To float or not to float barrel

[338 dude]

I have a new 257wby vanguard high country custom. Did brake in and has about 70 rounds through it. Doing load development just not grouping like I want. Using a couple different bullets. Should I float the barrel or not. Thanks.

Float

 

[jjmp]

Call a good gunsmith and get a quote on free floating your bbl, then ask him about piller bedding the action ,if your trigger is over 3 pounds ask how much to lighten it , all these little things and up in price and cost, and really can benefit each individual rifle ,only you can decide if there worth it to you , I've owned an older Vangard in 300 Bee ,all I changed out was the trigger to a Timney, that was Huge,it's stock was synthetic and it was hovering around 3/4 to 1 inch for groups ,ifin I wanted more out of it I'd do more to it . Cheers

 

[Coyote Shadow Tracker]

I have a new 257wby vanguard high country custom. Did brake in and has about 70 rounds through it. Doing load development just not grouping like I want. Using a couple different bullets. Should I float the barrel or not. Thanks.

Please send a picture of the stock.
Some rifles work great with bedding the action and the free floating the barrel. MOST RIFLES!!! There are some some full length stock rifles that work great with full bedding.

 

[Teri Anne]

I have a new 257wby vanguard high country custom. Did brake in and has about 70 rounds through it. Doing load development just not grouping like I want. Using a couple different bullets. Should I float the barrel or not. Thanks.

Again from personal experience over 65 years of shooting I've only had one rifle not improve it's groups by floating the barrel, and in that case a bore scope showed severe throat erosion and cracking. It is my humble opinion to simply float the barrel. If that doesn't help it's easy to undo and put pressure on the barrel with Acraglas.

 

[MNbogboy]

I attended (and graduated) from an accredited gunsmithing school long enough ago that we were still required stock making by hand, from a blank. The stockmaking instructor recommended 7# of upward forearm pressure on #3 contour barrels and smaller. Even then, he said "sometime 5# is better and sometimes none at all is what is needed. There are no hard and fast rules." He did stress that the upward pressure needed to be a straight upward push, not off to one side or the other, even, straight upward pressure. Sealing a wood stock is of the utmost importance. Few factory wood stocked offerings are deeply sealed. Bill Larson has it correct.

Do you think adjustable pressure point via a screw on the underside of the forearm has any merit?

 

[shortgrass]

The old, original 40X had 2 screws to adjust tension. They may have been about 30deg apart to act like an adjustable cradle or V block. I have never used adjustment screws, so I can't say "ya or nay".

 

[Carlos88]

Do you think adjustable pressure point via a screw on the underside of the forearm has any merit?

The more you introduce variables the less chance you have of achieving consistent barrel whip.

Glass bed & FF. I have multiple rifles that will shoot within an inch of POI AFTER removing barreled action to clean. Multiple.

I have bedded the same barreled action in two separate stocks that shoot to the same POI. Not by chance either.

 

[nealm66]

I attended (and graduated) from an accredited gunsmithing school long enough ago that we were still required stock making by hand, from a blank. The stockmaking instructor recommended 7# of upward forearm pressure on #3 contour barrels and smaller. Even then, he said "sometime 5# is better and sometimes none at all is what is needed. There are no hard and fast rules." He did stress that the upward pressure needed to be a straight upward push, not off to one side or the other, even, straight upward pressure. Sealing a wood stock is of the utmost importance. Few factory wood stocked offerings are deeply sealed. Bill Larson has it correct.

What do you mean by deeply sealed?

 

[Carlos88]

Thin coat of finish which is supposedly "sucked" into the pores of the wood stock or barrel channel.

 

[nealm66]

I over thunk it

 

[nealm66]

I hear about the vanguards not shooting once in a while but man, the ones I've been around are very accurate. I haven't seen any shoot very good off bipods but off a bag I haven't seen one that wasn't better than 1 moa

 

[Carlos88]

Yeah I bought a Wby Back Country in .257 and it shoots lights out and yes, it's bedded and free floated.

 

[shortgrass]

What do you mean by deeply sealed?

Multiple coats of sanding sealer (like Permalyn sealer) sanded in. Apply 1st coat and let it dry. "break" the glaze that's on after drying with 600g and apply another coat. The 600g won't remove much wood, but it will allow more sealer to be applied that'll soak into the wood. A proper 'sealing' and finishing is labor intensive. Most don't like to pay for hand work, and many don't have the patience to do that labor intensive hand work.

 

[L.Sherm]

I've bedded in front of lug and none in front of lug and have no proof one way or the other is better. Anymore its none in front if nothing else so I dont have to rebed if I switch barrels.