07-19-2012, 11:25 AM
I think what Shilen said about fluting is marketing babble. It certainly doesn't hold up to real life experience. So, it seems to me they want you to think that if another barrel manufacturer flutes barrels it is inferior to their barrel. That simply isn't true. Shilen makes good barrels some are hummers some aren't, there are better barrels, and there are better that are fluted. It's simply a weight saving technique that produces a more rigid barrel than a round barrel of the same length and same weight. If done correctly, and many can do it correctly, it is not a detriment to accuracy. However if you don't need to save the weight why spend the extra to remove material, it's a lot less expensive to profile a round barrel and leave it at that. All of my hunting rifles, well nearly all, are fluted, some of them out shoot Shilen unfluted barrels. For instance my PacNor 6.5 STW has routinely produced .25 MOA groups and it is fluted.
Bob
Bob