AR accuracy - free float vs not

You’d need to define ‘worthwhile’. My non-freefloated ARs are very reliably 1.5MOA rifles. For me the accuracy gain from going with freefloated handguards isn’t worth the weight for the shooting I do with them.

If you’re a bench rest shooter 1.5MOA would be laughably bad and you’d be unhinged not to freefloat the barrel.

BSW

I've only ever switched one carbine and there was basically no difference.. I didn't chase loads to see if it could be better. It shot decent to start with.
Theoretically, it changes harmonics and could be a better shooter.
All my heavy bench/varmint ARs float.

"Freefloating" is never "bad", but I think that things like quality barrels, improved triggers, and good ammunition are more important.

The float tube does not make the rifle more accurate. The float tube makes the rifle less sensitive to variable forend pressures and tensions when shooting in various positions.

Lots of folks have demonstrated that sling tension when shooting off hand and variable pressures when shooting from various supports will shift POI. On my old clamshell Service Rifle (which was an Hbar), I could easily pull a full minute into my sling, so shooting from a bipod, a sling, or a fence post meant my rifle might miss a coyote in the field by INCHES just because of the position.

Converting from clamshell to free float is usually a waste of money - most guys end up buying a new tube and barrel nut, new gas block and tube, and often by the time they do that, they replace the barrel while they are at it... Even when the barrel stays, usually clamshells are built around cheap chrome lined barrels, so it’s not a significant savings to keep. Building/buying a new upper usually pays off, in that case.

I build and have built a lot of AR’s, and almost always recommend away from clamshell handguards. For my own accumulation, I only own ONE clamshell now, specifically because of their sensitivity to forend pressure & tension; all of the rest of my AR’s are free floating. None of mine are built for Benchrest shooting, but they’re all expected to reliably deliver better accuracy in the field than simply hitting somewhere on a man-sized target, so a clamshell handguard simply doesn’t make sense.

If you are not using a sling, or leaning hard into a bipod, you probably will not see a true difference.
And, even then, unless you had a very early "pencil" barrel, it might not be very obvious.

So, as per the above, I concur. If you want to do it for the look of it, no issue. But ammo is probably more critical for accuracy than the floating of the barrel.

I free floated my Ruger AR and did see a slight improvement in accuracy, i.e. about .5" @ 100 with ammo it likes. More noticeable is how much cooler my hand stays when the barrel gets hot. Might be slightly heavier than stock but looks cooler so it evens out!

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Good points above about removing deflecting forces from the barrel. Even when we shot combat rifle matches with A1s and A2s, we didn't sling up due to deflecting the barrel. We did tight sling in smallbore, but that was with floated 40Xs and Win 52s and you are slinging from the handstop close to the receiver.
I guess I didn't consider deflection in my first post since I take care not to flex a clamshell forend.

My normal ars shoot 1.5” my free floated ones all clover leaf the shots. Less vibrational force excerted on th;e barrel during the shot. The barrel whip during the shot is more consistent when its free floated.

My only AR that is not free floated is my dedicated 22LR. But then again none of my other AR's started out as clam-shells handguard but were build from the ground up as free floated barreled guns.

Before I bought my first AR I borrowed a 20-inch M16 clone for my first couple 3-gun matches and as other have said I could make the group move depending on handguard pressure and shooting position. When I bough my first AR I went free floated and position and handguard pressure no longer mattered. Not exactly the same gun but both were 20-inch h-bars and free float made a noticeable improvement IMHO.

Some would see a difference...some would not. Every AR I’ve been through, was built by my hands. Naturally, I have always used FF handguards/rails..mostly SSFFR’s. There are many pros to it. As was said above, cooler to the touch. And of course, using an FF guard there will never be a question of it costing accuracy. Not true with plastics. While I’ve seen only a small few pick up any discernible accuracy, with plastics and inaccuracies, the question will always be asked, and pondered. Lastly of course is looks. (Do we even need to cover that?) I build truly beautiful ARs. My last one is a work of art.

If you shoot cheap ammo or FMJ, the difference likely not noticeable.

Consensus says that free-floating will result in better accuracy results with any rifle barrel on average - specific rifle barrels may not benefit. If you want the math to potentially work in your favor, the barrel should be free-floated. So many other variables exist in the accuracy department that exercising only one variable improvement may not show any results. I would lean toward a quality barrel and tuned hand loads for a better accuracy return on investment (to include free-floating).

Steve S. said:

Consensus says that free-floating will result in better accuracy results with any rifle barrel on average - specific rifle barrels may not benefit. If you want the math to potentially work in your favor, the barrel should be free-floated. So many other variables exist in the accuracy department that exercising only one variable improvement may not show any results. I would lean toward a quality barrel and tuned hand loads for a better accuracy return on investment (to include free-floating).

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Correct! Even if it doesn’t, it’s about accuracy potential. When looking for top accuracy, it’s not wise to build in a “weak point”.