Barrel - Carbon vs. Fluted vs. ?

[7mm man]

Yeah, I don't think I'm looking at doing a super thin profile with flutes. I was thinking more mid-weight. So at Carbon6, a 338 has to be a magnum or bull. I'm unfamiliar with other barrel makers and their profiles other than a sendero and med Palma. But something a tad thinner than the magnum and fluted, would there be a weight savings over the Carbon6 magnum (0.900" at the muzzle)?

I have done carbon six magnum profiles. They are good for short barrels, but don't expect to save a ton of weight that way. I normally do the sendaro now. Never tried their featherweight. Probably like a sendaro lite.

 

[Tulsa Reiner]

Thin steel is always lighter than carbon.

But, when you go ultra thin, you are sacrificing accuracy by gaining increased vibration/ oscillation upon firing.
The CF barrels are ultra stiff.

 

[lancetkenyon]

Lightest CF barrels out there are Proof and Christensen.

Shooting about 60-80 rifles a year, from .223 to .338 Edge, I would NEVER build a sub-7# 7 Mega or .338 Mega. This is my opinion. Even a 7.5# 7SS will twist in your hand from rotational torque. A lightweight thumper is always going to be more difficult to shoot extremely well. I have seen a lot of buddies build lightweight thumpers, then complain they are "not accurate enough". I don't think it is the rifle's accuracy potential in 90% of those cases.

My lightest rifle is just over 8lbs scoped and suppressed. 6.5PRC/SI. It is as light as I would go. Step up to a 7mm thumper, and I will take an extra 8-16oz of rifle weight all day long if I plan to shoot it at distance. But I hunt out west, where shots can range from 40 to 800+ yards. If you plan for limiting shots to 500 or less, you can get away with a bit less "shootability".

But first shots always matter. Even with hearts thumping and adrenaline rushing. So make them count.

 

[BUG_MT]

I kinda went down this rabbit hole for my WinMag build…. Downfall was I pretty much stopped digging and threw dynamite in it.

At then end of the day, it's way easier to cut a pound of weight from gear, or my 250lb body. I wanted a 100% dependable rifle no mater what. Ended up maybe going closer to a my match rifle than a light hunting rig…. Fluted a Marksman profile hawk hill, nice and long at 27" on an AnTi-X. Manners carbon stock. With the NX8 And landed on a super comfortably shooting 10lb rifle. (Before can and bipod )

Just grabbed one of the pack slings, hook the butt into your waists belt pocket and quick release under your arm. Honestly. Not sure I would change much. If I were to do it again.
Love that rifle.

 

[BUG_MT]

I kinda went down this rabbit hole for my WinMag build…. Downfall was I pretty much stopped digging and threw dynamite in it.

At then end of the day, it's way easier to cut a pound of weight from gear, or my 250lb body. I wanted a 100% dependable rifle no mater what. Ended up maybe going closer to a my match rifle than a light hunting rig…. Fluted a Marksman profile hawk hill, nice and long at 27" on an AnTi-X. Manners carbon stock. With the NX8 And landed on a super comfortably shooting 10lb rifle. (Before can and bipod )

Just grabbed one of the pack slings, hook the butt into your waists belt pocket and quick release under your arm. Honestly. Not sure I would change much. If I were to do it again.
Love that rifle.

 

[Mark37082]

Chasing light weight rifle builds becomes more important the older I get. I completely agree that stout recoiling cartridges are not the best candidate for ultra lightweight builds. I have 12# rifles in magnum chambered rifles that are great at the range, but no thanks for long days carrying in the hunting grounds.

 

[Taylorbok]

Chasing light weight rifle builds becomes more important the older I get. I completely agree that stout recoiling cartridges are not the best candidate for ultra lightweight builds. I have 12# rifles in magnum chambered rifles that are great at the range, but no thanks for long days carrying in the hunting grounds.

My range only rifles weigh 20+ lbs lol. My hunting rifle is 9lbs ready to rock

 

[akmtnhnt]

But, when you go ultra thin, you are sacrificing accuracy by gaining increased vibration/ oscillation upon firing.
The CF barrels are ultra stiff.

They are no less accurate for the coupe shots at a time they are intended for. They do tend to walk as they heat up, but there's not a vibration thing that causes thin barrels to be able to group small numbers of shots worse than anything else.

You don't build a pencil barrel rifle for a range gun, just like you don't put a heavy carbon barrel on a hunting rifle.

 

[Stevenstl86]

Nope still a problem at Bartlein. My last barrel would walk 2 moa right for the first 8 shots no matter what, then it'd start shooting lil groups. I'm not the only guy who's sent barrels back for this recently.

Damnt…. I was really hoping they ironed that out by now. Guess I'll use a proof again.

 

[Sneuses]

@ In Him,.. Have your Gun Smith,..
Copy, the Profile / contour of, a Tikka, T-3, ( NOT, the T-3 X, Lite ) but, the 7mm Rem. Mag or .270 WSM @ 24 Inches and, NO freakin', Flutes !!!
Those Factory Tikka Rifles, weigh about, 6.5 Pounds, sans Scope and 7 3/4 Pounds with, a GOOD Scope,. Except, the Heavy, NF's !
Start with, a good,.. Brux, Bartlein, Krieger, Rock River or, Benchmark, Barrel and you should end up with, an Accurate, 1/2 to 3/4 MOA Rifle with, PROPER, "Tuned" Handloads !
And,.. a TOTAL Rifle Weight of, SUB,.. 8 Pounds !
I do, a 7MM RSAUM or, 7 PRC for, a NICE,.. all around,.. Elk "Thumper" !
CF Barrels, Seem a bit,.. "Hit and Miss",.. on WARM Barrel,.. Accuracy.

I noticed you did not mention Proof Barrels, no exposure??

 

[Sneuses]

The ongoing debate over carbon vs steel barrels…. I went through a mid weight build not too long ago. By mid weight I was wanting a 8.5 lb rifle ready to hunt. To me that is the sweet spot. Your preference may be different. I have some pencil barrel with flutes on some factory rifles that are in this weight range. However, I wanted a more substantial barrel on my build without the weight. Carbon is really the only solution when wanting a Sendero contour without the heft. Good luck with your build.

Doing a build myself, any experience with Proof carbon fiber wrapped barrels???

 

[Mark37082]

The Proof CF Sendero worked great on my build. I went 24" on a 280AI. If I had to do it again, I probably would go 22".

 

[LTH181818]

FWIW:

I had a Smith custom build a lightweight 280AI with a 2b Bartlein.
In the plan was to send it off to a very reputable place to be fluted and it turned out very handy and balanced great.

After extensive load development and 146 rounds thru the pipe, I never could get it to shoot as good as a Bartlein barrel should.
So, I called Bartlein and spoke to a great CS guy. After a detailed Q&A session, he asked me how deep the flutes were and said if they were more than xx thousanths deep they couldn't warrant the barrel. I measured and naturally mine were a couple thousanths over their limit for warranty.
I told him who fluted it and he said they did great work but must have missed the measurements on depth of cut.
I sold the barrel afterwards.
Fluting is pretty but realized that 6 straight flutes on a thin profile barrel doesn't save that much weight after all and isn't worth the risk of barrel integrity.

Exactly

 

[LTH181818]

Lightest CF barrels out there are Proof and Christensen.

Shooting about 60-80 rifles a year, from .223 to .338 Edge, I would NEVER build a sub-7# 7 Mega or .338 Mega. This is my opinion. Even a 7.5# 7SS will twist in your hand from rotational torque. A lightweight thumper is always going to be more difficult to shoot extremely well. I have seen a lot of buddies build lightweight thumpers, then complain they are "not accurate enough". I don't think it is the rifle's accuracy potential in 90% of those cases.

My lightest rifle is just over 8lbs scoped and suppressed. 6.5PRC/SI. It is as light as I would go. Step up to a 7mm thumper, and I will take an extra 8-16oz of rifle weight all day long if I plan to shoot it at distance. But I hunt out west, where shots can range from 40 to 800+ yards. If you plan for limiting shots to 500 or less, you can get away with a bit less "shootability".

But first shots always matter. Even with hearts thumping and adrenaline rushing. So make them count.

Great advice.