[bushrat]

I am switching the stock on my remington 700bdl 7mag from a wooden one to a composite .. the composite has 2 little square pieces near the fore end that touch the barrel. I remember on my old one i could slide a piece of paper down the barrel to the recoil lug and not stop. should I sand those little squares flush to the stock or at least till i can slide a piece of paper down between the stock and barrel....? Or does it matter they are more on the bottom sides rather than directly underneath.Thanxs for any input.

 

[BBW]

i would sand them down nothing should touch the barrel imo

 

[Riggs]

Those are barrel pressure points. A wooden stock will swell up, and also shrink, depending on the weather, humidity, temperature, etc. Synthetic stocks are much more stable than wood stocks. I would shoot it with the synthetic stock, before removing the pressure points. If you're happy with the accuracy, leave well enough alone. You can always remove them, but you can't put them back, so try it first.

 

[chrism]

x2... try it first.

 

[ldb pikester]

Please correct me here if I am wrong. Free floating a barrel is not always done to improve accuracy, and may not do so. It is designed to keep the guns zero in various conditions. Hot, cold, dry and humid. So in order to properly test your gun that does not have a free floated barrel you would have to test your gun in all of these conditions and then compare the results. This does not seem easy. Plastics are prone to expand in heat (look at vinyl siding) wood swells in humidity. choices choices

 

[chrism]

i think a lot of it has to do with the barrel - pressure points help it vibrate/whip less, which makes for sometimes better accuracy. Marlin and Remington are two brands that have put pressure points on some of their bolt guns
To answer your question, I guess you would have to test your particular rifle in all conditions if you really wanted to know!

FYI all mine are free floated, and altho not tested in crazy conditions, they seem to shoot fine! the only thing i have noticed is the velocity changes in ammo on hot vs cold days - but thats another topic - I think a lot of the above talk is theoretical for the purist! (I am a semi-purist!)