Thinking About Getting a Barrel Fluted: B14 HMR

[wcoats]

I have a Bergara B14 HMR in 6.5 Creedmoor that I cut down to 18", I like the rifle a lot but frequently find myself wishing it was a little lighter. I ordered an MDT field stock on black Friday sale that I am going to try out. It should save a little weight over the HMR stock if I like it and keep it installed. This got me thinking about other ways to lighten up the rifle a little and wondering about getting the barrel fluted as it is a fairly heavy profile barrel. It measures 0.877" at the muzzle. I pulled the barreled action out of the stock and pulled the scope off and it weighs 5 lbs 5.4 oz.
A few questions:

1. Will fluting the barrel save enough weight to actually matter or be noticeable? I think if I can save 8 oz or more it will be worth it for me.
2. If I do get if fluted, should I send it off to get it done or find a local gun smith to do it? My initial thought was to find a local smith to avoid the challenges/annoyance of shipping a firearm. But now I'm starting to lean towards shipping it off to get done.
   1. I am near Raleigh NC so open to input on any good gun smiths anywhere close by.
   2. In doing a search for info I found instances of people sending there rifle or barrels to Kampfeld Custom and Twisted Barrel and having good feedback about their work. They also look to have pricing that is reasonable. Any other places I should consider?
   3. If I do send it off I'm tempted to see if I can get someone help me pull the barrel off or just buy a barrel vise and action wrench to send of just the barrel. I've heard some factory barrels can be very hard to pull off through. Anyone know if Bergara barrels are in the group that are hard to remove even with the correct tools?

Context and use case: I also have a 24" 6.5 Creedmoor that is a B14 BMP that I put into an MDT ACC chassis for the occasional PRS match. I got the HMR and cut it down to 18" wanting a rifle that was shorter and lighter. My intended use for it is primarily shooting steel but being light enough to also take deer hunting. I recently went to the range with my father-in-law and shot his B14 Squared Crest that was very nice to shoot and got me thinking about trying to lighten up my rifle some or sell it and spend the extra money to buy a B14 Squared Crest. It has a 20" fluted barrel but still seemed to not be excessively long with a suppressor.

I did a search about getting a factory rifle barrel fluted and found two threads where people did it and didn't have any degradation in accuracy afterwards and one thread where it was discussed as a bad idea because it would add stresses to the barrel that has already been stress relieved. I'm inclined to think it will be ok based on the examples I can find of people actually doing it not having a degradation in accuracy.

Thanks for any input/advice.

 

[wcoats]

Here are some pictures of the rifle

 

[KnowNothing256]

Because it's a Bergara specifically, I wouldn't do it. I yanked my factory barrel because it wouldn't hold a 10-shot group; I personally believe it was due to heating/stresses. When I put a custom Hart barrel on it, the gun immediately impressed and pleased me.

I think you run a very real risk of causing accuracy problems if you start dramatically cutting into a factory Bergara barrel, and fluting is a substantial amount of cutting.

Lastly, everyone has a different opinion of how heavy a "hunting" rifle should be, but bear in mind that you bought an HMR. That's "Hunting/Match Rifle," and it's specifically intended to do both, with the compromises that come with that. If you want a lightweight accurate hunting rifle, or rather one that's lighter than ~12 lbs fully loaded with a can, then you're probably better served by getting a setup that's meant for that. You have a crossover, it's going to weigh more than 7 lbs scoped and loaded. And frankly, just my personal opinion, but 12 lbs isn't really that heavy. Most hunters disagree, but most hunters aren't precision rifle shooters, so...

Good luck on your quest!

 

[wcoats]

KnowNothing256 thanks for the response and information. It would be unfortunate to mess up the accuracy as it shoots very well currently. I normally shoot 10-15 shots then let the barrel cool before shooting more and it seems to hold accuracy very well. I've shot 3 5 shot groups back to back and the 3rd group didn't seem to open up any noticeable amount. I know it's a small sample but the 2 Bergara's I own and the one that my father-in-law owns all shoot very well. I used to be more of a gas gun guy until I picked up a B14 BMP a few years ago.

 

[408w]

If you are trying to lighten up the rifle the MDT field stock’s not a good choice. If you liked the b-crest square why not put the same stock on your rifle? AG composite makes the stock and they are only ~31oz. I have a few different stocks from them and super happy with all of them.

 

[wcoats]

If you are trying to lighten up the rifle the MDT field stock’s not a good choice. If you liked the b-crest square why not put the same stock on your rifle? AG composite makes the stock and they are only ~31oz. I have a few different stocks from them and super happy with all of them.

Thanks for the input. I didn't realize the square crest stock was made by AG Composits and wasn't aware of that make before. Do you know which model of their stock it is? I'm looking at their website now and I think the AG Alpine Hunter looks like it is the same or similar. But after adding the bottom metal the stock comes out to $818. Looks like an awesome stock though. I was really impressed with the overall feel and shooting experience of the Bergara square crest I was surprised it didn't feel to front heavy an out of balance with a suppressor (direct thread Omega 300).

I know the MDT Field stock isn't a lightweight stock, but it's listed as 3.1 lbs. which should be 8-10 oz lighter than my HMR stock that I weighed to be 3 lbs. 12.9 oz. It was so cheap with the MDT black Friday sale I figured it would be interesting to give it a try and see if I like it more or less than the HMR stock. I'm hoping it isn't heavier than listed and that the forend is rigid enough.

 

[Marine52]

You’re only asking for trouble if you flute it.
1. It’s only 18” and fluting it will save marginal weight.
2. taking metal off the barrel can harm accuracy and, at best, not change it.
3. check with Bergera because you may violate the warranty.

if you do decide to flute it, definitely DO NOT use some local gunsmith. Do research and send the barrel to a reputable smith who knows what he‘s doing. Also, many good barrel smiths wont flute factory barrels.

 

[Jnull]

I’d work on putting enough rounds through the factory barrel to shoot it out then get a fluted one when you rebarrel it.

 

[FuhQ]

Honestly, like most have said... It's a factory tube...I wouldn't spend that much money having a factory barrel fluted. Spending that much money, you could put that towards having a whole new aftermarket barrel built for it, that you have spiral-fluted before install. Good barrel blanks like a Bartlein or Brux are only $350-400... Sounds like a lot, but when you get into the grand scheme of things, I've got individual die sets for reloading that cost that much... Or, you could go all out and spend $1k on having a carbon fiber Proof barrel put on it, which would also lighten it up noticeably, without losing any rigidity.

My point is, if you had it blueprinted and built by LRI, or someone like that, and then had them install an aftermarket barrel starting from scratch, and having THAT barrel fluted and done up the way you want, you're cost will only be $500 or so more than what you're going to spend having them snatch that tube, flute it, re-cerakote it, re-install it, and while they have it torn part, you might as well pay someone to blueprint the action just so you know it's square...

 

[wcoats]

Thanks all for the input. I’m not going to pursue getting it fluted. If I end up deciding I want something with a lighter barrel seems like it would be more efficient to just sell this rifle and buy one that has a lighter barrel to start with.

 

[chevy_man]

KnowNothing256 thanks for the response and information. It would be unfortunate to mess up the accuracy as it shoots very well currently. I normally shoot 10-15 shots then let the barrel cool before shooting more and it seems to hold accuracy very well. I've shot 3 5 shot groups back to back and the 3rd group didn't seem to open up any noticeable amount. I know it's a small sample but the 2 Bergara's I own and the one that my father-in-law owns all shoot very well. I used to be more of a gas gun guy until I picked up a B14 BMP a few years ago.

Mine shoot the same. Dead consistent.


Any button rifled barrel I'd be very hesitant to flute. Most likely you have one with good stress relief, but buttons having stresses is much more likely than cut.

Enjoy the rifle, burn that barrel out. Then get a light profile, or carbon, or fluted one put on.


I'm not a fan of fluting myself. But if I was going to do one, I'd buy it complete so if accuracy isn't there the barrel maker or smith can figure it out.