[Huey]

What is the wisdom with regards to fluting barrels? What are the do's and don'ts. I want to build a 6" gun, but would like to reduce the weight of the 6" bull barrel. I do not want to use a bushing.

 

[PK]

I would say the barrel is GOOD weight. IMO, most of your weight reduction should come off the reciprocating mass, i.e. the slide, plug and anything else that moves signicantly. The barrel, guide rod, frame ect, don't move signicantly under recoil, thereby helping absorb felt recoil. Finally, if you really feel like weight needs to be taken off the barrel, a bushing is the best way to go. Why don't you want to use a bushing barrel?

(edited cause you learn something new everyday)

[This message has been edited by PK (edited 08-15-2001).]

 

[shane45-1911]

Richard Heinie has no problem doing it!

 

[John Harrison]

The most common application for fluted barrels that I have seen are on .38 caliber compensated IPSC race guns. The barrels were fluted to reduce weight from the barrel and slide assembly, allowing the assembly to start moving a little faster out of battery. This is needed sometimes on guns that are sluggish due to low recoil and high mass of reciprocating members.
I'm going to guess that the Heinie gun pictured above received that treatment because it is a 9X19 Gov't Model. Those guns have very little inertia to work of off. I'd love to know from Richard if that is the case.
There is a couple of pics on this forum posted by Pistolwrench showing an STI comp gun that he fluted for the reason above. Do a search & you'll find it. Chuck does a very nice job of it, as does Richard.
Maybe knowing what caliber and purpose your 6" gun will see would help answer your question.
John Harrison

 

[JohnN]

I beleive the Heinie gun pictured is a LWT Commander in 9x23.

John

 

[TimW]

Not trying to hijack the thread but could we expand it a little. I an going to build a full size custom .45 Definitely leaning toward the Rock River Frame and Slide as the basis for the build. I've seen pictures of a bull barrel and fluted bull barrel in a .45 Are there drawbacks (reliability, durability) to either of these barrels other than they are illegal for comptetion? I actually like the looks of a fluted bull barrel.

Thanks,
Tim

 

[gyp_c]

Illegal?

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>>>>>>>>>>g2<<<<<<<<<<

I Like The Shade Too!

 

[Kent Dorfman]

Fluted barrels are not illegal in either IPSC or IDPA. IDPA does not allow bull barrels longer than 4.2 inches.

Fluting is easy to do. Most any gunsmith can do it. My six inch tri-brid is fluted. Consider having the barrel cyro treated after fluting as you can induce a lot of stress into the barrel.

What will you be using this six incher for? IPSC, bullseye..... Why no bushing?

Tom
AF Shooting Team

 

[Huey]

I will be using my 6 incher for IPSC. It will be in 40 S&W. I have broken bushings before, so wanted to stay away from them. My reason for reducing the barrel weight stems from a recent discussion I had with George Smith at EGW. He said that S&W shooter Tom Campbell had done some work with a high speed camera which indicated there were two recoil impulses present when firing a 1911 style gun. The first was the barrel hitting the frame when unlocking, the second when the slide hit the frame. I was trying to reduce both those impulses while staying away from a bushing barrel. I was going to use a 6" SVI frame, and lighten the slide as well. Would a 6" tungsten guide rod help? My idea was to heavy the gun where it would help tame muzzle flip, and lighten the recoiling parts to aide with recoil control. Am I on the right track?

 

[mn2deep]

Originally posted by Tom Freeman:
Fluted barrels are not illegal in either IPSC or IDPA.

Tom,
The IDPA rulebook states in the inclusive list of permitted modifications for SSP, ESP and CDP, "Internal accuracy work to include replacement of the barrel with one of factory configuration". The non inclusive list of pistols permitted in CDP states, "and other 1911 style pistols built on aftermarket frames such as SA, Caspian, CMC, Wilson Combat, Baer, STI, SVI and Nowlin if 5" or shorter conventional bushing type standard weight barrels are used...".

My understanding would then be no fluting would be allowed unless it exsisted on the factory produced firearm.


Respectfully,
Mike

[This message has been edited by mn2deep (edited 08-23-2001).]