Author Topic: Flutes = a good thing  (Read 931 times)

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Offline revo

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Flutes = a good thing
« on: November 21, 2007, 02:10:47 AM »
Had to add another thread here and give a good review on cylinder flutes.

I picked up a 97 in 44 Special that came with a fluted cylinder. I liked the looks, but wasn't thinking much of them until I got it to the range. Proceeded to find out how awesome they really are.

Been working out hard this past year with a unfluted 97 in 41 Mag. During summer months that cylinder would get hot during extended practice. Mix it with sweaty hands and a little residual CLP and unloading kinda sounds like:

*click*...tink...ouch...*click*...Ouch-hot...tink...*click*...h-h-hot...OUCH...tink...  :)

Then gotta fire up a smoke and let'er cool off a bit.

The flutes on this 44 Special made turning the cylinder a lot easier. Granted the 44 Special didn't get hot (with my loads) and it was chilly out, but I'm definitely a believer in flutes now.

Maybe I'll bring the 41 along this winter as a hand warmer in between workin' the 44 Special. :)


Offline Wiking

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Re: Flutes = a good thing
« Reply #1 on: November 22, 2007, 10:24:52 AM »
Maybe if you shoot alot they help relieve some heat, but visually I think they make the gun look scrawny. Sure it's a matter of taste I just don't think they belong on a FA.

Offline revo

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Re: Flutes = a good thing
« Reply #2 on: November 23, 2007, 01:23:16 AM »
Not so much the relieving of heat as the ability to get a better finger grip on the cylinder to turn it. My fingers spent much less time on the cylinder with the flutes.

Yeah, it does change the whole look of the piece, doesn't it? Funny how something so minor would change personality that much. Seemed to me to look "gentler" if you will. Unfluted looks more like it means business. :)

Offline Bob Baker

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Re: Flutes = a good thing
« Reply #3 on: November 25, 2007, 05:27:25 AM »
This thread makes me wonder what type of powder was in the loads which caused the gun to get so hot.  Shooting a lot of rounds will get the gun hot but sometimes we have to be careful what powder is being used.  Lil Gun for example burns very hot compared to H110 or W296.  A while back I had a M83 .357 Mag. so hot it would blister you if you touched it any place but the grips and they were warm.  And I only shot 50 rounds.  The interesting part was that I burnt out the barrel forcing cone in that few of rounds and it was due to the powder burning so hot. 

Offline revo

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Re: Flutes = a good thing
« Reply #4 on: November 26, 2007, 01:48:55 AM »
Powder is H110, bullet is 210 XTP. My load is 1.2 grains less than max load listed in the Hornady manual for the 210 XTP and H110. Things don't start heating up until 100 rounds or more...and we're talkin' the dead of August here too. When it does start to get heated up, I walk away for 15 minutes to regroup and let it cool in the shade.

Nothing got hot but the cylinder and the barrel. Not talking blistering by any stretch, just hot enough that the sweat combined with a little CLP residue made my finger tips hot and a little slippery on the smooth cylinder.