question on floating barrel/bedding stock

The Big Sleep

New member
I've been told that I should be able to slip a dollar bill under my barrel, I've tried and ripped the bill and only made it a third way down the barrel. Any suggestions on what I should do?

It shoots well but I'm concerned about accuracy past 100 yards.

I'm going to be playing "golf" with a friend next weekend and need every advantage to be sub moa
 
Try to find where the barrel is making contact with the stock and remove wood from that area. Sandpaper and dowling usually do it. Refinish the stock. Check to see how well the receiver mates to the stock. If its a good fit dont worry right away about bedding but you should get it done. If it does not mate well then bedding should be performed. Check out youtube for the basic idea.
 
I did some reading and a few sites said that the sporterized barrels don't really need to be floated. It's pretty thick barrel but its no bull barrel. Has anyone had much improvement from floating a normal barrel?
 
its easy as heck and worth it. I don't care about looks so I like to be able to fit more like 2 or 3 stacked buisness cards under the barrel. That way no matter how hot it is or how wet and no matter the shooting position its not going to touch.

Its real simple here is what you do.

remove action from stock.

carefully mask off the stock all around the top.

Get a socket about hte same size as the barrel or slightly larger. Wrap sand paper around it. sand the channel out useing long even strokes. Frequently put the barreled action back in the stock and check barrel clearance with buisness cards.

finish off with progressively finer sand paper till its as smooth as you want it.

clean it well with compressed air and or damp cloth.

apply some stain on the wood. follow directions probably has to dry overnight.

If you really want to go all out do a hand rubbed true-oil finish. you can buy a kit for 20 bucks comes with instructions. Takes like a week you keep applying layers every day its mostly waiting for it to dry.

If you want to go fast use minwax whipe on poly from home depot. You can do a few coats in a day so you can do the whole thing in 1 day and get to shooting.Doesn't look as good as true oil but its the barrel channel who cares.

Not every rifle is designed to be floating barrel make sure yours isn't supposed to have a pressure point before you get to sanding. The action may wiggle more after sanding the barrel out if it does you might want to glass bed it.

If you are going to bed it you might aswell do it now while its all masked off etc.


here is one I bedded and floated. This one I stained and used whipe on poly. Never shot it before I did the work on it but its sure a serious tack driver now! This was my second bedding job and 3rd time doing the barrel channel. My cz 527 i just did the barrel channel haven't bedded yet.
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I don't own a rifle that the barrel isn't floated on. I don own one that had up lift in the front of the stock. It didn't shoot well at all and now is free floated. I don't think free floating alone is a fix if the action has a bind so after floating, I check the action for bind. Tighten the action screw's and then hold your fingers of one hand at the junction of barrel and stock at the front of the stock. Loosen the front action screw wich the other hand and there should be no movement of the barrel from the stock.

I like a lot of space and use a couple business cards. But nobody see's inside the stock so I don't worry about pretty. I rough it out with a Dremel tool all the way back to the reciever. Sand a bit if it's to rough and apply Tru Oil. If you want a nice finish there, I used to tape the barrel lengthwise with a couple layers of Dust tape then put bedding in the barrel channel and let the tape set to gap to float. It's all really easy.
 
I dont even shoot a rifle till its bedded and floated. to me its worth it, others say no. but I have seen the advantages and thats all I need. whatever you use, IE Dowl, socket, floating tool, it all works, and if your in there you might as well bed it. I use the marine tex stuff. mix it up, put it in the action area, and up to just a tiny bit past the recoil lug slot into the barrel channel. set action in and leave alone for the night. next day use your dremmel and clean it up some. then remove the bedding on the barrel side just up to the recoil lug slot. throw the action back in. bout 50 SQI pound on front and back receiver screw, and just snug on the middle screw. take out and enjoy.

Everyone has their way of doing it, this is just my way and has worked great for me
 
A free float job will normally need much more than a dollar bill space between the barrel and forestock.

Put he buttstock on the floor, hold the muzzle with your left hand, and wack the forestack into the barrel with the heel of your right hand.

If you can make the forestock slap the barrel, you need either a larger gap and/or a stiffer stock.

Stiffening, free floating and bedding a stock is an easy home gunsmithing project.

Try here for an article (mine
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) on how to do it. http://www.4shared.com/file/204754822/86f0d60c/Diamond_In_The_Rough.html
 
Thanks, great info you've got me hyped up to float my barrel. The gun was built by a master hunter/ gunsmith out of Oregon. It's not brand new but it hasn't been shot much. It's very accurate but I notice my groupings form a horizontal left to right line but still 1moa so I figured it was something I could fix like floating the barrel.

There's grime between barrel and forestock so ill take out the action, clean the grime and check my clearance again.

Thanks for all the info.
 
Free floating barrel and bedding of the action are 2 important things that you need to have done if you want your gun to shoot as good as it can.
 
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