I have a brand newish, 4 year old Winchester model 70 Sporter LT with a walnut stock. Should I be able to slide a piece of paper wrapped around the barrell all the way down to the first mounting screw? Because I can't slide the paper in the stock at all. The stock has remained on the barrell since I purchased it brand new. Is that a problem? Will that affect accuracy that much? It's a 270 by the way.

Thanks for your feedback in advance.

How does it fire? First and foremost I would not fool with something that is not broken, if it fires well then leave it alone! If you are having accuracy problems then this could be an issue, the stock could have swelled/warped, the barrel could be warped, the rifle could just have been put togeather that way, hard to tell but you could be opening a can of worms. Some rifles are built with the tip of the stock placing pressure on the barrel, supposedly helps accuracy. You could bed the stock and/or enlarge/true the barrel channel of the stock if you thing it's a problem.

I don't think that gun is supposed to be pressure bedded. If it was a 700BDL Synthetic I would say no your not supposed to be able too. But the 70's I have had and seen, it should be free floated. Yes, very much can affect accuracy and stringing.

This had me bothered enough to check the couple of Mod. 70's I have, both were freefloated. One is older but the other is about two years old. Looks like you might have something going on there, check to make sure the action is seated in the stock completely before going much further.

BigCountry - you think if he contacts Winchester and whispers sweet nothings in their ear they will take a look free of charge?

Last few Model 70's I owned including one 300 wsm and 7WSM were not freefloated by any means.

I wonder why Winchester is not consistant with their production? Seems like they would either free float all or only their custom rifles. Got me on this one fellas, I would revert back to my origional statement in this case, don't fix it if it isn't broken.

Not Winchester. They don't say that it should be floated so they wouldnt give a rats ass. Do what I do with a Model 70. Standard operation. Run down to the gunsmith. Have him check headspace, the freefloat, adjust the trigger, and should be a good gun.

USMC PMI's advice is right on the money - - don't mess with it if it is behaving itself. However...

I have a push feed Model 70 Featherweight .243. When I first got it, the accuracy was pretty poor, and the trigger pull was awful. I adjusted the trigger myself (easy as pie on a Model 70) and this made the trigger pull very nice, but did not help accuracy as much as I thought it would. I noticed that accuracy was actually not bad if I let the barrel cool completely between shots. I then floated the barrel myself. Accuracy immediately came right in to respectability.

If you're not handy, or are unsure of your abilities in any way, let a gunsmith do the work for you. If you let a smith do it, throw in a few more bucks and have him bed the action as well.

Good luck.

The barrel should not be touching the stock. It is doubtful you will be satisfied with the accuracy if it is. That holds even more true since the stock is wood and can swell and contract, as well as warp to some degree. You might also consider bedding it, which is something most folks can do themselves.