Free Floating my Ruger
 

I have a new Ruger M77 Mark II .270 (hence my screen name) in the all-weather. It is not freefloated, I tried to slide a dollar bill between the barrel and the stock and it couldn't. I have tried to do some research and have heard several different things, one being that Ruger gives their rifles pressure points that the stock holds and that by free floating the stock you could hurt the accuracy.

So should my synthetic stock be floated?

RE: Free Floating my Ruger
 

See how it shoots. If it puts three shots into a 1.5 to 2.0 inch circle at 100 yards consistantly, I'd leave it alone.

early

RE: Free Floating my Ruger
 

early is right...do a little benchwork and tell us how it's shooting and with what. Make sure you're using a good, solid rest and give the gun a chance to show what it will do. You didn't mention if you are using a scope, but I assume you are. What kind and whose mounts?
If the gun shoots decent as is, I'd try handloading if you're not doing that now, before I'd fool with the bedding........

RE: Free Floating my Ruger
 

I'm with the rest. Shoot it and see. Remember, it's not a match rifle so expectingmatch accuarcy is quite possibly the first step of dissapppointment. Guessing it's for hunting purposes so in all usefulness, it's only gotta be MOGA (minute-of-game-animal).

RE: Free Floating my Ruger
 

It is correct to say that by floating you may hurt accuracy. It is also true that if you expect less you will probably get it. I have seen guns floated then completely bedded to the end of the stock. Define your needs and expectations, then balance with your skills and resources.

There are a lot of things that are not as drastic rasping a stock out you can do. Different ammo, good cleaning procedures, check sight in proceedures. But right now my opinion is to follow the manufacturers or a reputable break in proceedure. VERY often new guns have rough spots that smooth as you shoot. Very often guns seem to shoot better and better as you shoot more, but the break in is important. This will take longer if your gun is stainless. Can consider lapping.

I disagree with the implication that settling for good enough is ok, unless that is really what you want. I have failed a lot in working on guns and learned from every failure, Just be safe.

RE: Free Floating my Ruger
 

Yup, shoot it and see....

Putting pressure points back in, tho', ain't a big deal..........

RE: Free Floating my Ruger
 

Exactly! See how it shoots! If it shoots well as it came from the factory, being a synthetic it is not subject to the kind of warping and swelling that affects wood stocks, so it will pretty much stay as it now is! I never do anything toa new rifle until I find out how it performs as it came, hoping that I can skate by and not have to change anything! Just lazy, I guess.....

RE: Free Floating my Ruger
 

I agree with the above. Shoot it first.

Though mine shot better floated.

Tom

RE: Free Floating my Ruger
 

I've not seena riflefloated that didn't shoot better.

'Course my #1's all shoot wicked good 'nuff,unfloated.

Go figure.......

RE: Free Floating my Ruger
 

I was in the same boat as you last year. I just purchased a Remington 700XCR in 30-06 and after I got home realized that the barrel was not free floating. I was all upset about it untill I took the gun out to the range and was shooting clover leaves at 100 yards with off-the-shelf ammo. Now I'm not concerned about a floating barrel anymore.

RE: Free Floating my Ruger
 

I had a M77 in 220Swift that I free floated. I ended up epoxying a pressure point back into the stock

RE: Free Floating my Ruger
 

I have the M77 Mark II in .308 stainless/synthetic , and it is about 5 years old. It was a tack driver right out of the box, and it still is.... I say leave it alone.

RE: Free Floating my Ruger
 

We used to free float barrels to keep the effect of the wood stock swelling from changing the point of impact, not the size of the group...

Since your rifle has a synthetic stock, you will actually probably hurt the accuracy...

I have improved accuracy on some rifles with pressure points...Simply take a 12 gauge fired shotgun shell, cut a 3/4 inch section out of it, cut in half, so you have a half moon...Loosen up the screws holding the barrel to the stock and slide this adjustable pressure point between the stock and barrel...

RE: Free Floating my Ruger
 

IMO a light barrel normally shoots better with a pressure point. Again IMO the pressure point allows less barrel whip(Harmonic vibration).The pressure point is important as long as you have the ability to keep it consistent. I have helped an untold number of shooter's over the year's who wanted to free float their barrel immediately. The first thing I showed them was the importance of tightening their stock screws(to the barreled action). There is a definite procedure to follow when tightening your screws, and how tight to attach these screws. I find a torque screw driver to be a necessity for constant accuracy. It is one of the cheapest tools you can buy that will yield the most accuracy for your dollars spent. Proper and consistent torque is very important to me.

Free floating is actually a cheaper way to build a rifle. It takes a lot more "work"-manufacturing time to establish a proper pressure point.

IMO a rifle that has it's screws torqued properly, and the pressure point done properly, will shoot as well or even better than a free floated barrel(light barrels). Heavy barrels are a totally different game. Also barrel length is another variable. Tom.

RE: Free Floating my Ruger
 

Thanks for all the imput guys. I have shot my rifle a number of times and it does shoot great I was more curious about the pressurepoints than anythingthen anything. I will leave it alone.

I haven't got it into a bench yet but off a pair of shooting sticks yesterday I dropped a buck at 200 yds it hit dead on so it will.