Barrel/fore end pressure point

P

PSE

CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Rating - 100%
18   0   0
Hi All,

A stunning revelation happened the other day. I was shooting my Tikka 6.5 mm stainless T3 and getting so so groups with my hunting round of choice - Hornady custom 140 gr. The barrel is completely free floated and normally does OK for a hunting rifle (about 2 inches or so at 200M).

Well I wedged 7 thicknesses of my business cards at the foreend/barrel and low and behold the 3 shot group dropped to 1 and 1/16 inches. With Nosler custom it dropped to 15/16 inch. I took out the cards and it expanded to a bit over 2 inches.

I tried a 5 shot group at 100M with cards in and shot 3/4 inch with 5 shots. I am pretty happy with that out of a hunting rifle.:)

The thing is now I want to make this pressure point at the foreend a permanent arrangement so what to use for a suitable permanent shim. Is there something you can purchase commercially say from Brownells or Sinclair.

If I go homemade I don't believe paper is a good idea (expand and contract with moisture). Maybe an old plastic credit card cut up into suitable strips say about an inch wide.

Any ideas???
 
Take the barrel/action out of the stock. Use a little dab of JB weld and build up a pressure point. Either lay the barrel/action back in, with some release agent on the barrel where the epoxy is, but don't tighten it down yet or you'll squeeze too much out. OR, put a dab of epoxy in there and just let it set. Use a socket from a socket set, the same diameter as your barrel, with a piece of sandpaper wrapped around it and sand the "dab" smooth and to the right height.
 
Use your 7 card thickness to establish the pressure, then put a dab (Technical term) of glass bedding, Devcon, or other epoxy in front of it. Screw the rifle together and let it set up. Then take it apart and remove the shims. The bedding will be a perfect fit with exactly the same pressure as the shims had.
 
PSE said:
Hi All,

A stunning revelation happened the other day. I was shooting my Tikka 6.5 mm stainless T3 and getting so so groups with my hunting round of choice - Hornady custom 140 gr. The barrel is completely free floated and normally does OK for a hunting rifle (about 2 inches or so at 200M).

Well I wedged 7 thicknesses of my business cards at the foreend/barrel and low and behold the 3 shot group dropped to 1 and 1/16 inches. With Nosler custom it dropped to 15/16 inch. I took out the cards and it expanded to a bit over 2 inches.

I tried a 5 shot group at 100M with cards in and shot 3/4 inch with 5 shots. I am pretty happy with that out of a hunting rifle.:)

The thing is now I want to make this pressure point at the foreend a permanent arrangement so what to use for a suitable permanent shim. Is there something you can purchase commercially say from Brownells or Sinclair.

If I go homemade I don't believe paper is a good idea (expand and contract with moisture). Maybe an old plastic credit card cut up into suitable strips say about an inch wide.

Any ideas???
Click to expand...

I see you're quite new here with 243 posts, so you likely missed it.
But I have posted so many times on these threads, how pressure bedding works, that I'm sure regular readers will be getting tired of hearing it.
At least three times I have copied pages from books by world class shooters, stating how much pressure is needed on the front of the barrel.
I have stated that in the glory years of shooting following WW2, shooters knew far more about rifles and shooting, than does the modern average shooter. Most competition shooters carried a spring scale, as part of their shooting gear. This was for measuring how much pressure it took to move the front of the barrel from the stock. I have often stated that for an average sized centre fire sporting barrel, six pounds was about right.
So, I guess I was a bit amazed that anyone on these threads could view improved shooting with pressure under the barrel as, "A stunning revelation."
I say again though, you are fairly knew, so this time excused.
 
I say again though, you are fairly knew, so this time excused.
Click to expand...

I am not fairly new - I just don't talk that much.

I have also read and heard about pressure points a while ago, but this is the first rifle I've seen where the difference was so dramatic. My other rifles do just fine with a fully free floated barrel therefore no need to fix what isn't broken so I haven't tried it before.

I like dogleg's idea of putting the cards in and then filling the gap with epoxy. I assume you just put the cards in further than the tip (maybe about a half inch or so) and then do the last half inch with epoxy. I'll probably just use sizing wax for a release agent on the barrel. Thanks for the tip.
 
Good ol shoe polish if you have some around will work great too. Just buff excess so to not impart any impressions into the bedding material.

You may also benefit from first stress free bedding your action. It has been said where fore end pressure improves accuracy that it could be an indication of a bedding issue around the action. Any stresses imposed on the action take away from potential accuracy.

Also, I now use a torque wrench to ensure action screws are properly set for all my rifles. Not sure this is a great big deal but what ever imparts consistency I am all over it.

Either way, you are getting the accuracy you are looking for so choose your poison. Great old fix to an age old problem.
 
Rifles are like that. Some like a floating barrel. Some don't.
As mentioned, a wee dab of bedding material an inch or so in from the end of the forestock will do nicely. Do not forget the release agent.
Mind you, if you're going to put in a pressure point, you might as well glass bed the action too.
 
[Also, I now use a torque wrench to ensure action screws are properly set for all my rifles. Not sure this is a great big deal but what ever imparts consistency I am all over it./QUOTE]

Yes EH - good idea on the torque wrench for the action screws. I've also heard about THAT before as well though I can't remember what the setting on the torque wrench was supposed to be - I understand that it is in inch pounds but not sure what value.
Click to expand...
 
PSE said:
[Also, I now use a torque wrench to ensure action screws are properly set for all my rifles. Not sure this is a great big deal but what ever imparts consistency I am all over it./QUOTE]

Yes EH - good idea on the torque wrench for the action screws. I've also heard about THAT before as well though I can't remember what the setting on the torque wrench was supposed to be - I understand that it is in inch pounds but not sure what value.
Click to expand...

usually 40-50 in/lb
Click to expand...
 
Depends on wood vs composite. Suggest you play with it a bit. I set my savages at 30 in/lb. Some others suggest up to 50-60. But with wood, you may find some squishing starting to happent with the upper end. The key is consistency. Suggest you start low, see how it shoots, and find the sweet spot. On savages anyway setting the front screw at 30 and playing with the torque on the rear may improve things. Elky....
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom