Free-Floating Results

W

WalterGAII

Moderator
Decided to swap my Rem. VS stock to the action of my .243 that came in VLS configuration. Torqued the action screws to 65 in/lbs and headed for the range. Groups were about 1", or so, way sub-par. Noticed that the barrel was not now free-floated, as had been the .223 barrel.

Took that mully home and went to work with ol' Dremel. Got about 1/16" clearance,all the way back to the recoil lug. Back to the range. Now putting them all in one ragged hole. Ain't it amazing!!
 
Walter, you are an inspiration to us all.

Most would have asked, "How much will free-floating tighten up my groups." You, on the other hand, began your thread not with a question, but with a data point.

Rare here on TFL and other sites.

Rick
 
Holmes, the most straight forward way is to simply loop a dollar bill around the barrel & start sliding it between the barrel & the stock. If you make to the action (or close there to), it's floated. If you hang up on the way, it's not.

Many Remington rifles, & rifles by other mfg., are not floated but have a "pad" that applies upward pressure to the barrel at or near the forend of the stock.

Before you go grinding, it is good to remember that some rifle / stock combos' actually shoot better in this pressure point configuration. IMH experience, I have found that wood stocks favor free floating because of the nature of the wood to change with temp & humidity changes. Laminated & synthetic stocks are about a 50-50 toss up. Hope this answers your question. k
 
Great news Walt! Glad to hear switching the stocks worked so well after just a little dremel work.

Don't you wish Remington would make an LTR in .243 ? Oh man that would be one sweeeet rifle!

Enjoy that 'new' rifle !
 
I suppose that the LTR would be great in .243, but I've never seen an LTR, so I really don't have an opinon about that rifle. I can say that I'm extremely pleased with the performance of the .243 in the VS stock. Of course, the barrel and action are blue, as opposed to black matte finish, but it still looks fine. I had free-floated the laminated stock and bedded the recoil lug and tang areas with Marine Tex. I just wanted to experiment with the .243 action in the VS stock. Rem. used to make the VS in .243, but I didn't get one then. I really wanted a Tikka Continental in .243, but found out that they're not going to be imported until this year.

I went ahead and bought the VLS two or three months ago.

I'm also pleasantly surprised that the .223 action that was in the VS is now performing wonderfully in the laminated stock. I'll probably leave the rifles as they are permanently.
 
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