Fluting is the removal of material around a cylindrical object in order to reduce its weight. In the realm of firearms, fluting is most often seen applied to barrels.

Although, in the case of fully automatic fire, a lighter barrel would lead to higher muzzle-climb, when considering the overall weight of already heavy small arms fluting can be an effective means of lightening the load. Having been employed on both high calibre rifles and LMG in practical situations, the fluting of a barrel has shown little impact on practical accuracy.

Care must be taken if a project to add fluting to a barrel not previously designed for fluting, as excess removal of the cylinder wall will lead to a loss in structural rigidity and, therefore, the barrel's ability to contain the gas expansion.