Originally Posted by
chetmarks
I have come to the conclusion that we don't often consider all the little things that add up to a big difference. For example the Mountaineer comes with a free floating barrel. It may be a little thing that we don't think about but I feel it makes a difference in accuracy. Do you guys think a free floating barrel makes a difference accuracy wise and cost wise. Is it a feature that is worth paying a little more for ?
OK Chet, just my opinion...
Free floating a barrel does not achieve the best accurracy in the world. A barrel and stock that is properly inletted or bedded will normally have better accuracy over a larger amount of varibles.
But, free floating is cretainly better than an ill fitting barrel to stock combination. Most manufacturers moved to the free float as a way to recuce the cost of producing a completed gun. In the old days most good gun companies took the time to fit (inlet) the barreled action to the wood stock. Some even went as far as actually bedding the barreled action.
Again just my thougts...