Fully bedded vs. fully floated

[Mike Britton]

 I'd like thoughts and opinions on fully bedded barrels vs. fully floated barrels.
I've just gotten my '03A3 back from ER Shaw, and I was thinking, "If I bed the action, why not hog out the barrel channel, and bed it at the same time?" Mike

[bilmac]

If you are talking having the glass contact the bbl just like the action, that is considered bad practice. Reason being that as you fire the gun the bbl heats and changes dimensions. This will cause the bbl to move in relation to the stock and thus change where the gun shoots. The accepted way to bed the barrel CHANNEL is to shim the barrel before placing it in the liquid so that a minute gap is created between them. This is usually done by placing several layers of tape on the bbl. This will result in a free floated bbl.

This is the way I usually bed my bbls to start, then I test them, they are free floated in this condition. Then I put a shim between the bbl and stock about 2" from the forearm tip. This is the old standard way of bedding with some upward pressure at the forearm tip. I've bedded several rifles, and all of them have shot better with pressure at the forearm tip than they do free floated.

[Graybeard]

Personally I prefer to see the action fully and properly bedded along with an inch or two at most of the barrel in front of the action and the rest either floated or floated with a single pressure point like Remington uses on all their rifles. If it's a sporter weight or lighter mountain rifle weight barrel I think they tend to work better with a pressure point and the rest floated.

If the barrel is made properly and correctly relieved of any stress induced in the manufacturing process even thin barrel can shoot excellently and continue to do so after they heat up. The main reason heavier barrels shoot better longer is that they take longer to heat up and are a bit stiffer but if a thin barrel is properly made and stress relieved it can hang in there far longer than any hunting situation should ever require.

I've oned several Remington Mountain rifles and Model Sevens that you could heat too hot to hold onto that still didn't shift point of impact. If I bought a custom rifle that did I'd want my money back but sadly far too many production rifle barrels are not made correctly or properly stress relieved and do shift POI badly as they heat. Some Remington barrels do but most of mine have not shifted badly.

IF great big if really you have a barrel fully bedded and if the stock is laminated or synthetic so it doesn't shift when wet it really shouldn't matter if the barrel is made right and stress relieved but if it is not then when it heats you're better off free floated.

[Mike Britton]

If you are talking having the glass contact the bbl just like the action, that is considered bad practice. Reason being that as you fire the gun the bbl heats and changes dimensions. This will cause the bbl to move in relation to the stock and thus change where the gun shoots. The accepted way to bed the barrel CHANNEL is to shim the barrel before placing it in the liquid so that a minute gap is created between them. This is usually done by placing several layers of tape on the bbl. This will result in a free floated bbl.

This is the way I usually bed my bbls to start, then I test them, they are free floated in this condition. Then I put a shim between the bbl and stock about 2" from the forearm tip. This is the old standard way of bedding with some upward pressure at the forearm tip. I've bedded several rifles, and all of them have shot better with pressure at the forearm tip than they do free floated.

The way I was taught was to bed the action, and maybe an inch of the barrel, and float the rest of the barrel.
But then I got to thinking about rifles built in the 20's and 30's when 'glass bedding was unheard of.
Wern't they bedded hard into the fore end?
I usually wrap the barrel with two rounds of duct tape. About the thickness of a business card.
'Splain to me about a pressure point at the front of the fore arm. This is an ER Shaw 2 1/2 contour "heavy sporter"
 barrel. I don't hunt much, and this rifle, .30-06,with iron sights, won't be expected to give target accuracy.
Having said that, I still want to do a proper bedding job. I was just thinking that in the old days they didn't float barrels, and got decent accuracy, right?

[AtlLaw]

+1 on bilmac & GB's posts!

[Mike Britton]

So....If I want to line the barrel channel with bedding compound to stabilize the barrel channel, I should STILL float the barrel, correct?

[bilmac]

Yup. If you want pressure at the tip then leave a spot without any shim where you want the pressure to be and hang the rifle upside down with that much weight hanging from the barrel while the glue sets or do it the way I described before.

[Mike Britton]

Copy that, bilmac.
This rifle is going to be "old style" Griffin & Howe like, with iron sights and classic stock.
That was why I was toying with the idea of bedding the barrel hard into the stock.
You are right tho,and somewhere down the road many years from now whoever ends up with this rifle will be glad I didn't experiment with bedding.
I think I'll float the barrel like I always have,and call it good.
The Shaw 2 1/2 contour is pretty stiff, and it will be fine floated. Thanks to all for your opinions. Mike

[gunnut69]

Hi Guys! Actually bedded barrels are not too unusual. Many old mauser sporters had barrels bedded full length and they worked quite well. Barrels that are floated are not as affected by a tight sling used in shooting as a barrel that's bedded full length or even those with a pressure point as the M700's. My 300 Winchester mag is full length bedded and seldom changed impact from year to year. Some target rifles are bedded only in the barrel. These literally have the barrels glued into the stock with the action floating..they perform OK.. The 10-22 does extremely well with the barrel bedded tight and the action left to float. the main advantage os free floating is the fore stock has less chance of affecting the barrel harmonics and moving with changes in humidity. Well laid out wood and well sealed will do pretty well but moisture changes in the wood are inevitable. Glassing the forarem can minimize movement and the impact changes it can bring.. As a rule I free float forst and check accuracy.. If all is well I stabilize the forearm with bedding, while keeping the free floating nature of the forearm.. If floating doesn't produce the accuracy level I will stabilize the forearm and add pressure to the barrel aala the remingtons. On mannlicher rifles I most often full length bed... action first, then the barrel..

[Nessmuk#1]

Is it NULA or E.R. Shaw or fully beds all his rifles?
Anyhow, I've tried twice fully bedding my tricked out 700, and so far it's been a no go.  Once with glass, once with RTV.  I'll try it floated next, but it'll be a few day before I've time to try it.  I've never shot this set-up, so don't know what to expect.  It is bedded and has pillars set in flush with the bedding.  It's all in Bell & Carlson stock.

[Mckie Hollow]

Why not get Shaw's opinion? Keep it simple.