TO FREE FLOTE OR NOT TO..?...

[manny15]

FOR YEARS I'VE BEEN TOLD IT'S BEST TO FREE FLOTE A BARREL, AS FAR AS ACCURACY GOES...NOW LATELY TALKING WITH A GUY WHO SAYS HE'S A COMPETITION SHOOTER, HE SAID HE ADDS PRESURE POINTS BETWEEN HIS STOCK AND BARREL FOR ACCURACY...WHAT SAY YOU....?...

 

[RELH]

Manny;
Both will work depending on the gun and it's barrel. The majority of the time free floating the barrel will help the accuracy with a good receiver glass bedding. I have had more rifles increase accuracy with free floating the barrel. But! I have seen a couple rifles that had to have a forend bedding pressure point in order to shoot tight groups, and free floating did not help or made it worse.
I will free float first, if no improvement, then I will add a forend pressure point with about 8 pounds of pressure to see if that will increase accuracy. I would say that about 15 out of 16 rifles will work best with free floating, and number 16 will need a pressure point.
Another point to remember, if you add a pressure point to a wood stock, accuracy can go to Hades if the forearm warps due to moisture getting into the forearm channel. If you use a wood stock, it is very important to fully seal the stock to prevent moisture soaking into the wood and causing the stock to warp a few thousands.

RELH

 

[rost495]

Ditto RELH. I can't add anything more.
Jeff

 

[manny15]

thanks,

I also seen a new gismo on the market now, I think it was HS precision that's putting it out, but it's installed at the fore end of the stock, and it's a rod attached to a plastic wheel like thing and you move it up the barrel (adjustmenting) till you hit the right spot on the barrel...not a good discription but weird any how.....have you seen it....

 

[RELH]

I have not seen it, but it sounds like a device used to find the "sweet spot" in the barrel to dampen the barrel vibrations. just another gizmo to sell the public to do something that a good gunsmith can do. But I am willing to bet this device may not work very well on a barrel that needs to be free floated, but may show improvements on a barrel that needs a pressure point to dampen the barrel vibrations.
I would want to try free floating, then forend pressure point before putting money out on another gizmo that may not improve on free floating, pressure point that can be done very cheaply. Manny if you have a rifle that needs bedding, go to the guns-shooting column and look up "rifle bedding instructions" that I posted there. It might help you.

 

[manny15]

Here it is found it again,

it's incorporated into an HS stock

here's the story; Forend of rifle as it appears with the SmartStock Accuracy System installed. The concave Delrin block of the tuner contacts the barrel with a specific set pressure. As the knob is turned it moves the block either forward or backward along the bottom of the barrel, locking the block in place every one half turn. Each half turn changes the effective length of the forward end of the free floated barrel 1/64 of an inch. This changes the harmonic vibrational frequency of the barrel oscillations. This both dampens the amplitude of movement, and allows null point adjustment of the barrel oscillations to be obtained at the instant the bullet leaves the muzzle. This change allows the shooter to adjust the group to the smallest size possible with a chosen load.

Underside of SmartStock, showing tuner adjustment knob, sling swivel and barrel taper adjustment allen screw access holes. The barrel taper adjustment is set to match the change in barrel diameter, so that when the tuner is moved along it's full length of travel, the pressure of the Delrin block against the barrel remains constant. This is necessary on a tapered barrel to eliminate ramping of the barrel, up or down, as the tuner is adjusted. The pressure only needs to be adjusted once (when the action is first mounted into the SmartStock) to match the rifle barrel taper.

 

[Boskee]

LAST EDITED ON Mar-04-05 AT 04:13PM (MST)[p]This is really not a bad idea. Given the fact that most people can't bed an action and don't want to fool with it. It's the same principle as a pressure point and should work. It's user friendly and should get a the average guy shooting his gun to find the sweet spot which will help with the accuracy as well.
That's really the basic principle behind the boss system in making the barrel stop rotating at the same point with a counter weight and a brake to minimize recoil so the gun will shoot better incorporated into the same devise.
I'm not a proponet of HS aluminum bedding blocks but they seem to work and are utilized by the US Gov't on some sniper rifles.
A good bedding job & a free floated barrel is superior as RELH and Rost stated above. It is a good idea and if you can lock it in place after you find the sweet spot it should be of some benefit. Remington has used the pressure point method in their guns for years and they seem to shoot better than most other brands of out of the box rifles when coupled with the inherent strength of their action design.
It's a good idea that should be of benefit in drop in fiberglass stock applications for many models of factory rifles.