I was wondering what the consensus of opinion is with regards to clearance in the barrel channel. I have a .243 that has a bunch of room (a couple of business card thicknesses worth), and a .280 that you can only run a dollar bill around the barrel. I haven't fired the .280 since it has been floated, and wondered if that was enough clearance for a synthetic stocked mauser.

Thanks

Jasper243

Without my express "permission" my gunsmith severely floated a barrel of mine: 0.125" on the sides, 0.25" on the bottom.



Trust me, I was ticked. But, I got used to it and the rifle shoots like a house-afire, at any rate. One "benefit" is that I can basically run a rag all the way down the barrel to the receiver in case of exposure to any dirt, crud, or moisture. It's nice to know the barrel is actually, completely dry and properly lubed.



Lesson learned: Don't talk to gunsmiths in general terms. It's not fair to them, and definitely not fair to yourself. Even though, being the professional, the onus was on him to get the details from me since he was experienced and I was not, at that time.



RSY

Keep in mind that too large a gap on any rifle that actually sees field use and you are inviting crud (leaves, twigs, pine needles etc.) to wedge themselves in your barrel channel creating more problems than you solved by floating. I've used 20Mil pipe wrap with good success over the years. Sean