Hey guys, I've decided to buy a Model 700 22-250. A few questions though: Are the fluted barrels really that effective at dissipating the heat generated by this load, or is it more beneficial to go with the traditional heavy barrel, even though it might heat up more quickly? Do the fluted barrels have more whip since they lack the overall mass of the others? How about accuracy? I'm sure your thought will make this decision much easier.

Jethro - Here is the skinny on fluting....

If you have two identical barrels in the same contour and flute one, the un-fluted barrel will always be stiffer. You cannot remove material and come out with a stiffer barrel. However, if you took two barrels that �weighed the same� and one was fluted, the fluted barrel would be stiffer.

Fluting does increase the surface area of the barrel and does moderately assist in heat dissipation, however, a heaver barrel will absorb more heat - larger heat sink.

The bottom line benefit of fluting are twofold - 1. Reduces weight 2. Looks cool to some people.

Varminters and high volume shooters turn to moly coated bullets in order to control throat erosion. Shooting a very hot barrel can lead to increased throat erosion just as shooting max loads increases wear. The 22-250 can push bullets to hyper-velocities and this increases throat erosion. Use moly and you can extend barrel life by a factor of two or greater.

Let me add that a heavier barrel is slower to heat up but then of course it is also slower to cool down.....one other think to consider is it's been my experience that fluted barrels tend to increase mirage caused by a hot barrel or even warm barrel. They make heat shields to combat this but they are "butt-ugly".

That's good enough for me. Thanks for the replies. Looks like "no flutes" it is.