Hi guys, I did a dumb thing & removed the pressure point on a factory Rem-700 .243 to free float barrel,it was shooting 1/2" with reloads. Groups opened to 1.25", replaced it with hardwood & masking tape, have improved it but not back to what it was. Any ideas? tks j

If the gun was shooting 1/2 MOA, why did you mess with it?

FWIW, you have to remove more than just the pressure tabs to see any improvement. Before you write it off, make sure the barrel is floating by a "good" margin, otherwise YOU WILL have accuracy problems.

If the "good" freefloat doesn't help, I'd bed it. You may or may not get back to your 1/2". And yes, you did a dumb thing screwin' with a half inch factory rifle.

After firing 12-15 shots the P.O.I started moving up an 1" or so.

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After firing 12-15 shots the P.O.I started moving up an 1" or so.

Hah! I was about to say "I bet the POI will shift" then you did first! So if I may say (humbly) - no, you did not do a dumb thing! You will get your accuracy back and your groups will not shift around with the seasons.

Did you fire those shots one after the other or did you fire a couple then allow the barrel to cool?

If you fired all twelve in a couple of minutes I would suggest the barrel got seriously hot and therein lies your shift in POI.

Go back to the starting box and fire 3 shots , then let the barrel cool. Fire another three and see if there is any difference in POI.

When you hunt you are unlikely to fire 12 shots one after the other so likely you shift in impact point wont be any sort of issue.

Hot barrels definately shift the impact point - my Rem Mod 7 .223 stainless barrel has gotten so hot you could have cooked lunch on it during goat culling operations. POI shifts upwards appreciably at those temps , and makes for interesting forearm holding as well.

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Originally posted by wolfman1:
After firing 12-15 shots the P.O.I started moving up an 1" or so.

Yea, I know what you mean.....after firing 12 rounds at a deer I hate it when the point of impact moves up an inch or so!

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Originally posted by wolfman1:
...it was shooting 1/2" with reloads. Groups opened to 1.25",

You can't expect the same reload recipe to group as well after free floating the barrel. Work up a new load.

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Originally posted by onefunzr2:

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Originally posted by wolfman1:
...it was shooting 1/2" with reloads. Groups opened to 1.25",

You can't expect the same reload recipe to group as well after free floating the barrel. Work up a new load.

Is the .243 popular in Alberta? What do you use it on. I guess the correlation between POI after 12 shoots would seem appropriate if it is a prarie dog town rifle ?

As far as a cure ;as others have advised get out the rasp and make the barrel channel a lot bigger for a start.

.303 Guy I think you're being very kind ? roger

Did fire them in about 30min, 3 at a time, just using it for coyotes, varmits ect, 1-3 shots at a time, when i did free float it i believe it only had maybe 3/32 to 1/16" space, so more is needed, tks guys

Do you remember where the pressure point was ( Measured it prior to bedding ? ) try

placing a small piece of plastic where it was , just so it touches the barrel when seated .

NO Excessive pressure , now try it out and see if it will settle down .

If it does epoxy the plastic in place . Remember to abrade the plastic a few thou so as to

negate epoxy adhesive thickness as well as insuring plastic stays in place .

I personally have done the same thing and found it necessary to touch the barrel with just

a slight bit of pressure so as to stabilize barrel harmonics . Like plastic because unlike wood

it's near impervious to humidity changes . BOL . It worked for me .

1/2 moa means that the wind was extremely low that day.


The average for a National champion in benchrest is about 1/2 moa for the year, but his gun, his ammo, and his reading wind flags is allot better than the average guy with a Rem700 243.

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Originally posted by wolfman1:
Did fire them in about 30min, 3 at a time, just using it for coyotes, varmits ect, 1-3 shots at a time, when i did free float it i believe it only had maybe 3/32 to 1/16" space, so more is needed, tks guys

I don't know about the rest of these guys but if you are between 1/16 to 3/32" gap all around I surely would stop. roger

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The average for a National champion in benchrest is about 1/2 moa for the year

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I personally have done the same thing and found it necessary to touch the barrel with just a slight bit of pressure so as to stabilize barrel harmonics ...

That's interesting. I'll be remembering that!

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1/2 moa means that the wind was extremely low that day.

I wonder how many times I have gone home and banged my head because of wind and not knowing it was the wind? (But my last outing was crap! I shot crap or the rifle shot crap or both, but I do know the rifle shot pretty good the week before, so that leaves me - or does it? I know I have not been well for a few days - hayfever type symptoms but I don't know.)

Roger ; Tell 303 Guy what wind can do too projectile trajectory's !.

I can't off the top of my head remember caliber weight velocity drift per given distances

with Wind at X MPH or in his case KMH .

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Originally posted by Doc224/375:
Roger ; Tell 303 Guy what wind can do too projectile trajectory's !.

I flunked that part of exterior ballistics 101. roger

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Roger ; Tell 303 Guy what wind can do too projectile trajectory's !.

Well, you know, it occured to me that there was a strong wind blowing up the gully! All three of us were shooting crap! My bullets were relatively slow so they could well have been 'lifted' by the wind! I have experienced it before - dramatically! But there was little wind from my shooting position. Tricky!

Wolf,

I've done similar; twice to be exact; a Remington 700 .243 Win. and a Heym .223 Rem. (w/pencil thin barrel). Somehow never know when to leave well enough alone.



There's plenty of ways to get a pressure point back but one of the easiest ways I found is about 1"-1.5" from the end of the forearm drill two 1/16" dia. holes (shallow - don't drill through the forearm); say <1/4" deep at a 45° angle.

I used brass finishing screws although I'm sure any small wood screw will function fine and then cut off the heads with a Dremel Tool. Then a sandpapered dowel @ the diameter of the barrel and sanded them down enough to where when the rifle is re-assembled there will be some pressure from the forearm on the barrel. In both cases there's probably much <1/16" of screw above the inside of the forearm remaining.

Net, the barrel is sitting a shallow "V" block and of course the height of the screws in the forearm will be the amount of pressure against the barrel.

Good Luck.

Everybody here's done something like that. The guys who don't do stuff like that aren't on this board.

Gary, that bug on the screen is "NO FAIR" especially when one hasn't had their coffee or gotten the sleep out of their eyes.

Got smaller groups back, i used 3/8" thin strips of hardwood,glued them in place where point was before, sanded down varnished them & added a few pieces of alumunin tape, put 3 shots in a .315" group, tks guys

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Got smaller groups back,... ... put 3 shots in a .315" group, tks guys

See. Told you!