I have a mod 7 in 7-08 and have found that it shoots very well most of the days we shoot it. The only problem with the gun is that some days the point of impact changes and the groups open up. I know that free floating most barrels helps but would free floating this slim barrel be a good idea, I have tried to shim the front of the barrel and that made things much worse.

Hello JR

Is there any difference in humidity between the good days and the others? Being where you are, humidity should not be much of a factor but worth wondering about, as stock warpage might do that.

Tom

DON'T FREEFLOAT THAT BARREL!

I was asked to freefloat a Model Seven in 7-08 and try to group smaller than an inch and quarter. This particular gun was one of the newer ones with two screws for the rear base, in stainless and with the black stock.
Nicest little Remington I've seen. Played with the gun, bedded the action and 2" of the chamber area and generally did some smoothing and accurizing with no major smithing. It promptly turned to about a 4" gun. Put 12 lbs of up pressure on the the flimsy forend and it immediately shot .4" to .6" groups and still does it consistently. That thin barrel needs the pressure point from the forend.

That stock is pretty flimsy. You might trying playing with the pressure on the forend by add a couple of business cards at the pressure point to see if it requires more pressure. Also remember that variances in temperature will alter the flexibility of the stock which may be affecting the up pressure and causing the changes. Try adding and removing a few cards and see what effect it has and if it helps you can add a permanent thickness out there. Hope this helps.

I have a Model 7 in 7mm08 with the wood stock and 18.5 inch barrel. Glassed the action and about the first two inches of the barrel. Free-floated the barrel. Trigger job that breaks at 3.5 lbs. Shoots 140gr Barnes XLC XBT's at 2800fps into under .4 inches at 100 yards

Hey"
I and several of my friends have model #7's.None of us could get them to shoot tight groups,until we remove the two tabs at the front of the stock.After we did that,all of us were able to improve our groups.In my case, I also sanded the sides of the stock to make sure I wouldn't get any pressure points.
Model #7 stocks are not of the highest quality.They need a little tender care to get the guns to shoot.
1geejay
www.shooting-hunting.com

jrpilot...
My Rem. 7 is the stainless version with black compsite stock. Caliber is .243 Win.
As mentioned by others, I to removed the two small tabs at the front, and sanded the barrel channel. Big improvement in accuracy !!. But I must admit it is the flimsyest rifle I own, and though a delight to carry, it�s not my favorite rifle.
I prefer a little more weight up front.
Arild

I have put my stainless 20" Model 7 in a walnut stock. Very attractive combination. I also floated it. I didn't notice much difference in accuracy either way, but I worry a lot less about shifting point-of-impact this way.

'put 12 lbs of up pressure on the barrel'?

As a non gun smith - how do I tell what level of pressure I am putting under a barrel??

Rgds Ian

jrpilot
I have floated the bbls on 7 different Mod 7's, in calibers 223, 243,308 and 350RM. All shot good after floating, and I did not have to worry about a wandering zero. What do you think would happen to the business cards under the bbl if you hunted in the rain?
You may have to re-develop your best loads after freefloating, but once done groups do not shift.
I have never seen a Rem Mod 7 that did not shoot real good. I have shot all of them on paper to 300 yards and a couple of the 308,s to 600 yards on paper.
Because of their light weight they can be "lively" on the sand bags to get the best groups you might try "holding tight". I shoot all of my hunting rifles[ not the elephant guns of course ] prone with a hasty sling when testing and zeroing as that is how they will be fired in the field at long range, well not always prone but with a sling.