Hey Fellas,

I have been working up some loads in my Steyr Pro Hunter, and its shooting well. But I would like a bit more consistency in my shots. The rifle is floated, but it has a foam insert in the barrel channel just ahead of the detachable sling stud. Apparently this is to dampen vibrations and aid in more consistent accuracy. But I was thinking of taking it out, because with every shot, I suppose the barrel would be making contact with this foam insert. Has anyone got any suggestions on whether I should remove the foam insert, or leave it in there. Im in Australia, and a local magazine here suggested taking the foam insert out to aid in more consistent accuracy.

Regards,

Reece

Reece I'd sure try it, what would it hurt. If you take out the foam try running a dollar bill (I'm not sure what your money is, but any bill will work) down the barrel between the barrel and forearm. A free floated barrel will let you run it down almost to the action. Often a free floated barrel will be more accurate than one with pressure between the barrel and the forearm. Your out nothing trying it. Just don't leave the dollar bill in the gun. The idea here is to have the barrel not touching the wood from a couple inches in front of the action to the end of the forearm.

Here's a pix of what I'm talking about.

Start here and run a bill down the barrel channel.

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q172/faucettb/Preditor%20masters/Freefloating-02.jpg

It should go near all the way to the action.

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q172/faucettb/Preditor%20masters/Freefloating-03.jpg

Usually this is the order folks try when tuning a rifle for accuracy.

1. Try shooting it with the barrel free floated. This can be done without taking any wood out of the barrel channel by using an old credit card or library card and placing it between the action and the stock just in front of the recoil lug and tightening it back down. The barrel check above will tell you if it's floated enough to try. You may need to double the cards to get enough lift on the barrel, but this will tell you without any stock alterations if floating will help accuracy.

2. Most folks will either see an accuracy gain at this point or won't. Some rifles simply need some pressure between the end of the forearm and the barrel to shoot well. By moving the credit card/library card down to the end of the forearm and shooting it again it will tell you which your rifle prefers.

3. You can make either one of these modifications permanent by either placing a bedding block using something like glass bed material at the end of the forearm or sanding out the barrel channel so you can slide that dollar bill down to the action.

4. The next step is a glassbed job where the action is bedded into the stock. Many combine this with a step called piller bedding where metal pillers are placed between the action and the floorplate and glass bedded in. Often I've seen as much as a 10 to 30 percent accuracy increase using these methods.

All this can be done by a do it your selfer and myself or many of the folks here would be glad to help you any way we can.

Yeah I can already run a card all the way down to the action. But I think the problem is that when I fire a few shots in succession and the barrel gets hot, its making more and more contact with the insert. I dont know why they put it in there, it says its to aid in accuracy but I have always had the idea that less contact with the barrel is best. I will try it anyway and let you guys know how it goes.

I have found that accuracy problems often involve more than the rifle itself. I have had scopes that wouldn't hold their zero, and mounts that have become loose. A good solid heavy bench is an absolute necessity. I found that upgrading my rifle rest made a big difference. Variable winds or heat waves on bright sunny days can also seriously affect accuracy. Taking a shot when the sun goes behind an occasional cloud can affect your sight picture and cause a "flyer".

In short, don't be so quick to undergo any gunsmithing on the rifle. If need be, treat yourself to a better scope and mounts, and new benchrest equipment. Many gunsmiths swear that they have unnecessarily glass bedded many rifles.

My rifle wears a leupold VX-II. I dont think the problem is in the scope, and my bench rest is quite solid, and it always shoots the first 3 shots fine. Certain loads will always shoot better. Maybe I'm just fussy, but I might try taking out the insert. And I suppose if I cant hit something after shot 3, then it deserves a 2nd sporting chance.