Gunsmithing Free float a wooden remmy stock or leave the pads-

[Firefour]

Picked up an old remmy 700, wooden stocked, and noticed it has a pressure pad about 2" from the forearm tip in the barrel channel. I believe this is the way they did the stocks in the late 60's.
Anyone had any experience with these old stocks, shoot better with pads or free floated?
NO, I haven't shot it yet, just looking for info that might save some time.
Thanks

 

[DocB]

Re: Free float a wooden remmy stock or leave the pads-

FF,

The pads were still there in the 80s when I started buying Remington 700s. Remove the pad and float the barrel, then skim bed it. Usually reduces the group size by half for the first five shots if it is a hunting rifle. After that, barrel heat makes thing wander.

YMMV,
DocB

 

[former naval person]

Re: Free float a wooden remmy stock or leave the pads-

As Dzupin says...those thin barrels mostly like some upward pressure or the factory wouldn't go to the trouble of putting them in the channel. Once you remove them you could find out that the rifle shot better with them and you will then have to spend time figuring out how to put them back and with how much pressure. JMHO

 

[Greg Langelius *]

Re: Free float a wooden remmy stock or leave the pads-

I bought a 700VLS .223 in in the `1990's and tried the pad removal bit. Big mistake. No matter what load I tried it shotgunned the bullets. Would not behave until I restored the pad.

I learned an awful lot about practical barrel harmonics from that goof. The first thing was that when a manufacturer goes out of their way to unfloat a barrel, the probably have a good reason. I would exhaust all my ideas of load development before I tried anything to alter barrel harmonics.

Never, never, never, ever, ever, ever change something before you try it out the way it came. Ditto for making alterations before determining how to restore the alteration to its original condition.

It's kinda like walking around aimlessly in the dark near a cliff with a blindfold on. Some think that's a good idea. I don't.

 

[Insayn]

Re: Free float a wooden remmy stock or leave the pads-

I read somewhere online where a gunsmith would bed that pressure point along with the action. I was trying to figure out if it was worth the added effort. I'm about to bed a wood stock R700 7mm Mag. Any opinions on that?

 

[carbinero]

Re: Free float a wooden remmy stock or leave the pads-

On matters like this I repeat the mantra of, "What is the purpose for this item?" If you are hunting out to 150 yards and shooting 50 rounds a year, I would leave it alone if it's within 2 MOA with good ammo. However if you shoot a lot and are looking for the best precision it is capable of (without replacing the stock), then I would go ahead and free float/bed it. Take good notes and you can easily add the pressure back later if necessary. In any case I would absolutely shoot it first so you have a baseline. What a shame to do anything with it without having a sense of what it would have been without. Before shooting I'd simply safety check and re-mount the scope. YMMV.

 

[BOLTRIPPER]

Re: Free float a wooden remmy stock or leave the pads-

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: former naval person</div><div class="ubbcode-body">As Dzupin says...those thin barrels mostly like some upward pressure or the factory wouldn't go to the trouble of putting them in the channel. Once you remove them you could find out that the rifle shot better with them and you will then have to spend time figuring out how to put them back and with how much pressure. JMHO </div></div>




verily so........

 

[shoot4fun]

Re: Free float a wooden remmy stock or leave the pads-

I am for shooting it first too. You never know.
Once owned a slick little Remmy 600 in 308. I got it in a trade. It had a wood stock and thin little barrel. It was not pretty but shot great. I removed the action from the stock and the gunsmith had bedded the entire length of the barrel and nothing to the action.
I've also used the plastic shim under the barrel trick a couple of times to bring a Ruger No. 1 in too.

 

[hntbambi]

Re: Free float a wooden remmy stock or leave the pads-

While my sample size is not as large as some, I have done a few dozen Rem 7, Rem 700, Win 70, and Howa 1500 guns in wood stocks and each of them shot better with free floated barrel and a proper bedding job. Even the Rem 7 with the buggy whip taper barrel shot more consistent groups after floating and pillar bedding.

I would float and bed the gun. If it does not shoot sub MOA, then you can rebuild the pressure point.

 

[oregon]

Re: Free float a wooden remmy stock or leave the pads-

Aftermarket stocks or other used wood stocks are available cheap. Possibly tune an extra stock while leave the original alone. Decide which shoots better on the gun. Then sell the extra (or keep it for your next Remington 700 project).

For FREE was recently given an extra wood stock when someone upgraded.