Author Topic: remington 700 bdl varmint .223 (Read 1275 times)

josebd · « **on:** February 01, 2004, 02:10:27 PM »

i was thinkingabout having the barrel floated,is there a website on how to do this step by step?

gunnut69 · « **Reply #1 on:** February 01, 2004, 03:04:51 PM »

If a factory piece it should be floated now. Otherwise there are books on gunsmithing that can help. To float a barrel isn't all that hard. I use barrel channel cutters but 60-80 grit sandpaper wrapped arounf a dowel used in a back and forth motion should work just fine. Just remember you don't need a canyon on either side of the barrel, enough for a dollar bill to clear when wrapped around the barrel is quite enough.. Be certain to reseal the wood after floating as moisture is not a good thing..

josebd · « **Reply #2 on:** February 01, 2004, 03:45:12 PM »

what do you reseal it with?

Ka6otm · « **Reply #3 on:** February 02, 2004, 04:50:52 AM »

Reseal it with a varnish so that moisture can't get into the wood. I kind of like Spar varnish for this sort of thing, but almost any varnish should work.

Ka6otm

gunnut69 · « **Reply #4 on:** February 02, 2004, 05:28:24 AM »

I've used varnish also but be certain to wax it afterwards with a quality carnuba wax as varnish is not water proof, it's water resistant. For better results use polyurethane. The rubbing poly is my choice. It's quite thin and soaks in pretty well.. and isn't as sticky as the brush on.. The plastic finish is as water proof as I know of.. You can actually used just wax and it'll work quite well. A lot of the old muzzle loading rifles were finished with just bee's wax.. Rubbed into the wood it preserves, protects and waterproofs. Poly is better though...

bigdaddytacp · « **Reply #5 on:** February 02, 2004, 07:12:12 AM »

Quote from: josebd

what do you reseal it with?

.........I don't want to disagree but you really need more clearance than a dollar bill for a good float job......pressure from field conditions/shooting positions aganist the forearm from the rest or bipod-similar will let the forearm touch the barrel and cause erratic pressure.....voiding the benifits of freefloating....you want at least two business cards to fit under the barrel and between the forearm..AFTER the channel is sealed....as the others note any good wood finish will seal the barrel channel...and let it soak in and do a second coat to get a good seal to avoid swelling spots later.........many like to put a support glass bedding pad at the chamber end of the barrel to support the barrel to remove some of the pressure at the front locking lug area of the action....Brownells Accra Glas works well for that and glass bedding the action front and rear and action lug area if you go to that after the free floating the barrel....those old HB 700's can shoot very well with a little tuning in the gun and load....good luck and good shooting!!

gunnut69 · « **Reply #6 on:** February 02, 2004, 07:23:44 PM »

First, I agree the M700V's are great shooters, I've an oldie in 222 Rem, made in the late '70s early eighties that loves 50 SX Hornadays and Ball C2. I also agree that forearm pressure can move a forearm, but only a lot of pressure. A target sling(tightened on the upper arm) and used very tightly may alter the forearm enough to change it's POI. Shooting from a preoper rest, hand holding the rifle or froma spring loaded bypod will have no effect. Shooting from a hard rest be it a tree limb, a solid bypod or any solid surface will affect the POI of even a free floated barrel.. As will the foerarm if it swells or warps from moisture.. of course this isn't a large problem with a properly sealed stock.. The remington 700 has a reputation a good shooter from the factory. They bed with pressure on the barrel from the forearm of the stock! Any changes in the moisture content will affect one of those and most don't have a lot of problems! You are in a way correct, for maximum protection a 1/8 inch clearance would be even netter but as long as the stock will clear a dollar bill(some double that thickness) and you don't plan on using a tight target style sling it'll be fine and one won't have the problem with field mice trying to take up residence in the gap alongside the barrel. I once bedded a 788 Remington in 243. It shot fantastic but the stock was made of sycamore. Now you may not know anything about sycamore but it's the most mobile wood in the world. As it's moisture content changed the zero moved. Sometimes it wouldn't stay zeroed for an entire day.. A single dollar's worth of clearance solved the problem for years. Put another way if what you say is true then the least reliable rifles in the world would be the Remington 700's as they all 'touch' the forestock.. and would move almost constantly and that is most certainly not the case. If the forestock warps so much that it moves over and touches the barrel on a side then we have a wood stability problem. One need not create an ugly rifle, jsut to get one that shoots well, and consistantly!!

josebd · « **Reply #7 on:** February 10, 2004, 04:50:09 AM »

so i would be better off not floating the barrel?

gunnut69 · « **Reply #8 on:** February 10, 2004, 05:13:28 AM »

josebd
I don't really know. Why were you considering floating the barrel before. Does it's zero wander? Are the groups not as good as you'd like? Is the barrel touching on one side and not on the other? If it's a factory unmodified rifle the heavy barrel guns were not bedded with pressure on the barrel..at least those I've seen. There's no way to say that your rifle will shoot better floated or with pressure, but if you perceive a problem, floating may be a way to attempt a fix. If the rifle doesn'r respond as you would like, adding a pressure pad back is quite easy to accomplish. I guess the short answer is, what is the problem we are trying to fix.