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Posted: 3/13/2025 3:30:42 PM EDT
| Seeking information, since there's a trend in dimpling barrels now. I've seen claims that this can cause a litany of issues, such as loss of accuracy, warping, fracturing, etc. Any experiences with this or resources testing them? Especially interested in the ones KAC and D. Wilson are making. |
| Highly doubt a set screw against a dimple will warp the steel to cause issues. Now driving a taper pin in too far can warp the bore if the drilled hole is too close to the bore or the installer gets ham fisted and drives the larger side through to the smaller side. The threads on a set screw, or the hex head, will give before you apply enough force to warp barrel metal. |
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Good for being super safe. It's shouldn't be much different from a deep fluted barrel. I got my eyes on a Triarc Track 3.0 18". But who knows. Some MFG go full autismo on fluting and try to make the "best" version of it. Maybe the size of the dimples and depth can affect the barrel harmonics. |
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Well, they do seem to offer a lot of surface area in comparison to mass, so I think they'd at least radiate heat/cool off well. Not saying there's not easier ways to that. The thing with some of those dimpled or hex fluting patterns is: how much extra time does cleaning that type of a surface take? Whether getting dried mud out of the dimples or getting adequate oil on when cleaning/lubing, how much extra time are you gonna spend to properly maintain it? At least with any straight or spiral fluting you can just wipe it off parallel to the fluting. No big deal. I personally see more down sides than up sides before even considering precision issues. I also largely dislike the look, too. On the plus side, dimpling reduces wind resistance. (Mythbusters did a neat episode on golf-ball dimpling's purpose and the effects when applied to a car.) |
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Quoted: He's talking about full barrel dimpling as an alternative to fluting, not one or two dimples for gas block set screws. I would also like to hear about if there's real issues from it. I think they look cool. https://i.postimg.cc/6pSrckWG/IMG-1728.jpg Ah, thank you for clarifying. |
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This what I call the Shot Show effect. Each manufacturer has to come out with some new BS every year for SHOT and find a way to justify it. They do that in two ways: 1. Looks or 2. Perceived performance. On the marketing side they call these buyers "Raving fans" and they will buy any new thing a company puts out. Then other companies see the success and follow it. For every benefit an argument can be made in the opposite. "It lightens the barrel!" and the counter point "It alters harmonics" This BS goes on for days. Meanwhile no one will accept the fact that any changes are undetectable by 99.999999% of shooters. |
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Quoted: This what I call the Shot Show effect. Each manufacturer has to come out with some new BS every year for SHOT and find a way to justify it. They do that in two ways: 1. Looks or 2. Perceived performance. On the marketing side they call these buyers "Raving fans" and they will buy any new thing a company puts out. Then other companies see the success and follow it. For every benefit an argument can be made in the opposite. "It lightens the barrel!" and the counter point "It alters harmonics" This BS goes on for days. Meanwhile no one will accept the fact that any changes are undetectable by 99.999999% of shooters. But that effect you’re talking about definitely exists. |
| The issue with barrel dimpling is when its done to a barrel that was already finished and the dimples were added later. If you buy a factory dimples barrel you'll be fine. If you buy a barrel and send it off for dimpling, you do run the risk of imparting stress into the barrel which causes all the problems you are hearing about. |
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Quoted: The issue with barrel dimpling is when its done to a barrel that was already finished and the dimples were added later. If you buy a factory dimples barrel you'll be fine. If you buy a barrel and send it off for dimpling, you do run the risk of imparting stress into the barrel which causes all the problems you are hearing about. Or they get stress relieved after the machining process! And I’m not sure that the dimpling process introduces much stress. |
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I have owned three KAC’s with dimpled barrels in the past. SR25 EMC SR15 mod1 14.5 carbine Original Xmas Cheer 11.5 bbl/bolt combo All of those shot exceptionally. Never once was cleaning an issue nor was oiling after cleaning. I see no reason not to have a barrel dimpled if you like the looks and physical benefits and want to do so. |
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Quoted: Is Marvin the only legit source of these still? I want to get my pig of a LaRue some dimples. I had a Proof done by Templar Precision and the work was top notch. I think D. Wilson offers it as a service, too.Attached File |
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Quoted: Is Marvin the only legit source of these still? I want to get my pig of a LaRue some dimples. What I read is the Knight's style dimples is a licensed thing. So you can get different dimples, but if you want KAC dimples... I don't think Nefarious Arms/Marvin Pitts does personal orders like that anymore. Oh dang, I spoke too soon. See post above, that looks great |
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