I am about to order a 26" Hart barrel to have a 6.5-284 Shehane built. I am trying to decide on the contour and wether or not to flute the barrel. I intend to do some deer hunting as well as target and pest control. Should I go with a heavier contour (like #6)and flute to keep weight manageable, or go with a lighter contour and not flute? Or will the #6 without flutes be manageable if I walk 1/2 mile or less (one way)? The #6(barrel only)is about 4.5lbs. the #5 about 4lbs. All input appreciated.

Jdokie
On a quality like a Hart,fluting would be helpful for heat dissipation and weight control with no effect on accuracy. The problems come when you flute a cheap barrel that's not properly stress relieved. Fluting makes a difference if you are going to fire a lot of rounds in the course of a day. If you like the looks of a fluted barrel,go for it.
good luck
Covey16

I agree: fluting shaves weight, aids in cooling and just looks damned cool, like you had the moola do really do your rod up right. I vote for a heavy fluted barrel; you'll kick yourself when you see one like yours that is fluted and you'll wish you'd spent the extra $50-75 to do it. My stainless Krieger has nine flutes (8, 10 or 12 is what's usually done)-- looks awesome, looks totally unique.

I use a #5 with 6 flutes, mine are sporter weight hunting rifles. They will shoot bugholes. In a hunting rifle I like enough weight for good tracking on offhand shooting, but I`ll always take a step or 2 for a rest.

There is little question that a fluted barrel CAN shoot as well as an unfluted one but it won't shoot any better. This notwithstanding any advantage in rigidity etc.
Most of my experience with fluted barrels has been in the context of BR competition where a couple of things come into play when deciding whether or not to flute.
There is never any guarantee that a given barrel will be truly competitive regardless of make. Only testing will tell. So one might be reluctant to put the extra money into fluting on an unknown barrel.
If it turns out the barrel is a hummer another problem arises. Even those of us who should know better are a little superstitious about messing with a really great shooter. One friend tried out a rough turned blank which shot better than any barrel he had ever had. He was afraid to even polish it let alone do something as radical as fluting!
On hunting rifles I think the effect is mostly cosmetic. The flutes can seldom be deep enough to remove a great deal of weight. Although the fluted barrel will be more rigid than a smooth barrel of equal mass, the difference in performance will likely be unnoticable.
So in the end it comes down to whether or not you prefer the appearance of a fluted barrel over that of a conventional barrel. If so, go for it. If not, the smoth barrel will serve you just as well. Regards, Bill

What Bill Leeper said................. I have done barrels with and without flutes. I haven't noticed much difference in accuracy. I just built a gun for a friend and did basically a 5 contour with 8 (3/16 I think)flutes. It had a muzzle diameter of approx .750. It was plenty heavy and I think if you go with a 6 contour you will find it too heavy. Enjoy and shoot 'em all through one hole. Ed

A few things to consider when fluting barrels.

If the barrel has been button rifled there are potential internal stresses. If you flute the barrel relatively deep there is the possibility of your bore deforming along these flutes. The warranty on Shilen barrels is void if you flute one of their barrels.

If the barrel is fluted by a gunsmith who is not a careful worker and is in a hurry he will take deep cuts, fast speeds and feeds and no coolant. The chances of screwing up a good barrel will be high. How ever if a gunsmith is the careful meticulus type he will make at least two passes per flute, use plenty of coolant, use sane speeds and feeds, set the work up in good rigid fixtures and make opposing cuts not sequential. The odds are high he will not alter the bore dimensions.

If the barrel was manufactored with cut rifling there is little internal stresses. Hence chances of things changing after fluting are minimal. Krieger will drill the bore, flute, stress releive, then finish ream and rifle. A little more trouble and expense but virtually garuntees sucess.

I've fluted several button rifled barrels that were highly accurate after the process. Evidently I did not alter bore dimensions.

Do they look cool? Yep. Do they accomplish much? Not really. A study has been done that determined that coating the barrel with flat black gun coat actually dissapates heat faster.