I have a ruger hawkeye m77 brand new which is factory free floated. One the left side there is obviously a gap and no place where the stock touches the barrel. Unfortunately the right seems to be much tighter to the barrel and I can't even fit a dollar bill down? Any suggestions would be helpful.
Floated barrel problem
- Thread starter pwrstrkd
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alsaqr
Member
Sent the gun back to Ruger or get out the round rasp and open up the barrel channel where the barrel is touching the wood.
huntershooter
Member
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First; how does it shoot? If acceptable accuracy then don't worry about it.
If the stock is touching on one side, remove it and take some material from the barrel channel where needed. Seal the wood after.
Frequently I've found a (thin) barrel that's free floated will shoot better with some fore-end pressure. Check this by placing some shim under fore-end tip (match book cover/"credit" card) and shoot for group. If the rifle shoots better with fore-end pressure, build a clay "dam" and add devcon/epoxy to fore-end to provide barrel pressure at that point.
I would imagine the search function to have exhaustive tutorials on this.
If the stock is touching on one side, remove it and take some material from the barrel channel where needed. Seal the wood after.
Frequently I've found a (thin) barrel that's free floated will shoot better with some fore-end pressure. Check this by placing some shim under fore-end tip (match book cover/"credit" card) and shoot for group. If the rifle shoots better with fore-end pressure, build a clay "dam" and add devcon/epoxy to fore-end to provide barrel pressure at that point.
I would imagine the search function to have exhaustive tutorials on this.
Art Eatman
Moderator In Memoriam
There is a reason God invented sandpaper. 
I like to put a shim at the forearm tip, giving maybe five pounds of pressure against the barrel. It seems to act as a bit of a damper; I call it my "poor man's BOSS". That's always seemed helpful on almost all the rifles I've messed with.
Kitchen wax paper is non-hygroscopic, so no rust. I cut a strip 3/4" wide and fold back and forth until it will barely slip in. Then, two more layers. I push on the barrel with the knuckle of my index finger, pull down on the stock with my thumb and The finger, and side the shim into place. Trim with a razor blade. I've had this change a two-MOA rifle to a sub-MOA rifle...
I like to put a shim at the forearm tip, giving maybe five pounds of pressure against the barrel. It seems to act as a bit of a damper; I call it my "poor man's BOSS". That's always seemed helpful on almost all the rifles I've messed with.
Kitchen wax paper is non-hygroscopic, so no rust. I cut a strip 3/4" wide and fold back and forth until it will barely slip in. Then, two more layers. I push on the barrel with the knuckle of my index finger, pull down on the stock with my thumb and The finger, and side the shim into place. Trim with a razor blade. I've had this change a two-MOA rifle to a sub-MOA rifle...
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