RE: Free Floating Barrel - When is it not Required?
It has been my experience that free floated beats pressure points regarding accuracy. Just MY experience, and that is all that matters to me. I only have 4 rifles that I consistently hunt with, and they all have HS Precision stocks, which are free-floated.
For you, I would suggest that you shoot the gun first, trying several makes of ammo, and different bullets. Find the one that shoots the best groups. If that isn't good enough, ask your gunsmith what SMALL steps you can take to improve accuracy. Gun manufacturers (as in mass production hunting firearms) consider 1 & 1/2 to 2 inches MOA to be acceptable accuracy out of the box. If you want better, you can adjust/replace many things, ie. trigger pull vs Timney trigger, synthetic/fiberglass/laminated stock, glass bed the action, pillar bedding, full-length bedding block, true the bolt, replace barrel with match-grade barrel, and lots more. It all depends on what you want regarding accuracy, and how much you are willing to spend. You might get lucky and purchase a factory Rem 700 which shoots sub-moa right out of the box. Then again, you might have to do some tinkering to get that. It is all part of the experience!!!Good luck!
Good Hunting,
Hal