The Accurate Reloading Forums THE ACCURATE RELOADING.COM FORUMS Guns, Politics, Gunsmithing & Reloading Gunsmithing To float or not to float.Go | New | Find | Notify | Tools | Reply | |
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I have an original first year production vanguard VGX 30-06 which has the fancy wood stock with the pressure pad. Weatherby clearly states not to float but all my other rifles shoot much better with free floated barrels. Can anyone tell me why I shouldn't remove that pressure pad? Captain Finlander | ||
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'Cause Weatherby told you not to?  If the rifle isn't performing like you want, and the gun is in no danger of becoming valuable, and you think floating the barrel can improve the performance, then why not. Unlike a mattress tag, you can always replace the pressure pad. _______________________________________________________________________________ This is my rifle, there are many like it but this one is mine. My rifle is my best friend, it is my life. | |||
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But make sure you do as I was told by a former active duty Marine from Utah... "I said float it...and when I say float it...I don't mean that dollar bill crap" Given the above, you may also find that pressure pad is okay but that the barrel is not properly floated in all other areas. You may want to check the rest of the barrel channel first and make sure it is properly floated before removing the pressure pad. Mike Never under estimate the internet community's ability to reply to your post with their personal rant about their tangentially related, single occurrence issue.  What I have learned on AR, since 2001: 1. The proper answer to: Where is the best place in town to get a steak dinner? is…You should go to Mel's Diner and get the fried chicken. 2. Big game animals can tell the difference between .015 of an inch in diameter, 15 grains of bullet weight, and 150 fps. 3. There is a difference in the performance of two identical projectiles launched at the same velocity if they came from different cartridges. 4. While a double rifle is the perfect DGR, every 375HH bolt gun needs to be modified to carry at least 5 down. 5. While a floor plate and detachable box magazine both use a mechanical latch, only the floor plate latch is reliable. Disregard the fact that every modern military rifle uses a detachable box magazine. 6. The Remington 700 is unreliable regardless of the fact it is the basis of the USMC M40 sniper rifle for 40+ years with no changes to the receiver or extractor and is the choice of more military and law enforcement sniper units than any other rifle. 7. PF actions are not suitable for a DGR and it is irrelevant that the M1, M14, M16, & AK47 which were designed for hunting men that can shoot back are all PF actions. 8. 95 deg F in Africa is different than 95 deg F in TX or CA and that is why you must worry about ammunition temperature in Africa (even though most safaris take place in winter) but not in TX or in CA. 9. The size of a ding in a gun's finish doesn't matter, what matters is whether it’s a safe ding or not. 10. 1 in a row is a trend, 2 in a row is statistically significant, and 3 in a row is an irrefutable fact. 11. Never buy a WSM or RCM cartridge for a safari rifle or your go to rifle in the USA because if they lose your ammo you can't find replacement ammo but don't worry 280 Rem, 338-06, 35 Whelen, and all Weatherby cartridges abound in Africa and back country stores. 12. A well hit animal can run 75 yds. in the open and suddenly drop with no initial blood trail, but the one I shot from 200 yds. away that ran 10 yds. and disappeared into a thicket and was not found was lost because the bullet penciled thru. I am 100% certain of this even though I have no physical evidence. 13. A 300 Win Mag is a 500 yard elk cartridge but a 308 Win is not a 300 yard elk cartridge even though the same bullet is travelling at the same velocity at those respective distances. | |||
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I have removed the pressure pad from several Remingtons.....and never regretted it. That said....if they shot well, and many of them do, with the pad, I leave it alone. /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// "Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery." Winston Churchill | |||
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I've found it often to find a sweet spot after I removed the pressure point. However, when found the accuracy was normally greater. As usual just my $.02 Paul K | |||
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there are those who say that pressure points and free floating are nothing more that signs of poor craftsmanship in inletting. | |||
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At least in theory one can say that glass bedding from the tip of the action tang to the very tip of the for end is the most perfect bedding one can achieve. I just refuse to believe that any artesian can bed a rifle that well.....and yes, some of them are immensely good..... I've glass bedded 100% full length several times......and never been successful in getting good accuracy that way! /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// "Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery." Winston Churchill | |||
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 As was said; float the entire barrel.IMHO a clearance > .025"along the entire length is not too much. Most of mine are far greater.  rogerOld age is a high price to pay for maturity!!! Some never pay and some pay and never reap the reward. Wisdom comes with age! Sometimes age comes alone.. | |||
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And they are probably just as MISinformed about other things too. What a crock! IMO the better question to ask is not "Why remove it?" but rather "Why keep it?" In 50 years' smithing I've never regretted removal of any pressure pad, and never gotten any better accuracy by adding one. OTOH at least one rifle that was a frustrating POI-changer from year to year WITH a pressure pad became very consistent after removal. Not more accurate, not at all, BUT the POI no longer changed every year. And just try using a shooting sling with a fully-bedded or pressure-point sporter forearm! HAH! Nowadays I free-float and pillar-bed all my bolt rifle builds. Regards, Joe __________________________ You can lead a human to logic but you can't make him think. NRA Life since 1976. God bless America! | |||
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Frist thing I try if a rifle will not shoot good is bed the front of the action and the back 3 inchs of the barrel and float the rest. I have had very good luck doing this and never made a rifle shoot worse for bedding and floating the barrel. | |||
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X2 - But, I like to float 'em. "I ask, sir, what is the Militia? It is the whole people. To disarm the people is the best and most effective way to enslave them" - George Mason, co-author of the Second Amendment during the Virginia convention to ratify the Constitution | |||
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All my other rifles are free floated and most are bedded but this old Weatherby happens to be a first year production rifle that looks brand new out of the box after 40 years. I shoot it very sparingly but It is clearly not in the same league with my other rifles accuracy wise. What I was hoping for was an explanation that supports Weatherby's archaic notion that the pressure pad still has merit. According to their people it is the only way to set a rifle in an action. I asked them directly why this was the case and they stated they get better performance with it. Interesting? Just to let you all know, I knocked the sucker out of there and did a very subtle sanding to relieve the channel. A thin paper will clear cleanly now and may become greater once it is bedded. Thanks for the moral support. Captain Finlander | |||
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There are two kinds of rifles. Those for drooling over, and, working rifles. If your rifle is a working rifle, then do what is needed to make it work more effectively. If it is a looker as well, then do what is needed, but make it look like it was planned. Hold the rifle with your right hand and smack the forearm in an upward and then sideways direction with the other, and listen for the sound of the barrel making contact with the stock. You have to give it a pretty hearty whack to mimic recoil. You'll need to cut enough clearance around the barrel to prevent all contact. This is usually considerably more than a "thin piece of paper" distance. And as a rule, the thinner the barrel, the more clearance is needed due to increased barrel whip. _______________________________________________________________________________ This is my rifle, there are many like it but this one is mine. My rifle is my best friend, it is my life. | |||
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I have NEVER had or worked on a gun that shot better with the pressure point, although i know people who claim it's magic. Manufacturers seem to like the pressure point because it is a simple way to produce a stock that is consistent and requires no hand fitting. As Westpac has said, if you want to look at it, leave it alone, but if you want it to shoot better, start clearing it out. Curtis | |||
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I have seen one or two guns that were inletted so well that it looked as if the wood had grown around the metal, and one of them shot spectacularly. I have also seen a lot of guns that looked good, cost a LOT of money and dind't shoot worth a darn. I'd rather have a gun that looked decent and shot like a laser beam than a pretty princess that had a shotgun pattern at 100 yards. Curtis | |||
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Absolutely. Just got done doing it to a 7mm RUM in a cheap Carlson stock. Used a dremmel tool to relieve a ton of material from the barrel channel. Repeated whacks with the heel of my hand in all directions now yields no barrel contact. | |||
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Spot in that bedding pad with inletting black or dark lip stick. Relieve and contact at the very bottom and also along the top edge. You want that barrel sitting in a V. Set the rifle with scope mounted in a vise. Use a good boresighter to check bedding while tightening the guard screws .You want it to track in a vertical direction. The fore end pressure should be between twelve and fifteen pounds. Use a fishscale on the front sling swivel stud and a cigeratte paper to check. Glenn | |||
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