Bed or Float?
 

In reading the comments on Mountaineer Magic's Glass Bedding post I got to wondering about the pros and cons of floating a barrel versus full length barrel bedding.

Clearly, floating the barrel is easier than full length bedding. But I've always been of the impression that full length bedding is likely to yield the best accuracy. Is one better than the other?

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I think a lot of it is in how the rifle was designed. For instance, one of the selling points of the T/C Black Diamond was its free floating barrel which they claim added to down range accuracy. My BD is free floating and is a very accurate rifle.

Now my Knight Disc is definitely not free floating. In fact when in the stock, that barrel can not move. Almost like the stock was molded around the barrel. And again very accurate. But then the rifle was made that way.

Is your Omega X7 free floating or bedded?

This is something that I have been told from a gunsmith. That full length bedding makes the gun most accurate for the first shot, once the barrel heats up accuracy falls off. I dont have any ML bedded, however I do have 3 centerfires bedded with the barrels free floated. Doing this tighten up the groups on these rifles, these rifles all shot good before the bedding so there wasnt a huge difference. I personally know of one rifle that the best group it shot was 2.5 inches at 100 yards. My friend had the action bedded and the gun now shoots under one inch groups, a big difference.

This article might answer some questions or may be create others...

http://www.rifleshootermag.com/2010/..._bedding_0304/

It also explains why I prefer synthetic stocks vs. wood, with a wood laminate caught in the middle.

I had a little slop in the barrel channel on one of my Renegades. I bedded the end and like it. I did another and broke the stock doing something stupid. Here is the one I like. It is a 1-18 twist renegade .458 32" long. Ron

Cayugad, the X7's barrel is secured to the stock with two screws in the location shown in the pictures. The barrel is pretty much free floating.





The gun grouped very well when new. But after I'd put a few hundred rounds through it the accuracy started falling off. I think the barrel settled in the stock because even with the two mounting screws tight I could move the barrel side-to-side a very slight bit. I put a little bedding compound of each side of the barrel - strips about an inch long and half-inch wide located about midway between the mounting screws. That tightened the groups up nicely, but I'm thinking of a full bedding job.

Sabotloader, thanks for that link. Interesting article.