Free Float or Not?

[RiverRider]

I swapped a very nice Remington 798 in .243 for a beat up Ruger 77V in .220 Swift a while back. I told the guy I though he was getting the better of me, but his kid wanted the .243 for a deer rifle and that's what the 798 was good for---it just was never going to be a half-inch shooter, so I swapped in hopes that this particular 77V would be a good rifle. I spent a couple of weeks nursing the rifle back to a presentable state and it came out looking like a well cared for 1977 vintage rifle rather than one that had been beat and neglected by a hunter who didn't care what it looked like. While I was at it, I free-floated the barrel.

I shot my first batch of handloads consisting of the 50-grain V-Max over 7 different charges of Ramshot Hunter yesterday. The best load appears to have been 44.0 grains of Hunter, which yielded a three-shoot group of .32" and 3850 fps. Two other loads were a little over a half-inch, one yielding about 3900 fps and the other yielding a little over 4000 fps. Looks like this rifle's a shooter! I will pursue the 3850 fps load first...I still need to see if seating depth is going to make any real difference.

Anyway, I have never owned a 77V before. Has anyone here made any determination as to whether this rifle would perform better with a little fore end pressure? That's a pretty darned heavy barrel hanging off the end of that action. I did provide support for the area about three inches forward of the recoil lug, but still...

 

[Elkman]

You did it right, no reason to change it, thats a great group congratulations on a great trade. :grin:

 

[jmad_81]

If it shoots like that, you did well. I like to shoot things the way I get them, and then start tinkering.

 

[1Shot]

I had a Ruger 77 varmint in 220 Swift years ago. It to was a shooter and wish I had kept it. It shot best with a free float barrel with IMR 4064 powder. With 52 gr Sierra or Speer match bullets it was bench rest rifle accurate and talk about exploding a crow, WOW. That is what I used to shoot most with this rifle in the flat peanut fields of east NC. You hit a crow and you just saw a puff of feathers like you had set a hand grenade off in it. I have a buddy that just started using Varget powder in his 22-250 with outstanding success and I would be willing to bet that it would really work will in the 220 Swift also.

 

[RiverRider]

Thanks for the replies, guys.

1Shot, I have some Varget on the bench to do a little further experimentation on my .35 Whelen (I still am not convinced Re15 is THE ticket, Varget did well in my initial tests a couple of years ago) and I may end up trying it. The thing I love about Ramshot powders is the way they meter. But, since I will not be shooting or loading in volume for the Swift I may well give it a look. Re17 also appears to be a great choice according to QuickLoad.

 

[GF1]

Good advice here - first thing to do is shoot it as is. If it shoots well, leave it alone, continue shooting regularly to see if point of impact stays put. If yes to both, leave it alone. If no to the first question, check all other stuff first - action screws, mounts/rings, scope. If nothing amiss there, consider bedding. If the answer is "yes" and "no", I'd give it more time, but ultimately probably bed the rifle as a shifting POI is a devil's workshop.

Just my thoughts...