Fine-tune XP-100

[pffft]

Target shooters take great pains to bed the action and float the barrel, but I notice that the older factory XP-100s neither use bedding nor float the barrel, still achieving exceptional accuracy from the stock pistol.
So will a conversion to rear-grip and floating the barrel have a tendency to improve the accuracy of these models?

[Lone Star]

Probably.  One of my XPs was rebarreled to .250/3000 and with a full bull barrel (muzzle 1.125" diameter, 16" long) glued into a modified McMillan center grip stock; it would agg in the mid 0.3s.  Stock trigger, but a lot of work done to it.  It would be difficult to improve on this accuracy level even with a rear trigger.

That said, it would be a lot easier to get high accuracy with a rear trigger in a good 'glass tock, barrel floated.  the rear-grip XPs ride the bags easier and there are a lot of trigger options as about any trigger whick will fit the M700 can fit the XP, particularly if you don't need a safety.

[pffft]

Thanks Lone Star,
I've been purchasing guns and stashing them away for the last 30 years for when I would finally have the time to play with them. Most are still NIB, and now I get to see how they perform.
I managed to collect two XPs and probably should have seen the future in things that they would eventually be discontinued.
So I'm running thru all the possibilities, and locating shops that do these conversions, and will convert at least one of them to either a rear-grip pistol or a rifle configuration in 6mm.
I have a good use for the 223 just as it is, but depending on muzzle blast, this one may serve better converted back to the original XP caliber, 221 Fireball.

[Lone Star]

Before you go to the time and expense of re-barreling to .221, try loading that .223 with BlueDot powder.  This powder is far faster than those usually recommended for the .223, but in fact it often provides outstanding accuracy with lower muzzle pressure and thus less blast - and less recoil.   Quite a few varmint hunters use this powder with the lighter .224" bullet in rifles with sub-1/2 moa accuracy.   In the short barrel of an XP it may surpize you.

http://www.reloadingroom.com/page33.html
http://www.jamescalhoon.com/tobee2.html
http://www.handgunhunt.com/tech/t12/index.html

[pffft]

You are absolutely right, Lone Star.
I have a half dozen rifles in 223, and I always considered the 223 a little overboar for my little Contender frame. So I stopped using it in preference for the smaller 22s.
I've been handloading since collecting, and it never occurred to me to use reduced loads in my rifles.
I have several of the pistol powders and Blue Dot is among them, so I think this is going to work out just fine.
I don't really need another 221. I have three rifles in that caliber already!
One is a slick little 18" tapered barrel for my Contender that is real easy to swing into position.
It should prove interesting downloading for it as well.
Excellent! Thanks again for the info and the links.