If you have a fairly sturdy stock and bedding any amount of float should be fine. I wrap the barrel of my rifles and those I bed with 10 mil plumbers tape (10 mils of thicknes) and have had no trouble with accuracy. The trouble comes if you have a stock that flexes when you sling up! Then you have a pressure point that destroys the harmonics of the barrel and affects accuracy. You should be fine, but the only way to find out for sure is to go out and get some trigger time!
Hans
Posts: 78 | Location: Surprise, AZ, USA | Registered: 18 April 2002
I want at least 1/16th of an inch clearance, and although some people would consider it an unsightly gap, I prefer something more like .1" (yes, a tenth of an inch) clearance. The reason for this is to eliminate any possibility that the stock could ever come into contact with the barrel. When shooting from a bipod or using a sling, it is possible to bend the stock into the barrel if you don't have enough clearance, especially if you're using one of the flimsy plastic stocks that come on many factory rifles. With plenty of clearance, bending the stock into the barrel isn't a concern and you have enough clearance to slip a thin rag between the barrel and stock to keep the channel clean and also oil the underside of the barrel.
Posts: 20 | Location: KY | Registered: 04 October 2004
As long as there's NO CONTACT between the stock forend and the barrel, it doesn't matter how big the gap is, except that if it is horrendous, it fills up with crap!! On the first post-64 Model 70's, there was enough room that you could swing a cat between the barrel and the stock. A real trap for every loose piece of whatever in the woods!
On the first post-64 Model 70's, there was enough room that you could swing a cat between the barrel and the stock. A real trap for every loose piece of whatever in the woods!