What is a Fluted Chamber?

A Fluted chamber is a chamber that permits the leaking of gas around the cartridge during the removal. Fluted chambers are often seen in Delayed Blowback firearms.

What’s a Threaded Barrel?

A threaded barrel is one with screw threads near the tip of the barrel on the outside. Threaded barrels allow muzzle devices like recoil compensators, silencers, or flash hiders to be added to a firearm.

What guns have fluted chambers?

 H&K is the most well-known manufacturer that uses fluted chambers. They use fluted chambers on their “H&K 91” rifles. 

What is the point of a fluted chamber?

The primary purpose of fluting is to reduce the weight. Additionally, for a provided total weight, they are utilized to increase surface area to make the barrels less susceptible to overheating.

Are Fluted Barrels More Accurate?

Generally, fluting a barrel has little to no effect on the accuracy. If the procedure of fluting the barrel is executed correctly, your firearm’s weight is lowered. 

Is Polymer Cased Ammunition Compatible with Fluted Chambers?

Although True Velocity’s internal testing has not demonstrated any problems with fluted chambers, the testing is restricted to the amount of weapons that possess fluted chambers that they have been able to test. 

True Velocity does not recommend firing their composited ammunition in a fluted chamber until they are able to test a broader array of weapons with fluted chambers.

Pros and Cons to Fluted Chambers

A primary benefit of a fluted chamber is that they utilize the casing’s internal gas as a form of casing “lubrication”. This casing lubrication is capable of aiding in extraction from the chamber. 

Additionally, fluted chambers benefit the firearm by lightening its weight. 

How much weight does a fluted barrel save?

Barrels can save you anywhere from 4-10oz depending on contour, and flute depth, count, and design.

One of the initial cons of a fluted chamber is that they do not tend to be compatible with all casings, especially commercial casings. This is because fluted chambers were designed around Mil Spec casings. Mil Spec casings possess a smaller internal volume as well as thicker walls. 

Fluted chambers result in the cases undergoing extremely high pressure when fired. The high pressure will expand the casing sidewalls into the flutes of the chamber. This will cause the casing to become difficult to eject and ultimately cling. The reason for clinging is because once the weapon has gotten dirty from the carbon created during firing. 

Commercial casings will likely expand more than Mil Spec casings because of their thinner walls and larger volumes internally. 

Are Fluted Barrels Worth It?

Some fluted barrels are more cosmetic than functional, with narrow, shallow flutes. Fluting makes a gun stand out. Fluted chambers are also fast temperature changing since there is less metal involved. 

Can you Flute a Carbon Fiber Barrel?

Yes, carbon fiber barrels are able to be fluted. Be sure that you are receiving the service from a professional. 

In Conclusion

True Velocity does not recommend firing their composited ammunition in a fluted chamber until they are able to test a broader array of weapons with fluted chambers. If you have more questions about fluted chambers or barrels, contact Virtus Ammo today. 

What is Necksplitting?

Necksplitting is the outcome of over-stretched or resizing of the cartridge. Necksplitting is most common when the cartridge is excessively resized. Necksplittting can be seen as a crack in the cartridge. 

Why Do Case Necks Crack on Polymer Cased Ammunition? 

True Velocity ammunition is made with carefully engineered polymers. Damage to the polymer may occur during firing if the polymer is required to stretch farther than intended before it receives support from the chamber walls. 

How to Solve the Recurring Necksplitting of Polymer Cased Ammunition

Consult a qualified gunsmith to inspect the chamber of your firearm. The gunsmith should ensure that the chamber of your firearm is in compliance with the Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers’ Institute’s (SAAMI) specifications for the specific caliber or round. Keep in mind that most protocols for checking chambers include an assessment of chamber diameter. Just like brass, if the chamber is too large in diameter, splitting can occur in the cartridge. 

What is the Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers’ Institute?

The Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers’ Institute, also referred to as, SAAMI, is an accredited association of American manufacturers of firearms, ammunition, and components.

Why Do Case Necks Crack on Brass Ammunition? 

The Breaking Point of Brass Cases

Since brass is a mix of copper and zinc. Any type of gas can affect its brittleness. Methane, chlorine, and even gas coming from a pound of decomposing gunpowder can affect the material. Another possibility of why neck splitting is occurring could even be caused by improper annealing from the factory. All brass is annealed and is usually polished afterward. 

How to Solve the Recurring Necksplitting of Brass Cased Ammunition

It is recommended to always anneal your brass. It is a good idea to keep the brass separate from primers and powders until it’s loaded. In addition, there could possibly be volumes printed on what could be causing the neck splitting.

Contact Virtus Ammo Today

Our team at Virtus Ammo aims to test our polymer cased ammunition as in-depth as possible to prevent the possibility of neck splitting or other issues. Our manufacturing process is precise and highly accurate. We are continuing to test and compare the polymer cased ammunition to other manufacturers’ products. 

If you have more questions about neck splitting in the cartridge, contact the Virtus Ammo polymer experts today. Our team of ammo experts can assist you in narrowing down your issue and solving it. 

What Causes Failure To Eject A Round? 

A failure to eject a round happens most commonly when the casing of the newly fired round does not successfully leave the chamber of the gun. This can commonly be caused by a broken extractor claw, excessively-dirty gun chamber, case rim failing, or several other reasons.

How to Prevent Failure of Round Ejection

To avoid unsuccessful round extractions, consider these points:

• Ensure your gun is properly cleaned
• Ensure the pieces of your gun are not broken. Damaged, or faulty.
• Have the extractor and extractor spring in your weapon checked by a trusted gunsmith

If your firearm is having problems extracting the round from the chamber, have the extractor and extractor spring in your weapon checked by a trusted gunsmith. If your weapon is having difficulty ejecting a spent case, it is likely caused by the interaction between the ejector and the mass, and center of mass of the polymer case.

No Ejection of the Round: Polymer Addition

The reason why: 

The True Velocity polymer cased ammunition is lighter than typical brass cases by a landslide. Polymer cased ammunition is about 60% lighter than select calibers. This reduced mass results in higher bolt velocities during cycling. 

In return, results in a finished case having high velocity as it exits the firearm and bounces off the deflector. 

Also, the center of mass of a True Velocity polymer case is much nearer to the aft end of the case in contrast to a brass casing. This results in a different rotation of the case as it flees the gun and commonly a change in direction on the case. 

For example: If a brass case exits at 3 o’clock, a polymer case may exit a 1 o’clock. Sometimes, the higher velocity and different exit angle can result in a case being caught by the bolt during its onward motion or its stovepiping. 

In such cases, it is recommended that the gas port be decreased so that the weapon cycles accurately without pushing the bolt as harshly. Of course, this work should always be performed by a certified gunsmith. 

What is a Stovepipe?

Stovepiping happens where a spent case gets caught in the ejection port. 

Diagnosing And Fixing A Stovepipe

A stovepipe has several common causes. 

Failure to eject a round could be due to switching to lower-pressure rounds. This can refer to firing a bad bunch of factory ammunition. A quite common cause is the recoil spring. If you’re using a recoil spring with excessive tension for the ammunition you’re firing, the slide of the firearm will cycle quicker than the finished case is sent out.

If ammunition is the reason for the stovepipe, either uses a more appropriate load or eliminate faulty rounds. 

Limp-wristing can also cause a stovepipe. If you are not sure what limp-wristing is, it is the action of not holding the firearm firmly enough. By not holding the firearm firmly can cause the slide to not cycle as designed. This leads to a shorter return stroke and a stovepipe. Additionally, riding the thumb too high on the slide will also interrupt cycling, leading to a stovepipe. 

The extractor is also a likely cause of stovepipes. If the extractor doesn’t have sufficient tension or is worn down, the round will not be pulled from the chamber and extracted with adequate force. This holds it up in the ejection port and causes a stovepipe. 

What To Do When Stovepipe Happens:

When a stovepipe happens, pull the slide back to retrieve the round freely. At that point, you must diagnose what caused the stovepipe. 

Tightening the grip and ensuring you aren’t short-stroking the slide with the thumb or anything else. If the problem doesn’t repeat itself, it’s likely that the round was bad which can happen every once and a while. 

If the problem repeats itself, then the firearm may have a mechanical issue. It is common for a recoil spring issue to come about. Make sure that you’re using a proper recoil spring weight for your ammunition. If your recoil spring is getting worn out, you may want to replace it. If there is another mechanical issue, we recommend that you get your firearm checked out by an educated gunsmith.