Rifle tech question?

Question

Anyone know the difference between a full free foating and non free floating barrel? Pro's and con's please.

Answer 1

Think of some of the classic military rifles with their wooden handguard that contacts the barrel at irregular spots all the way around the barrel and almost to the muzzle. In some, the stock is in two or three pieces and pretty well has to be like that, but the irregular contact means the barrel harmonics will differ and accuracy can't be optimal, though some of these are fine and accurate shooters for practical purposes. A lot of modern hunting rifles, like the Remington 700, have a barrel that does not contact the stock except at a single point underneath the tip of the forend. This more often than not gives best accuracy with lighter-weight hunting barrels, which may need a little dampening of the barrel whip. There is the possibility this point will shift with temperature and humidity, but that isn't normally a notable problem. Some of the least and most expensive rifles have fully free-floated barrels, and the traditional way to check this is to run a dollar bill or business card between the barrel and forend. You should be able to run it all the way up to the action without snagging. This gets rid of the potential alteration of contact from shot to shot with the subsequent shot-to-shot variation in barrel harmonics, and is theoretically best for accuracy, though in practice it doesn't always work out that way.

Answer 2

Free floating means that the barrel does not touch the forestock. To free float a barrel, just remove the gun from the stock and rasp out the barrel channel so that the barrel does not touch anywhere along the forestock channel. You can determine if it is free floated by running a dollar bill between the forestock and the barrel. If you can freely slide it up and back the full length of the forestock the barrel is free floated. The purpose is to prevent the stock from pressing unevenly on the barrel. Glass bedding is another technique to prevent having uneven pressure spots on the barrel. To glass bed a stock, rasp out the barrel channel in the forestock until you have about a sixteenth of an inch or a bit more clearance between the barrel and the forestock channel. Buy a glass bedding kit from Brownell's and follow the directions for glassing the channel. The end result is a barrel channel that has an even pressure on the barrel the whole length of the barrel.

A better method of preventing uneven pressure with changes in humidity is to install a high quality synthetic stock. Wood, being a natural material will absorb moisture and will move slightly. This movement can cause uneven pressure on the barrel and cause the gun to become inaccurate. Synthetic stocks are not subject to humidity changes so there will be no change in the zero of the rifle due to changes in the humidity. The down side is that syntheic stocks are not as pretty as wood stocks. an alternative, although not quite as good, is a laminated stock. It is made much like plywood with thin wood layers impregnated with resin and moulded into a sheet. The stock blanks are cut from these sheets and carved into stocks. They are somewhat nicer looking than the synthetic stocks.

Answer 3

Full Floating barrel:
(Barrel doesn't touch the stock).
With a heavier barrel, generally offers more accuracy
as the stock does not interfere with the vibration of
the barrel.

Non floating Barrel:
(Barrel does touch the stock).
With lighter barrels, (only if done right), some upward
pressure on the barrel at the tip of the fore-end seems
to dampen vibration in a way that increases accuracy.
If done wrong, side pressure or warping of the stock
will decrease accuracy.

Answer 4

free floating barrels have minimum contact with the rest of the rifle. there is usually a gap between the stock and the barrel and a recoil damper. in non-floating barrels the barrel will touch the stock. floating barrels allow movement of the barrel seperate from the gun. that way, when you tacke a shot the gun moves less. this reduces the perceived recoil and allows you to remain fixed on the target with less effort. major downside is that it adds complexity to the guns design, making it harder to clean and maintain.

Answer 5

a free floating barrel does not come incontact w. the stock. a non free floating barrel comes in contact w/ the stock. a free floating barrel improves accuracy.

Answer 6

If you are going to buy a rifle you should go with a free floating barrel because your gun will shoot the same when it is
hot outside and when it is cold outside. When a gun does not have a free floating barrel the gun will shoot differently in different temperatures.