I am trying to get a 100, 200, 300 yard gun together, I won a 700 vssm 223 with a boyd's thumbhole laminated stock that has the vents cut into the barrel channel. I was checking it out today and preparing to torque the action bolts when I decided to check the barrel for complete free floating relief, I was very surprised to find that the stock has an appx 1" milled hump built into it appx. 1.5- 2.0" back from the end of the stock, which the barrel touches. Other than that "hump" the entire barrel is completely free all the way back to the Lug. Not really sure what to do? seem to me it defeats the entire purpose of the relief if the barrel is resting on the stock at that point.
I would load up some really nice hand loads and take it out to the range and see how she shoots. If the rifle shoots really well, than I would leave it alone. I am thinking that rifle will probably shoot 1/2 MOA at 100 yards. If you use some good reloads, it might shoot a little better than 1/2 MOA at 100 yards. If it shoots really bad, than take it to a good gunsmith to have him check out the hump. Anyhow, you won a really nice rifle. What is the twist rate on that particular rifle, I am curious.
Wildcat, I am going to shoot it before I do anything, just doesn't seem to jive with the floated barrel concept. It's a 1-12 twist, plannin on tryin 55grn Amax's for starters. In cleaning the barrel, I was pleasantly surprised that it felt pretty darn slick, haven't had a scope in it yet, but I will after the weekend. I'm really hopin for less than 1/2" at 100, the guys I see shootin at the range are in the .2's and .3's. Thanks for your idea's.
Hi Mark most Remington rifles have the barrel pad at the front of the barrel to stop the barrel osilating but i find it is best to remove it as if you place a diferent pressure on the forend while firing in diferent positions the point of impact will change. It is easy to remove just wrap some 240 grit sand paper around some 5/8" dowell and sand it down to the finish of the rest of the barrel chanel.
Take it out and shoot it first and tru placing diferent tensions on the forend like pulling the forend down into the rest then press one side of the stock against the rest like you would use a tree as a support and you will have your answer as to weather it will need relieving. But as i stated i would relieve it if it was mine. It sounds like a nice rifle god luck.
I'd do the barrel break in with the pressure point. you'll get an Idea of what it will do.
Then regardless of how it does, I'd remove the bump and free flow the whole thing to about the thickness of two business cards. (Well, at least 1&1/2 business cards)
Wild Bill and Roy,
It really is a nice rifle, and after hearing these thoughts I seem to remember something I read or heard somewhere about the pressure point thing. I was just really not expecting it when all the rest of the stock material had been removed to much more oversized dimensions, I will do the break-in with the pressure point and see what it does. If it does need to be removed it will be really easy, it's just a strip 1" wide. I'm going to bed the action after the break-in [too much hurry to shoot this weekend]. Thanks for your advise.
I put a Boyds Varminter thumbhole on my 700 in 300WM. I got it off of ebay and it was not finished, it was very rough cut. Also the action screws took some work to get them into the right place, and I free floated the barrel and bedded the recoil lug, and the front and back of the action. Now it seems that the barrel sits a little to the right in the channel. I don't know how it shoots yet but hopefully it is just cosmetic, but I will probably re-bed it and pull the barrel straight in the channel. My point is depending on who finished the stock it might have some compensation issues.
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