Spiral Bolts

[GregLaROCHE]

I’ve been seeing a lot of spiral type bolts in videos. Do the spirals replace the locking lugs or are locking lugs still used? If so, what purpose do the spirals serve?

Thanks

[metricmonkeywrench]

IMHO Fancy lightening of the bolt, the lugs still exist

[roysha]

Sales gimmick.

[Love Life]

Supposed to give crud a place to go. I’ve never seen a benefit to it.

[John Taylor]

There is a slight reduction in weight and some like the looks. You can also get them with a strait flute but the bottom of the bolt will have no flutes as it messes with the rounds in the mag. A fluted barrel will often remove about 1/2 pound. Some people think that fluting a barrel will allow it to cool quicker but it also allows it to heat quicker.

[tazman]

There is a slight reduction in weight and some like the looks. You can also get them with a strait flute but the bottom of the bolt will have no flutes as it messes with the rounds in the mag. A fluted barrel will often remove about 1/2 pound. Some people think that fluting a barrel will allow it to cool quicker but it also allows it to heat quicker.

As I understand it, that isn't the real reason behind the flutes in the barrel. The idea is to get the extra stiffness of a larger diameter barrel without the weight. The extra cooling was a by product.
As far as bolt fluting, the spiral cuts were touted as making the working of the action smoother. Personally, I think it is more decorative than functional.
Just an opinion. Worth what you paid for it.

[B R Shooter]

As far as bolt fluting, the spiral cuts were touted as making the working of the action smoother

This is the most accepted reason I know of. I will add, a friend had his bolt handle peel off when trying to open the bolt on a loaded round. The flutes allowed us to walk the bolt open with a screw driver safely. Not a reason to flute a bolt, but it was handy then.

[lefty o]

99% cosmetic. the other reason as was stated is to allow crud a place to go on a tighly fitting bolt.

[GregLaROCHE]

Is something engaging the flutes or are they just there?

[lefty o]

they are just there. nothing engages them, they dont lock into anything etc.

[country gent]

Flutes on a bolt body remove surface area and thus friction making a snig fitted bolt feel smoother. Jeweling used to be used to help accomplish this with less metal removal. As far as looks goes that's each to his own.

[fiberoptik]

Let’s not forget it also gives the crud a place to fill in as well.


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[B R Shooter]

Flutes on a bolt body remove surface area and thus friction making a snig fitted bolt feel smoother. Jeweling used to be used to help accomplish this with less metal removal. As far as looks goes that's each to his own.

This^. Crud? I’ve never hunted or shot in a place where the environment was that dirty to jam up a bolt action. Factory guns have a lot of bolt clearance anyway. If the gun was dropped in mud, then a thorough cleaning is in order anyway.

[nicholst55]

Bolt fluting is intended to do two things, IMHO: 1) make the rifle/bolt look cool, 2) separate you from your money. It most definitely succeeds in accomplishing number 2.

[waksupi]

Simple dirt collectors. It does not make the bolt function smoother. Krag rifles aren't cut like that, and are the smoothest action you will ever work. Ditto for any action that has been blueprinted.

[Texas by God]

I thought they were instructions for how to work the bolt[emoji848]

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[John Taylor]

Your right about the weight reduction, almost all the fluting jobs I get are about weight reduction.

[Lance Boyle]

Weight I guess is the real best reason.

I don’t care for the looks but did own a M700titanium action mountain rifle. The stainless fluted bolt actually would bind if not drawn properly straight back, no side pressure as the titanium action grabbed the stainless. That annoyed me and the gun was not a good shooter. I did take a nice ten point with it though but I sold it and made money and parted from the features I did not like.

[waksupi]

Weight I guess is the real best reason.

I don’t care for the looks but did own a M700titanium action mountain rifle. The stainless fluted bolt actually would bind if not drawn properly straight back, no side pressure as the titanium action grabbed the stainless. That annoyed me and the gun was not a good shooter. I did take a nice ten point with it though but I sold it and made money and parted from the features I did not like.

Sticky bolts like that occur when the Rockwell hardness of the parts are too similar.

[Clark]

Sticky bolts like that occur when the Rockwell hardness of the parts are too similar.

My father was chief engineer designing guns with 150 engineers and draftsmen he yelled at.
I bought my son a Chimpmunk rifle 25 years ago.
My father said the bolt body and firing pin were the same hardness and rubbing. There was galling. He yelled at me for buying a rifle designed by amateurs.
My wife took the rifle back to the store.

Right now I have a number of barber pole looking bolts for Rem700s. I got them from PTG.

I have one that is from Defiance Machine for a Defiance action.

[B R Shooter]

Just about every Stolle Panda and Teddy came with spiral fluted bolts. Most BAT actions come fluted, and many other custom actions.

[waksupi]

My father was chief engineer designing guns with 150 engineers and draftsmen he yelled at.
I bought my son a Chimpmunk rifle 25 years ago.
My father said the bolt body and firing pin were the same hardness and rubbing. There was galling. He yelled at me for buying a rifle designed by amateurs.
My wife took the rifle back to the store.

Right now I have a number of barber pole looking bolts for Rem700s. I got them from PTG.

I have one that is from Defiance Machine for a Defiance action.

Glen makes great actions, built like a bank vault.