can be done but contouring an already chambered barrel can be risky. Removing that much material could change some interior dimensions. With that being said I've totally done it before but always relap and recrown and sometimes cut the chamber off and start over.

@@matthewpederson7869 Thanks. I was planning to rechamber anyways. At this point, I just wondered if it might be useful to anyone. When I wanted to use it a few years ago, the guy I was using had a light-duty lathe and was afraid the chatter might damage his equipment. It was originally on a Model 70-style action and I don't have one, so there was really no clear plan for a relatively simple job. I had even thought about putting it on a Ishapore 2A1 action, which were plentiful 20 years ago when I bought the barrel, just because I like the feel of Lee Enfields. Buying this barrel was one of those classic, "it seemed like a good idea at the time" silly projects.😀

Strange things are going on with YT and guntube content right now.

That red, white,and blue my mind

I'm in - Mark B.

You’re just a hater. This is your third negative comment on this channel (7mm PRC vs. 7mm rem mag and the 30-30 video). If it is so cringe, why not watch something else?

I don’t think he was saying that fluting increases a barrel’s stiffness but that a fluted barrel is stiffer than a non-fluted barrel *of the same weight*