Accuracy Intl. fluted barrel test

[300RUM]

Accuracy International did a test comparing the accuracy of fluted barrels to non-fluted barrels. It probably occurred around 2012. Does anyone know where the complete test data might be available. I can find sections of the test being referenced in other articles but items like rate of fire and barrel temperature are never mentioned. I expect AI would have kept records of those items.

[mattys281]

Maybe you could contact them directly through their website? If the data was used for promotional purposes, I would think theyd be happy to distribute it.

[L Cazador]

I don't think there has been any concrete evidence that a fluted barrel will shoot any different from a non-fluted barrel. I did my own test years ago with a 6.5/284 1000 yard rifle. I used Kreiger barrels in heavy Varmint taper on a Bat action. Then there is the question of stress relief after a barrel has been fluted. To my knowledge only Broughton stress relieves their barrels after fluting. Other than weight reduction and maybe some improvement on quicker cooling, I have found no difference. This comes along with the question of canted rifling vs. square lands?

[azmetalman]

Here is a link to a non technical discussion of this testing. After reading several discussions/opinions on other sites it appears that there is no concrete consensus among engineers, long range hunters and precision shooters.

 

http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/f19/ai-tests-fluting-barrel-reduces-its-accuracy-147285/index4.html

[300RUM]

I had looked on their website and did not find a reference to the test. I expect it was strictly an R & D test and not intended to be promotional. It may be worth contacting them to see if they would share the test results.

 

In the IA test the fluted barrels shifted impact when the non-fluted barrels didn’t. At some point, with more heat buildup, the un-fluted barrels would shift also. Due to the reduced mass I would expect the fluted barrel to shift first. AI markets their guns for combat duty so I expect the rate of fire in their test was fairly aggressive, in excess of what a hunter or sensible recreational shooter would be likely to do.

 

Thanks for the link. It is one of the places I had found the test being referenced.

 

I see the test being cited by opponents of barrel fluting to support their opinion but I have never seen the complete, unbiased data from the test. How hot they got the barrel to cause the shift is a very important detail I never see mentioned.