getting barrels fluted?

[bankwalker]

my mom is looking to lose some weight off of her remigton model 722. its a 257 with a mag contour barrel.

is is safe to have this barrel fluted?

also i was curious about having it done to my tikka t3. (though i dont really need it, but it looks cool)

[Intruder]

Not sure if you can but i would guess it may be cost prohibative.... it may be just as cheap to rebarrel em.

My guess is that some could be fluted but you may be opening a can of worms.  May end up really changing the way the thing shoots.    

[Sagedawg]

 Im pretty sure it could be done, but like Intruder says might cause some problems to pop up. Most barrels that are fluted are done before they are rifled and chambered to allow for stress relief. Even though they will be machined in, the barrel will still need to be removed, so thats an added cost, might put stress or curvature to the barrel that will need to be relived, another cost to consider. I would check with a smith before I made up my mind.  Im with you, the do look cool and add a bit of surface area for cooling the barrel, as well as taking some weight off. Just things to consider.


  Sage

[bankwalker]

yeah this rifle weighs a ton and my mom has bad knees and shoulders. so she really does need a lighter rifle BUT she loves her rifle and wont use any other one i have offered her over the years.

i finally found a after market stock for it and that will cut some wieght but then it will be front heavy and unbalanced bigtime.

[thinkingman]

You are getting some good advice re fluting.
If she loves the rifle, get a sling and shooting sticks to provide a rest.

[bankwalker]

You are getting some good advice re fluting.
If she loves the rifle, get a sling and shooting sticks to provide a rest.

its not a matter of having a rest. my mom could probably out shoot 70% of us on here lol

but she is just not in the greatest of shape and a 9lb rifle is hard for her to carry.

[dbllunger]

Fluting will destory any possible value, and you can have it re-barreled cheaper.    Or just buy a new gun!!  Sounds like a perfect excuse to me.

[Guy]

How long is the barrel now? A cut and crown job is much less expensive than getting a barrel fluted, and can result in a handier, lighter, quicker-pointing rifle. Even cutting it down to something as short as 18" will still leave you with useful velocity for hunting. Personally, I wouldn't likely go that short, but have a .30-06 that I had cut from 24" to 21" and am very happy with the end result.

Just a thought.

[high country]

I would flute it. you might lose .2 from your groups.....might not. you are looking at 100-200bux depending on the number of flutes. call pac-nor and ask them if they flute pre or post boring.

[bankwalker]

I would flute it. you might lose .2 from your groups.....might not. you are looking at 100-200bux depending on the number of flutes. call pac-nor and ask them if they flute pre or post boring.

thats the way i feel.

the rifle will never be sold period. my mom isnt gonna be hunting to much longer. her knees and shoulders are gonna make short of that. the rifle is far to heavy for her. but its her rifle and she loves it. but complains constantly about the wieght.

i have used it over the years and it gets heavy QUICK.

i was also thinking about cutting it down from 22" to say 20" or 19" and doing some sanding to the stock to slim it down a little. it has a magnum rifle look, big stock, and big magnum barrel.

although flutting alone wouldnt lose the wieght that i want to lose from this rifle i figure all of the above mentioned cutting and sanding Or synthetic stock would get the job done.

the barrel isnt the greats cosmeticly anyway. but its a good shooter and even losing .5 off of groups will not hurt this rifle. the rifle itself will always out shoot me or anyone in my family.

[ABMGENERAL]

Put it in the safe and get her something UltraLight in .243. I generally regret having things like that done to my weapons. you could also get another barrell and have it done to that and maybe switch them out.

I think you will appreciate having all the parts to put any weapon back %100 stock!

[high country]

you oughta get her a mc millan hunter edge stock it will lose a couple pounds and you can always sell them for what you paid for em'