Normally if you're not going to bed it, leave the pressure pad. If you want to bed it, leave the pad, let the barelled action rest on the rear tang and the pad, (you'll have about 1/16" between the bottom of the receiver and the stock under the front ring) and bed with only the lightest pressure on the action screws. After the epoxy cures, remove the pressure pad and the barrel will be in the right location centered across the stock's top line, and floated. They shoot best that way, just as the poster above mentioned.
Oh what cobblers
a free floated barrel is a quick cheap fix to poor inletting:-
The top three shots spread out holes ringed in biro were using a trial load with a 200 grain Speer bullet which the rifle didn't like
however it loves the 130 grain Hornady SP with BLC-2 that ragged hole is three shot and this rifle has the std factory bedding with the pressure point bedding in the forestock. Rifle is a Parker-Hale 1100 Lwt in .308 and at that time it has an old Nikko Sterling Special 4x32 scope with post and hair reticle
The top photo is also three shot with the same 130 grn Hornady bullet but thisntime in a 30-30 bolt action which has a tightly bedded barrel from the makers.
That was a target from some load development with a .308 Brno ZKK 601 in .308 which also has a bedded barrel from the factory. Three different laods were tried on that target using the Hornady 150 Grn RN bullet. Now same rifle but with the Speer and Nosler 165 grain and Speer 150 Grn RN and more load development along with a trial of a factory load which the rifle dislikes:-
Then some 25-06 load development in a Parker-Hale 1200C again with std factory pressure point bedding:-
Now I also have a Parker-Hale 1200 Super chambered in 7.92mm (8x57 Mauser) that the factory bedding was not good from new. The company had been gone thanks to Modular Industries via Bremmer Arms from some years before I acquired this NIB otherwise it would have been returned for correction. Anyway it grouped poorly at about 2 1/2" at 100 yards. So on checking the inletting and bedding I decide to improve it but made a mistake and got too much compound in the inletting and accidently free floated the barrel. On testing it on the range it now shot patterns of 6"-8" at 100 yards. Adding a pieces of cut up busness card under the barrel at the foretip improved it so I added more until it shot groups of around MOA then had it bedded with this presure. SOME rifles may prefer a free floated barrel
others need a pressure point under the barrel. However to make a blanket statement like this:-
and floated. They shoot best that way
is just rubbish.
