Bolt fluting

[WDE91]

I was wondering if anyone on here has any experience with bolt fluting?
I've been sorta thinking about having the bolt on my Tikka T3 in 7MM08 fluted.

How much does it usually run?

[ar15barrels]

I don't like fluted bolts as the fluting often has a sharp edge that shaves brass off of the case that is sitting UNDER the bolt.
As for places that do the work, look to Longrifles Inc or Kampfield Kustom.

[Kestryll]

You have a dremel don't you?

[NorCalFocus]

Kind of along this line...does bolt jeweling serve any purpose? I've always liked that look.

[triggs75]

Got my bolt flitted by http://proprecisionrifles.com/ and Paul did a great job. Turn around time was two weeks.

Vortex flute with sniper grey cerakote



Chad

[penguinofsleep]

Sorry but i never figured this one out - what mechanical function or purpose does bolt fluting serve aside from reducing the weight by a small amount? Is it a channel for dirt/debris/foreign objects to collect in? Or is it 90%+ cosmetic.

[milotrain]

Sorry but i never figured this one out - what mechanical function or purpose does bolt fluting serve aside from reducing the weight by a small amount? Is it a channel for dirt/debris/foreign objects to collect in? Or is it 90%+ cosmetic.

Nothing, 100% cosmetic. Unless you are talking about AI's fluting which is a totally different animal. Jeweling arguably allows for better oil retention in the same way that hand scraped scallops does. Most people suspect that neither jeweling or hand scraped scallops actually do that.

[WDE91]

I would be doing if for the cosmetic appeal but didn't realize it had negative issues.

How much does it normally run?

[ar15barrels]

How much does it normally run?

$100 to $150 with ceracoat refinishing in one color.

[WDE91]

I drastically under estimated what it would be. I was thinking $50-$75ish. I certainly don't want some hack tweaker Bubba doing it either. I think I'll be holding off, especially considering it is mainly cosmetic.

[mx0317]

Longriflesinc. has a special going on right now. It's called the Sniper's Hide bolt fluting group buy. I think it's $45 for just the bolt fluting. I plan on getting mine done as soon as it comes back from Badger Ordnance. Supposedly the turn around is lightning fast at 48 hours. Here's the link.

LRI bolt fluting page: http://www.longriflesinc.com/boltfluting.html

Group buy form: http://www.longriflesinc.com/2015%20...ROUP%20BUY.pdf

[Discogodfather]

Fluting seems pointless and it's actually been proven to negatively effect accuracy in barrels. On the bolt it seems equally pointless, as your decreasing surface area contact of the bolt to the raceway. Retaining some grease, maybe. Allowing dirt to have a place to go, maybe. Scientifically tested, no way.

The smoothest most well supported actions all have lots of contact and no fancy stuff. $150 will buy a lot of things that are much more useful.

[Quinc]

Makes since for Fclass rigs that need to be under a specific weight for competition. Fluting a 32" 1"+ bull barrel could be the difference between the scope you want and the scope you need to meet weight. I have read that fluting is supposed to help the barrel disparate heat quicker by creating more surface area. Not sure if that is true or by how much though.

[Discogodfather]

From the PRS blog:

"Engineers at AI decided to isolate the barrel flutes to see what impact they had on accuracy. The engineers attached a laser to the rifle’s receiver, another to the barrel, and a third to the scope. All three dots were zeroed at the same point, then they started shooting the rifle. They discovered that, no matter which fluted barrel they used, the dots would diverge as the barrel heated. The dots from the devices mounted to the scope and the receiver would stay in place, but the barrel’s device would manifest a point-of-impact (POI) shift. The POI shift from the warming barrel greatly diminished when they used barrels without flutes.

Engineers determined that the flutes never heated evenly, causing the POI shift."

[Discogodfather]

I can understand the weight point, but outside of that its lots of money for something that does a little harm to your system.