BCM 20" Barrel Turned and Fluted

[PrarieDog]

Considering that I have most of the pieces for another upper I decided to order one of BCM 20" SS barrels with the intention of having ADCO turn the barrel down and have it fluted to lighten it. I wanted to get feed back on any one that has had a barrel fluted. I am thinking of having turned down to .750 under the hand guard and then fluted along the whole length of the barrel (except the gas block area of course). Any opinions or experiences with this.

Reasoning behind this is that I carry the rifle quite a bit while hunting and would like to reduce the weight while retaining good accuracy with a decent amount of rounds down range. Thanks for the input.

[The_Hammer_Man]

I've had a couple of barrels turned down to something in between the Rainier "medcon" and the S2W "hybrid" profiles both with and w/o fluting.

They do a good job there at Adco. Only other place I get SS barrel work done is here in Wisconsin at Krieger.

[markm]

with the intention of having ADCO turn the barrel down and have it fluted to lighten it. I wanted to get feed back on any one that has had a barrel fluted. I am thinking of having turned down to .750 under the hand guard and then fluted along the whole length of the barrel (except the gas block area of course). Any opinions or experiences with this.

This topic came up at the RIFLESMITH's shop a week or two ago. He has customers that want barrels fluted, and it's a HELL NO.

He says you should have ordered the barrel fluted so the machining was done BEFORE heat treatment.

Taking off that material on the barrel is not good after heat treatment. Same with reprofiling or threading a barrel. The inner diameter will open up some as material is removed from the barrel.

He'll still thread barrels, but thread the shortest amount possible so there's a very short portion of the barrel that opens up at the end.

He's actually guaged this effect.

[wahoo95]

This topic came up at the RIFLESMITH's shop a week or two ago. He has customers that want barrels fluted, and it's a HELL NO.

He says you should have ordered the barrel fluted so the machining was done BEFORE heat treatment.

Taking off that material on the barrel is not good after heat treatment. Same with reprofiling or threading a barrel. The inner diameter will open up some as material is removed from the barrel.

He'll still thread barrels, but thread the shortest amount possible so there's a very short portion of the barrel that opens up at the end.

He's actually guaged this effect.

That's good info. Couldn't help but realize how much sense it made as I was reading it. Had a friend asking about fluting so this is good info for sure.

[markm]

Yeah... it's scary.

I wonder if it's the same if the barrel is Hammer Forged as it would be for a button rifle.

I'll have to ask the guy. He's a wildman. He can tell if a barrel will shoot before he even cuts a chamber.

[Shorts]

markm, was there any mention of heat control and depth of cut for each pass and whether that minimizes or exacerbates the change in bore?

[markm]

No. I didn't get into detail about that.

I was just asking if he profiled his Kriegers or if they came from Krieger in the profile he wanted.

That's what sparked the fluting/profiling conversation.

[The_Hammer_Man]

OMG... "major palm to face action!"

I totally assumed (stupid me!) that he was talking about a barrel BLANK not a finished barrel.

All I can do is reiterate what markm's friend said... don't .. just ****ing don't!

[3 AE]

I'm a bit confused markm. Is the bottom line NOT to have a finished barrel reprofiled or fluted since this would do more damage than what would be gained for lightness/looks? Does this also apply to "dimpling" part or all of a barrel? Jeez, a lot of people have had this done for whatever reasons by ADCO and others and no mention of the downside of having these procedures done.

[Shorts]

I'm a bit confused markm. Is the bottom line NOT to have a finished barrel reprofiled or fluted since this would do more damage than what would be gained for lightness/looks? Does this also apply to "dimpling" part or all of a barrel? Jeez, a lot of people have had this done for whatever reasons by ADCO and others and no mention of the downside of having these procedures done.

I did more searching around since I had questions too.

Found this, post #6: http://www.practicalmachinist.com/vb...curacy-243480/

And this, post #4: http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/s...d.php?t=614253

Here, post #3: https://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=62558

Post #13: http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/s...d.php?t=333998




These are a few examples with input directly from 'smith/barrel guys. I'm inclined to take their input that if the reprofiling is done properly (with fluid cooling and small depth of cut for each pass) the barrel won't lose accuracy. I plan to contact Adco directly and get their perspective for my own knowledge. I don't think they could stay in the business they are in if they did shoddy work.