"For gunsmiths and gun nuts"

[.308win]

Never had this happen before, i was cleaning my gun today and noticed that my stock has been rubbing my barrel, i couldn't get pics of the stock to come out good, but you can see the rubbing on the metal. It's a wooden stock so should i just lightly sand it down alittle so its not rubbing or take it to a smith?
http://s126.photobucket.com/albums/p101/newfieguy1/th_IMG_0598.jpg
http://s126.photobucket.com/albums/p101/newfieguy1/th_IMG_0597.jpg

[Rod]

What is the gun? Any assembled pics?

Rod

[kootenayelkslayer]

I had a similar problem with my rifle. I just sanded the stock down so the barrel does not touch at all (barrel is floating). Makes a big difference in shot consistency once that barrel starts to heat up. You should be able to run a piece of paper between the stock and barrel all the way down the barrel to the end.

[.308win]

What is the gun? Any assembled pics?

Rod

It's a Howa 1550 in .308 win
http://s126.photobucket.com/albums/p101/newfieguy1/th_IMG_0601.jpg

[416]

I had a similar problem with my rifle. I just sanded the stock down so the barrel does not touch at all (barrel is floating). Makes a big difference in shot consistency once that barrel starts to heat up. You should be able to run a piece of paper between the stock and barrel all the way down the barrel to the end.

X2. Have done the same and even sanded out the pressure points Remington likes to install in their stocks, always with better results

[Rod]

Make sure the wood is stable then sand out the pressure points with fine paper wrapped around a dowel. try not to take any more wood off than is necessary to allow you to slide a thin piece of paper between the stock and bbl from the forend to about an inch forward of where an empty case would sit in the chamber.

Make sure to seal the wood really well with several thinned (50-50) varathane or it's likely going to move the next time you run into damp conditions (like that would ever happen in BC).

Cheers
Rod

[YukonJack]

I have to agree with all the other posts about this. Of course, you have to keep in mind that some rifles shoot consistently better with a single point of contact towards the end of the forearm.
Has been a debate for some time....float or not, bed or not.
I'd be wagering to bet that because you have a wooden stock, and it's much more likely to change dimensionally due to humidity, floating is the way to go. Remember, do what Rod says....seal it well afterwards.

[ruger#1]

it wont get damp in the okanogan, i had the same thing happen with one of mine in the valley. it had a full wooded stock , and i just sanded it down , the whole stock, the old finnish was cracking, and i think that is how the moisture was getting in the stock.

[Mauser98]

How is the rifle shooting now? If it's shooting well, why try to fix something that isn't broken?

Otherwise, the advice given is right on. I use a piece of 80 drit wrapped around a socket to sand the barrel channel.

[Jagermeister]

Make sure the wood is stable then sand out the pressure points with fine paper wrapped around a dowel. try not to take any more wood off than is necessary to allow you to slide a thin piece of paper between the stock and bbl from the forend to about an inch forward of where an empty case would sit in the chamber.
Cheers
RodSupplementing Rod's advice. So that you may be able to see where the pressure points are, find a piece of copy paper and insert it between the barrel and stock (with the marking side to the stock). Try to slide it back and forth down the entire length of the barrel. Keep eliminating the high spots as you work your way down to the stock retaining screw.
Also, there was a safety recall on some models of Howa and that included Smith $ Wesson, Mossberg and others that were manufactured by Howa and this may also pertain to the Weatherby Vanguard. It was related to a possible bolt problem. Have you had yours checked out? Here is a link that you can follow for this recall. http://www.regcen.com/howa/

[Hank Hunter]

Weatherby rifles are not free floating.

[.308win]

Mauser98:
I bought this gun 13 years ago it seemed to shoot fine until about 2 years ago, i noticed that i couldn't get a good grouping at the range, i was sporting a pretty cheap scope(~89$) and thought that was the problem, So last x-mas the kids got me a new banner, at the range it seemed fine groups were alot better, and dismissed the error has human, but now am thinking that its the wood to barrel problem. I'm not even sure how this came about i checked the staulk for cracks and such but found none.

Jagermeister:
Had my bolt sent back for the recall, found it by acident, just googled the gun one day about a year and ahalf ago first thing i saw was a recall, there was a manufac. problem were the pin would still fire even with the safty on, used it for 11years like that. you think they could track down Howa gun owners let them know to check their vin#'s some how. If i hadn't decided to "just google" my gun one day i might still be packing it around like that....pretty scarey!!

[Jagermeister]

The recall for Howas and the other brand names that Howa manufactured for, S$W, Mossberg, Interarms, happened six or so years ago. This recall was publizied for a long period of time in just about every hunting and shooting mag on the continent. Given the elapsed time of manufacture, it would be nearly impossible to track owners because most of these firearms probably exchanged hands several times over. It's a good thing that it still shows up on the 'net. Whenever I see a posting about rifles that may be affected, I generally make that post about the recall. Afterall, it's not likely the shooter that will take the bullet, but someone else in close proximity may be the recipient. Just playing it safe. Weatherby Vangards were also made by Howa, or at least some were. If I owned one I would be checking the barrel for the Howa proof marking and be making some inquiries if it bore the stamp.

[Ilikebigbucks&Icannotlie]

Just get the barrel free-floated and glass bedded. It will greatly improve the accuracy of the gun. Doesn't cost too much at a gunsmith. You can also do it yourself.

[.308win]

Just get the barrel free-floated and glass bedded. It will greatly improve the accuracy of the gun. Doesn't cost too much at a gunsmith. You can also do it yourself.

How, and have you done this yourself?