There should be no movement between the barrel and action when it is closed tight, with or without the forearm. I fought this same thing on a .22 Hornet. You can go ahead and try it , but I ended up sending mine back and they fixed it. You may have to call customer service several times to get someone who will send you a free UPS shipping ticket. When I got my Hornet back, it closes so tight it is hard to open. It will loosen with time so I am happy. They also dropped the trigger from nearly 7lb. pull to 4lb. Good luck, my .223 has been a good shooter from day one. Several other of my handis have needed a little work. JamesIII