Floating barrel on M77 Mk11?

[Ruger GP100 fan]

My one and only rifle is a Ruger M77 Mark11 in 22-250 cal. with a Weaver V16 scope. I've been reloading all(accept for one 20rd box of factory) of my ammo since first buying this used outfit and am currently still looking for the most accurate round using Varget before I try another powder. Recently I've been reading posts about "floating" the barrel and so far I have little understanding of what it means. Can my gun be so rigged and,if so,will I have to start over looking for the most accurate round? Would the return be more or less than a good trigger job or new trigger. So far the gun is bone stock and my best group so far has been about 3/4" (at 16X). If floating involves no new parts I'd prefer that over a trigger...I want to know what the very best groups are for my gun in my hands.

 

[Art Eatman]

"Floating" merely means removing wood from the forearm channel so that the barrel does not touch the wood. No big deal. But if you're getting 3/4 MOA reliably, I'm not sure I'd bother. I have a similar rig in .223, and 3/4 MOA is about standard, seems like.

I commonly free-float to get down below one MOA if need be. After the cleanout, I make a shim from a 3/4" wide strip of kitchen wax paper, folded back and forth until it takes about a five-pound pull to separate the barrel from the forearm to allow insertion of the shim. Trim with razor blade. The heat of shooting makes the wax stick together, lightly stuck to the barrel. As near as I can tell, the shim acts as a damper, making barrel vibrations more uniform from shot to shot. I call it my "poor man's BOSS"...

While this commonly helps to reduce group size, it doesn't seem to mean that I've ever needed to mess with loads which already work well. They just work better.

 

[jmr40]

If you decide to do it it is not hard. I've done several by wrapping a small piece of sand paper around a deep well socket that will just fit in the barrel channel. Sand back and forth removing small amounts of wood. Put the barreled action back in the stock often to make sure you are not removing too much. This part is about a 10 minute job. If a wood stock you will need to apply some sort of finish to reseal the wood. Since it is part of the stock not seen you don't have to get it applied perfectly.

You may have to move up one socket size, but probably not. The only time I did was when i put a heavy barreled gun into a stock designed for a standard coutour hunting barrel.

 

[Abel]

If you are at 3/4" groups already, I'd say spend the money on a new trigger. If not done right, sanding your barrel channel can change the way it looks, for the worse in my opinion.

 

[unwise11]

Floating it would probably be a good idea, I like floated barrels, mainly because I have a tendency to shoot prone off a bipod, or sandbags, and the stock doesn't affect the barrel for group shots.

 

[gkdir]

"BEWARE" The Ruger m77 MarkII's are designed with a pressure point. Some of them will increase in accuracy by being "floated", some go to hell at high speed when you float them. I fought a M77 Mark II in 7mm rem mag for several months (and about 200rds,) before finally putting it back in an original stock--then selling it. I presently own (2) .223's, (1) 30.06 and (1).270.(1) 7mm mag. The only one in the batch thats "floated is one of the .223's, and its a "one hole" grouper at 100yds.
As to the trigger-- with a stone (and your wifes emory board) and a spring out of a ball point pen--you can get your trigger down to 1 1/2# if you want it that fine. Ruger triggers are not the monster that some make them out to be. Go over on www.erniethegunsmith. com he's got springs for your M77 if you're not comfortable with the "ball point" thing,

 

[tango2echo]

BEWARE" The Ruger m77 MarkII's are designed with a pressure point. Some of them will increase in accuracy by being "floated", some go to hell at high speed when you float them.

Most of the M77 Mrk2's I have delt with do not respond well to free floating without a complete rebedding job. If it is Sub-MOA now, don't touch it.

t2e

 

[Offfhand]

Do nothing! If you have a Ruger shooting that well count yourself fortunate and don't mess with anything.