I'm contemplating a custom made 30-06 and I was thinking about putting a barrel band swivel and sights on the rifle. Does this affect accuracy? I've been told, it does, on the lighter calibers.
Thanks in advance,
Terry

Not in my experience. The two most consistently accurate hunting rifles I own each have banded swivels and front sights. For hunting-quality accuracy, I imagine there are a multitude of things to worry about before the banded hardware.

You might get a change in point of impact if you sight in off the bench and then use a military-style loop sling for your field shooting. The tension will flex the barrel ever so slightly. If you don't use a loop sling, this won't happen.

ForrestB,
Thanks for the reply. I will continue on then with the barrel band etc.

Fat,
I have thought about that too and I'm wondering how much it would affect point of impact. I probably wouldn't use the loop sling except say up to 150 yards. On the longer shots I would hope to have a rest. So maybe the shift in the POI wouldn't be that critical. Some field shooting would probably be in order for this.

Thanks guys,
Terry

Terry, forgive me, but I think barrel band front sling swivel studs are out-of-place on any hunting rifle below .375 H&H - even as sort of a misplaced fashion statement. There is no advantage to the barrel band for rifles below .375, but there are some serious disadvantages. If the front swivel is on the barrel, you are precluded from using a sling as a shooting aid, simply because pressure from the sling directly on the barrel will indeed cause a shift in point-of-impact. This is not a problem if the front sling stud is mounted on the stock's forend. I use a sling as a shooting aid quite a bit, so to me this is a very big deal.

I do have barrel band setups on my .375 H&H, .416 Remington, and .458 Winchester. All of these are very accurate rifles, so obviously the barrel band doesn't effect anything when shooting off the bench. It doesn't effect anything when shooting in the field with these rifles, either, provided that the sling isn't employed as a shooting aid. But as soon as the sling gets tight, POI shifts every time.

On a .30-06 and similar calibers, the front swivel belongs on the forend - not the barrel.

AD

I moved the sling on my Mini-14 from the factory location to the stock after a 100-yard high-power match where I pulled the shots four inches to the left with a sling.

Tom

Thanks for your advice and field experiences with this. 4" is alot off POI. This would make it 8" at 200 yards. Not too good!
Thanks,
Terry

Excuse me, gentlemen, but I'm having a hard time understanding the utility of a barrel band sling swivel.

If the sling is not to be used for shooting, but only for carrying, then it is as well-off mounted in the stock as on the barrel.

If, on the other hand, the sling is to be used as a shooting aide, then, according to these posts, it should be mounted on the stock.

So, why should the sling ever be mounted on the barrel, regardless of caliber?

I have a further caution: If a stock-mounted swivel is tensioned down and to the side as it would be when using the sling as a shooting aide, then a light-contour forearm which is bedded with a barrel pressure point may be significantly affected, causing an unknown change in zero. Likewise, a floated barrel could come in contact with the forearm with either a stock or barrel mount swivel if the sling is so tensioned.

My advice would be to thoroughly test any sling set-up before going afield if you intend to actually use it for shooting.

the only real use (aside from"looks") for a barrel mounted sling swivel is on rifles that recoil enouhg to have your hand come in contact with a stock mounted swivel. Ouch! Other than that, all the previous points are well put. - Dan

There is one more advantage(at least)! If you like me hunt with dogs and have to pass through some serious bush (really, really thick) while you're at the other end of the leash the barrel mounted swivel causes the rifle to hang lower from your shoulder. This will indeed be a good thing as you will not get tangeled up in branches and stuff as often as you would otherwise.

Cheers

K9