huntinsonovagun Posted February 10, 2006 Report Share Posted February 10, 2006 Well, buddy and I both bought H&Rs about the same time and got to looking. We both decided to try some southern engineering and 'floated' our barrels. Neither of us had ever tried anything like this, and figured the cheaper rifles were good ones to try it on. Haven't got to test it and see if it did any good yet. Who knows...Here's a few pictures of mine... You can kinda see a few battle scars on the 3rd pic... Nothing a little sandpaper and stain (or maybe camo paint) won't fix up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rifleman25 Posted February 10, 2006 Report Share Posted February 10, 2006 Re: Floated barrel pics... nice pics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ Posted February 10, 2006 Report Share Posted February 10, 2006 Re: Floated barrel pics... Did you pillar bed the forend? I would recommend doing that since you floated the rest of the forarm. You can make the pillar with some good strong metal filled epoxy. This is what I would do for the strongest setup: Build up the barrel with electrical tape fore and aft of the forend mounting screw. A couple inches is fine. Use enough tape until the barrel rides in the barrel channel. Next I would drill out the forend screw hole drilling from outside to inside. This will be the pillar. I would go with something in the 7/16" or 1/2" size. Get a coarse thread tap and thread the hole you just drilled. This will give the epoxy more surface areas to lock on. It will also keep the pillar from pushing out. Coat the barrel hanger, female threads on barrel hanger, barrel, and screw with release agent. Mix epoxy per directions. Add epoxy to the recessed area in the forend and carefully install the forend on the barrel. Insert the screw and be sure to have at least 3 turns inside the nut. Monitor the epoxy and just as it starts to get tacky, remove the screw and take the forend off. Install the O-ring on the hanger stud and reassemble. This will create a holding slot for the O-ring as the epoxy cures. It may be a little tough to get the forend off when the epoxy dries as it has to come off on an arc due to the hinge action. If you used enough release agent, it will come off. Clean up the overruns of epoxy and remove the tape, You now have a sweet setup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vagobbln Posted February 10, 2006 Report Share Posted February 10, 2006 Re: Floated barrel pics... Just curious. I've never tried floating one either, but do you need that much room between the barrel and forearm to be effective? I've got a new CZ I'd like to try it on, but I'm gonna have to use a chainsaw to start out with if I have to remove that much wood. Also, as a rule, if you float the barrel, should you always pillar bed? In other words, do you gain that much out of just floating and nothing else? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ Posted February 10, 2006 Report Share Posted February 10, 2006 Re: Floated barrel pics... How much of a gap depends on the material of the forend. If it is flimsy plastic it needs more of a gap than laid up fiberglass or wood does. The old wives tale of slipping a dollar between the barrel and forend is bogus. The forend will still contact the forend when the gun is shot. You need enough space to allow the barrel to vibrate freely without touching the stock. The best ways to float is to take a deepwell socket and wrap some 60 grit sand paper around it. Work the paper parallel with the bore and it comes out fairly quickly. Be sure to add some finish to the exposed grain to keep the moisture out. I pillar bed as many of my guns as possible. Its the strongest bedding method short of a glue-in. If my guns are not pillar bedded, they are glass bedded. In the case of the Handi Rifle, the forend screw just rides on the stock. I like something more substantial than wood for the screw to anchor on. The wood will change density as the humidity changes. Epoxy will not. Floating alone may make a difference in the groups. Often when the barrels heat up the point of impact (POI) will wander. The stock will retail more heat than the exposed portion of the barrel and slight bending can occur if the barrel is hot enough. When air can circulate all around the barrel it cools more evenly. The pillar just keeps the barrel anchored to the gun for consistancy. You can float the barrel completely but unless your gun is stable, its not going to make the POI consistant. Consistancy is the key to accuracy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huntinsonovagun Posted February 10, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2006 Re: Floated barrel pics... Wow AJ...you out-did yourself again! This is definitely going on the "to do" list! One question though, when you put the epoxy in the recessed area, how much goes in there? As much as I can? Also, what's a good release agent? Vasoline? Thanks again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ Posted February 10, 2006 Report Share Posted February 10, 2006 Re: Floated barrel pics... I just got called back into work which is going to make for a very long night. Anyhow, I have more detailed instructions on how to do the pillar that I will post this weekend, if you can hang on that long. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huntinsonovagun Posted February 10, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2006 Re: Floated barrel pics... That's fine AJ. Take your time!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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