Barrel free-float -> vs. -> barrel block mounting

[waltercrouse]

Putting together all the aspects of action and barrel distortion in one small package with the added contributions about barrel whip has got me thinking about how much the barrel droops.

We can all understand how barrel droop would contribute to whip. Just use the garden hose. Support the end of the hose a foot or so back from the tip. Turn on the water and the hose will rise.

Of course floating the barrel is used to allow the whip to be as consistent as possible.

So the question is: can we reduce and make even more consistent, barrel whip?

Well of course. Bench rest shooters do it with thicker barrels. This also counters heat based distortion but that's another challenge.

What else can we do?

Back to the magnets idea... Thinking... Good?

The bedding is a damper on barrel vibration. The trick is take your free-floating barrel and put a wedge between the barrel and the stock . You use wedge between the barrel and stock at different points and shoot the rifle. At one point you can will find the sweet spot where you shoot your best group. There is where you need to bed the barrel. Shooting the rifle on the bench off a rest and the barrel pressure with the rest ,can change the point of impact ,too.