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.220 rifle barrels free floating

tomcat_blackknights
how important is barrel free floating? buddy of mine told me that you should beable to run a piece of paper down the barrel between the forearm and barrel, mine you cant we took it apart and there is a rise in the wood thats touching the barrel. will this effect accuracy? should i remove this? (rem 700) i am wondering if this is playin a part in my accuracy problem with my swift. i went down to a 45 and 55 grn slugs today. tightened up the group but still not where i think it should be. any oppinions on cleaning solvents that work well with removing copper? ive used hoppes 9 and a friend told me to try shooters choice. any others maybe worth trying.
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5 comments

Date Votes
  • the yooper
    There are several schools of thought on that - some guys like free floating, some full bedding, some free except for a couple inches at the front of the stock and likely others. If your rifle is free floating except for a small area mid-barrel, I'd personally remove that area and free float the whole thing. Just my $.02.
    yooper
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  • FWAddit
    I agree with the yooper.

    Then you have the option of adding a pressure point an inch or two behind the fore-end tip. You could insert a piece of cardboard or slice of an old credit card there. If, with the pressure point, the rifle shoots better and still holds zero as the barrel heats up, you can replace the temporary fix with a permanent pressure point using bedding material. If not, you can leave the barrel free-floated.
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  • RCrosby
    If you haven't already, I'd coat the barrel with inletting black or even black shoe polish to find out exactly where the barrel is and isn't touching. Oddly spaced high points between the receiver and fore-end tip should definately be removed. If the high point you refer to is at the fore end tip, you might try adding a shim to this area before removing any wood. If the rifle doesn't respond to attempts to vary the pressure out front, you might want to try glass bedding the first 2.5 to 3 inches forward of receiver and then free floating the rest of the way.
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  • MIKE WISKEY
    "most" light weight sporter type barrels will group better with some 'up' pressure on the barrel, that's why Rem. put the little 'bump' at the end of the stock. But this also will make the group 'walk' with heat or humidity changes. As in all thing 'firearm' the are exceptions to every thing. If your rifle is shooting ok, leave it as is, if not you can 'free-float' it. It is easy to 'undo'.
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  • stevecrea
    With regard to copper removal, I have had good success with Hoppe's Benchmark. I seem to recall that Hoppe's No. 9 is not really designed to remove copper, but I may be corrected. However, there are many good products available. I have been warned by my gunsmith to be cautious with some of these products, and to not let them stay in the bore too long.

    You did not indicate what accuracy levels you are getting, and if the rifle has a sporter or heavier barrel.

    You did not indicate which Remington Model 700 you have, and whether it is new or used. However, it sounds like the point touching your barrel is the pressure point that was designed by Remington to provide upward pressure, which is usually just two inches or so back from the forend. Before removing this and freefloating it, I would first explore some of the other obvious avenues. This would include the proper cleaning that you are contemplating, proper break-in (especially if it is new or not fired much), checking action bedding, checking the muzzle crown for any dings or improper cutting, and experimentation with different loads, experimentation with the amount of upward pressure, etc. I would tend to leave the removal of the pressure point as a later step, only if these other steps fail to produce your desired results.

    I once removed the pressure point from the forend of a Weatherby Mark V in .240 Weatherby, because the rifle would "only" group around an inch with factory ammo. However, the group size increased after removing it. There are also some good articles available about experimenting with different amounts of upward pressure on the barrel.
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