Deep fluted stainless vs Carbon wrap

[Jesse Jaymes]

Trying to run from the 6.5 and .308 bullet hoarding. I've wanted a fast twist .243" for a while. I think I've tried 4 or more online barrel weight calculators. If I ask Bartlein to flute the piss out of a Remington Varmint contour.....how close can I get to a Proof carbon barrel? Their numbers for a Sendero Lite at 22" are 2lbs 13oz.

I really don't want a 26" tube like I have on nearly all my other rifles. Would a fluted Varmint stainless crack the sub 4 pound mark?

 

[Schism]

On another forum Chad from LRI showed some of their aggressive fluting patterns that he claims make steel barrels weigh at or under similar carbon wrapped. The barrels look cool and I have no reason not to believe his weight claims but I don't have any first hand experience with his work...yet.

 

[WeiserBucks]

Chad is doing one for me right now, it's a LA Mausingfield, Manners EH1, BDL with a 25" SS Sendero contour that he claims will come in under 8 lbs utilizing his pattern X fluting.

Once you pay for an extreme amount of fluting there's no money savings vs carbon, but it will be lighter and you can easily specify any contour and length you want.

 

[Goatie]

I don’t know the weight of my 22” carbon6/shilenDGR 243 but it’s easily the lightest gun I own

 

[Ryan Avery]

I have two 20" barrels the deep fluted steel is 6oz lighter than the carbon barrel.

if you are talking Rem Sendero/Varmint. I think you would make it with deep flutes.

And you can do some crazy flutes these days.

 

[Foreverz01]

Why try to get away from carbon when it does the job so nicely?

 

[Kotaman]

Why try to get away from carbon when it does the job so nicely?

For me it’s durability in the field. The last couple years I’ve “dinged” two carbon barrels on sheep hunts. 20 years prior, I’ve never “dinged” a steel barrel. For my two most recent builds, I went back to deep fluted steel.

 

[Foreverz01]

How do you ding a barrel? Genuinely curious here.

 

[PNWGATOR]

Slip and fall traversing rough country...I can see how dinging a carbon barrel or stock is a regular occurrence.

 

[wind gypsy]

For me it’s durability in the field. The last couple years I’ve “dinged” two carbon barrels on sheep hunts. 20 years prior, I’ve never “dinged” a steel barrel. For my two most recent builds, I went back to deep fluted steel.

Curious on this, did you experience any performance issues with the barrels after dinged or is it just cosmetic?

I’m kind of on the avoid carbon or fluted train if you can get what you want without. Next time I need a light barrel with enough meat for muzzle threads I’ll inquire about custom contouring a bell on the muzzle.

 

[Jesse Jaymes]

Why not just go Carbon? I'm cheap. Money is an object. Fluted stainless Bart is $490 ish. Least expensive carbon barrel that I can obtain within 3 months is?? $780ish?

 

[Foreverz01]

I hunt in Louisiana where you would be hard pressed to find a rock, lol. Ive got sev carbon barrel rifles and have had good success with them. The downfall I don’t like about carbon is the way you can’t cut the, down if you want to shorten the rifle.

 

[Kotaman]

Curious on this, did you experience any performance issues with the barrels after dinged or is it just cosmetic?

I’m kind of on the avoid carbon or fluted train if you can get what you want without. Next time I need a light barrel with enough meat for muzzle threads I’ll inquire about custom contouring a bell on the muzzle.

I shot them both after damaging them, and it was pretty much cosmetic damage only, and they’re fairly easy to fix with epoxy, but for me it’s not worth it. I‘ll keep the carbon barreled rifles I already own, but my new ones are all steel. I doubt I’ll ever buy another carbon barreled rifle.

 

[Kotaman]

How do you ding a barrel? Genuinely curious here.

First one was a nasty fall down a shute that included a summersault. Second one I was climbing down a waterfall. I handed my gun down to the guide, he put it 15 feet away against a cliff. The wrangler then started making his way down. Kicked a big rock and it rimmed all the way around the top of the waterfall until it was above my rifle where it fell and glanced off my barrel. I doubt either of these situations would’ve resulted in a damaged steel barrel.

 

[Ryan Avery]

First one was a nasty fall down a shute that included a summersault. Second one I was climbing down a waterfall. I handed my gun down to the guide, he put it 15 feet away against a cliff. The wrangler then started making his way down. Kicked a big rock and it rimmed all the way around the top of the waterfall until it was above my rifle where it fell and glanced off my barrel. I doubt either of these situations would’ve resulted in a damaged steel barrel.

Back country athletics! Haha


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[Kotaman]

Back country athletics! Haha


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For some reason, I wreck stuff on sheep hunts...

 

[762 ULTRAMAGA]

Here's my 22" 7mm #5 fluted Benchmark barrel.
I'll never go back to CF too many downsides in my experience.

 

[FLS]

A fluted 3B Bartlein will be close in weight to a proof Sendero Light for about 1/2 the cost. A quality steel barrel cambered by a good smith will do anything a carbon will do. Unless you’re shooting long strings of fire the heavy profile is only adding mass. The guy that builds my match rifles also builds my hunting rifles. The heavier rifles are easier to shoot, but the light rifles are just as mechanically accurate.

 

[roosiebull]

I have two 20" barrels the deep fluted steel is 6oz lighter than the carbon barrel.

if you are talking Rem Sendero/Varmint. I think you would make it with deep flutes.

And you can do some crazy flutes these days.

View attachment 255384View attachment 255385

that's pretty dang cool!

 

[Sadler]

I have two 20" barrels the deep fluted steel is 6oz lighter than the carbon barrel.

if you are talking Rem Sendero/Varmint. I think you would make it with deep flutes.

And you can do some crazy flutes these days.

View attachment 255384View attachment 255385

What contour is your steel barrel and what did it end up weighing after all that fluting?