Hex-Fluted Rifle Barrels

Thursday, March 29th, 2012

Legion Firearms’ hex-fluted rifle barrels certainly look gimmicky, but they may serve a purpose:

Essentially, the Hex Fluting design is based on the study of vibration — how it works, when it stops.

Wehmeyer clarifies, “I’m talking about the dissipation of an instance of vibratory motion. Call it motion, tremor, an oscillation, whatever term you prefer. It’s the underlying physics of it that are significant to the Hex Fluted barrel.”

Vibrations travel for longer distance through a curve than they will through a straight line or an angle. The so-called ‘honeycomb’ barrel capitalizes upon that. Consider the difference between striking a steel drum vs. a steel box: a steel drum will continue to vibrate for as long as the shape can hold it, whereas a steel box will hold the vibration only to the closest corner.

Wehmeyer says, “The long term study of vibrations has yielded facts that the firearms industry has failed to acknowledge and capitalize upon for years. It’s not that the industry is dumb or naïve, it’s just that the different sciences frequently fail to cross-communicate enough to really affect each other in any productive manner.”

Legion guarantees their rifles will shoot sub MOA with cheap XM193 or PMC55 type ammunition. They’ve achieved one-hole groups with 3 rounds of 77 grain OTM (Mk262 Mod 1) 5.56mm at 100 yards, and every proficient shooter I’ve personally talked to has verified just how accurate they really are.

Another advantage to the Hex Fluted barrel is heat dissipation.

“Simple science fact,” Jamie says. “A greater surface area is going to yield greater heat dissipation given no disparity in material and relative mass. Also, strength and rigidity should not be measured by how much material an object contains but rather by its ability to retain its original form. Our barrels are built the way they are for strength, heat dissipation and accuracy. The aesthetics of it are purely a byproduct.”

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