To Float or NOT to Float?

Free Float or not free float

  • Freefloat

    Votes: 36 83.7%

  • Not freefloat

    Votes: 7 16.3%
  • Total voters
    43
  • Poll closed .
W

warbirdlover

New member
That is the question....

I'm removing some wood from the barrel channel on the Boyd's stock I bought for my Ruger 77 Mk II and wanted a concensus of which is better. I've honestly never had a rifle with a free floated barrel. All had contact near the end of the stock and ALL were real shooters. So should I stick with what I've found works best or free float it. I DON'T spend alot of time shooting on the bench where a hot barrel is going to bother the point of impact. Thanks for the help.

:p
 
Don't fix that which is not broken. If the rifle is a shooter, don't screw with it.

If it is not, a free float may help.

My most accurate rifle is not free floated.
 
It is extremely rare for a rifle to shoot worse after freefloating. At worst, they usually will be about the same. The exception seems to be very thin barrels such as the Remington Mt. rifle which seem to shoot better with some forend pressure.

On the other hand Ruger makes a point of saying their rifles should not be free floated. It supposedly has something to do with the angled action screw. I've never done it with a Ruger, but have seen improved accuracy in other guns after freefloating. I've read several online reports of other guys who floated Rugers and say accuracy improved.

How is it shooting now, compared to the factory stock?
 
I've had good luck both ways. If you don't mind experimenting free float it and check your results against past performance and if it is worse you can always bed it. I had one gun that improved markedly after free floating, the rest had little or no difference.
 
Most of mine shoot best floated. I had a Winchester that got worse when I floated it so I unfloated it with some bedding compound. I don't think it is a big deal to go back and forth when experimenting.
 
Everyone above is correct. Since it is a new stock, I would shoot it first. If it is accurate enough leave it as is. If there is room for improvement float it. You can always go back with some Acra-Glass from Brownells. The full length bedding with fiberglass resins could be an improvement in itself, especially given the kind of climate you live in.
 
Warbirdlover I have had experience both ways. I have found most of the time sporter weight barrels seem to shoot best with tip end pressure and heavy barrels seem to be best floated. With that being said it is not set in stone as I have had a few that did not follow that rule.
 
Thanks all. After opening up the barrel channel I have slight pressure on the front of the stock and I think I'll try that first.
 
Only way to know for sure is to experiment with your rifle. I've had very good success free-floating my barrels, including one of the field contour 700's in .222. You can try different weights on the barrel to see if a pressure point works best for your particular rifle. I think 3 lbs is somewhere near factory. It can be a time consuming process. As stated before, it is an easy thing to do. Try the stock as is and see how it shoots. If it is to be used only for hunting and it shoots an inch or less I'd leave it alone. You'd get better results developing a handload for it in that case, that is if you reload. It all depends on how much time you want to devote to the process.
 
If a rifle starts out as sub-MOA, I won't bother to free-float it. If it's not sub-MOA, I'll free-float the forearm and put a light-pressure shim at the tip.
 
Except for original military, all my bolt action rifles are pillar bedded, glass bedded, and free floating. This has always seemed to tighten up the groups on the factory rifles that I have.
 
An important consideration I have not seen mentioned yet is stock stiffness. I would not consider having barrel contact with a flexible stock, uneven pressure on the forend of the stock, such as using a tight sling, will change POI. I have a rifle which is full length glass bedded, and very accurate, in a laminated hardwood stock.

Laminated and some of the more expensive synthetics are stiff, and if they shoot better with forend contact, great. Most factory synthetics are flexible, and in my opinion, must be freefloated. The same for walnut, not quite as flexible, but humidity and temperature variations can change POI, and again, should be free floated.

Even if a given rifle does not group quite as well free floated, in most cases they will be more consistent with retaining zero. I would rather have a 1.5 MOA rifle that consistently retains zero as opposed to a .5 MOA rifle with a wandering zero caused by uneven forend pressure or weather change.
 
I've also heard that Ruger bolt-actions tend to group better with a pressure point in the forend. If there's a pressure point, it should have uniform pressure against the barrel in a vertical direction. Side pressure tends to make diagonal shot grouping. The amount of vertical pressure should be over two pounds, preferably 3-5 for sporter barrels. Equal pressure on 1/8" pads located at 7:00 and 5:00 on the (analog) clock, with the bottom center removed seems to work well (regardless of time zone or daylight savings :rolleyes:).

Ruger 77 actions are not as robust as other brands, though the later models may have been beefed up, but the rifles may not group as well without a pressure point. When bedding those rifles to have a free-floated barrel, I've had good luck bedding the first three inches of barrel along with the action. Pillars are great on most actions, but I haven't done them on a Ruger with an angled front screw, so can't comment on that option.

Perhaps the best thing about free-floating may not be an increase in grouping ability, but stabilization of point of impact (POI) over time. Wood tends to warp with humidity changes over time, so rifles with barrel pressure pads in wood stocks often need to be re-zeroed more often than free-floated ones.

Properly free-floated barrels are not as sensitive to POI shifts due to various rest firmness/location, including bipod or sling pressure.
 
An important consideration I have not seen mentioned yet is stock stiffness. I would not consider having barrel contact with a flexible stock, uneven pressure on the forend of the stock, such as using a tight sling, will change POI. I have a rifle which is full length glass bedded, and very accurate, in a laminated hardwood stock.

Laminated and some of the more expensive synthetics are stiff, and if they shoot better with forend contact, great. Most factory synthetics are flexible, and in my opinion, must be freefloated. The same for walnut, not quite as flexible, but humidity and temperature variations can change POI, and again, should be free floated.

Even if a given rifle does not group quite as well free floated, in most cases they will be more consistent with retaining zero. I would rather have a 1.5 MOA rifle that consistently retains zero as opposed to a .5 MOA rifle with a wandering zero caused by uneven forend pressure or weather change.

roklok
Click to expand...

This is a laminated stock. One comment on this, my Remington SPS Buckmasters has contact on the plastic stock, and everyone says they're flimsy. But that rifle shoots sub-MOA so ???? I don't know if you can generalize. Each brand, rifle, might be it's own little world.
 
I am of the opinion that a free floating barrel is the best way to bed an action.

Yes a bearing point out in the barrel channel sometimes gives outstanding results, but I believe it is happenstance. Sort of in the same realm as the British Lee Enfield’s ability to “compensate” between 800 and 1200 yards.
Basically a bearing point alters the barrel vibrations. Could be a dampening , which is where the accuracy improvement happens, or it could amplify, and accuracy goes to pot.

If it dampens then it will work for a limited range of bullets and charge weights.

Small bore shooters use tuners, they tune the barrel vibrations with the best lot of match ammunition. When that lot runs out, they have to play with the tuner to get best results on the next lot.

My experience is that anything touching the barrel in the channel causes unpredictable fliers. What I have seen is that the barrel rebounds away from the bearing point. The barrel touches on the left, weird flyers would occur on the right. A combination of poor action bedding and the barrel touching in the channel, flyers are left, right, up, down, sideways.

My Remington M700 in 6.5 Swede, the bedding was awful, the action slide, and the stock gave upwards pressure. And the barrel touched the stock on the side in the barrel channel.

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If the barrel is good, I believe free floating is the best way to go.

But, if you have a sub MOA rifle, don't muck with it! Take what God has given to you and don't fix what ain't broke.
 
I kind of agree with you. My "theory" is that the contact at the end of the stock tames the barrel "whip" which causes groups to open up. I realize that there will be more "movement" of this group as the barrel heats up due to contact (which won't happen on a free floated barrel) but I don't shoot competition or put boxes through at the range (especially since it's a .300 WM and I don't need that abuse). :D The contact point (IMHO) is similar to the Browning A-Bolt "boss" system that was (is?) also available on the Model 70's. Or the Limb-Saver thingy that goes on the barrel.

Back in the olden days when I just got into this (1960's) there was no talk of free floating. The instruction books (PC's weren't around much) talked about the contact point at the end of the stock like it was a standard, necessary thing to do. And varying the contact pressure helped you find the right spot.

And I can't get this thinking out of my head!! :rolleyes:
 
Best thing about fore end pressure is it makes the gun more bullet weight friendly. My free floating guns like one bullet weight period, but they are also the most accurate guns I have. Those with fore end or full bed are a lot more flexible in bullet choices.
 
Warbirdlover,

I think you missed the point of my post. Every rifle is certainly different, and it certainly is possible to have a very accurate rifle with a barrel contacting a flexible stock.

The problem is when different pressure is put on that flexible stock, the POI can change. Such as when using a tight sling or bipod when shooting from field positions. I have seen this firsthand.

I have also heard a lot of people saying that their rifle shoots differently off a bipod, this is almost invariably the result of a non free floated barrel and a flexible stock.
 
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