Ruger Hawkeye barrel touches stock

chola

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Should I free float this rig. I get 2 cold shots and they half inch apart. The next ones open right up to 3 and 4 inches. Crazy.
I noticed the barrel rubs
 
I would! But first I would loosen the stock and retorque all the screws making sure all is aligned properly and it it is still touching then I would free float! Wood or synthetic stock?
 
Yes. But as others said check the action is tight and nothing is loose. I use a small drop of blue loctite on mine and when I say small I mean tiny or bow string wax if I have nothing else around.
 
i just bedded my Hawkeye.... it was touching on the side of forend ...
it shoots like schit too 3 inch at times.... i dk whats up with it, but im starting to hate it.
in a favourite .35 whelen calibre too.............................

i decided to safe queen it for a while.... but then after a month i pulled itout yesterday an bedded the front of the action an that raised the barrel up a bit too from the wood.....

no ides how it shoots.... had poor results prior with TSX, an HOT COR.... in the past the Hornady 250 went ok, so il try them one day when i get round too it.
 
I free floated the barrel and things did improve quite a bit.....went from 4 inch groups to inch and a half now but i am going to try a different stock...winter project,will work plenty fine as is now for hunting
 
I had a Ruger No.1 that I thought improved somewhat by putting a bedding pad at very tip of the forearm - I think that created a bit of "up" pressure on the barrel. Several factory Winchester Model 70's seem to have been done that way.

I do not recall anything except grief from a rifle that the fore-arm contacted the side of the barrel in the odd place. Opposite that, probably my most accurate 243 Win was a Remington 788 that I solidly and fully epoxy bedded from rear receiver tip all the way to the forearm tip - so that barrel was in full contact for it's entire length within the forearm - it shot very well - and continues to shoot well with a take off replacement barrel in 308 Win. I can not get the thinnest feeler gauge - .0015" to go in between barrel and that epoxy bedding - anywhere along the fore arm.

From that, I believe that tentative contact - sometime there, sometimes not - is about the worst to have. Could be caused by inletting not cut straight to match the barrel and receiver. Could be because the action screws or recoil contact is not solid and the action and barrel can move and not return exactly to battery from shot to shot. Could be because the forearm has altered its shape from heat, cold or moisture change.

I suspect it is mostly about letting the barrel have the same vibrations - the same "shivers" - as a bullet coming up the bore - so that the muzzle is in same exact place as the bullet exits - the muzzle apparently "whips" or "oscillates" as the bullet is coming along the bore - so most accuracy is when it is exiting exact same portion of the oscillation, each time. Where, and how tightly, it is pressed on by the fore arm will change that pattern, I think.

OP - I have worked on a friend's Ruger 77 with wood stock and now have my own Hawkeye - digging for spec's, I was shocked to read that Ruger calls for 90 to 95 inch pounds torque on that front action screw - that is some serious torque!! Might be a place to start checking - find the Ruger specs for the action screws and hit those numbers, in the tightening sequence of the three action screws that they call for. For reference, that front one is about double or triple the torque value found for many other rifle action screws.
 
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You should check your own gun's specs of course, but I think this applies to all the Hawkeyes: the front mounting screw has a crazy high torque spec of 95 in-lbs. I saw different opinions on Ruger forums, but I think most people found the best results from following that spec. My usual torque wrench only goes up to 65 so I had to get a bigger one. (I wasn't having accuracy issues, just wanted to repair a ding in the tang without the receiver in the way.)
 
My CZ 557 came with the barrel closer to one side of the barrel channel. I discovered that the forward action screw was extremely tight. I disassembled and carefully reassembled and the barrel became aligned properly, and fully free-floated.
 
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