Does fluting affect barrel accuracy?

[arizona mike]

My next rifle will have fluting done as the first step in the process, THEN cut rifling. The best of both worlds, bar none!

[Bart B]

Originally Posted by arizona mike

My next rifle will have fluting done as the first step in the process, THEN cut rifling. The best of both worlds, bar none!

So you'll have the barrel blank fluted before it's deep-hole gun drilled, then reamed, smoothed, rifled then lapped?

Sounds good to me.

[arizona mike]

Yes, that is the correct order.

[Bart B]

Originally Posted by Goofycat

Even if it were determined that fluting caused a loss of accuracy at long ranges, the question of how much accuracy is really affected. I.e., what difference does it really make, and is it really important if a fluted barrel is less accurate by, say, 1/4" at 1,000 yards than an un-fluted barrel. Does this piddling loss of accuracy supersede the advantages of less weight having to be carried by the shooter, plus the advantage of faster barrel cooling for those shooters who take many shots over a short period of time?

If a good barrel, fluted or not, is fit to a properly prepped receiver, it won't change point of impact as it heats up; even firing one shot every 20 seconds.

And the improved cooling a fluted barrel has over a solid one of the same weight per inch is not very much anyway.

Most wild shots seen from well built and fit barrels that are very hot are caused by the round resting in the chamber too long; it's hotter powder shoots bullets out faster and they strike higher. In my experience after 30 seconds in a hot barrel, 30 caliber magnums put the next shot about 1/2 MOA high at 1000.

[Goofycat]

Good point, Bart. I never thought of that particular possible cause. Thanks for the input; I'll keep it in mind.