I'm asking about TI style pressure point inside the barrel channel near the fore end tip. Designed to apply pressure on the barrel when the stock is tightened.

I'm conditioned for free floating barrels and thinking about buying a TI stock for my M700. Any good experience with this style? Do you grind them out or leave them?

sometimes pressure will work.

Ed

Grind the speed bumps out...

I always sand 'em out. I do not have the experience that a lot of guys on the 'Fire have. However, I have never had a rifle shoot worse without 'em. Has not always improved accuracy. But, has never hurt accuracy... in my experience...

If they are already there shoot the gun before removing.
However, I do not have any one piece stock guns with front end bedding.
But my #1 and #3 with two piece stocks do have the fore end bedded.
jmho
Tim

My concern is how a bi-pod, sand bag or tight sling will affect poi. Free floating works, and makes me feel better.

Same here. Even if they did improve accuracy, which I haven't seen yet, I'd be leery of using them because I wouldn't trust them to be stable across a temperature range or when the forearm was contacting something solid.

Thanks for your responses guys. For peace of mind, it will be a dremmel job on the barrel channel.

My most reliable and consistent big-game rifle, a Win 70 30-06, has had the same pressure points in the forend since 1994.

If it shoots that way, then leave it alone.

Shoot it first before taking out the pressure points. I have had a couple of 700 sporters that were very inconsistent without pressure points.
You can always use the piece of plastic or cardboard under the front action ring to see if it shoots better free-floated.

drover

Never seen one shoot worse without 'em.

Generally, I make a stock for a rifle I've bought that is more suitable for shooting from bench rest. Always free float the barrel channel.

Did buy a new Ruger 77 Hawkeye 257R rifle that I've never made a stock for....too nice a stock on it. Anyway, shot around 60 rounds with it before I took the barreled action out of the stock to inspect it. Rifle certainly had enough accuracy for hunting, but had tried various reloads with no decent improvement for accuracy.....already owned 4 other 257 Roberts rifles, so not new to the 257R cartridge.

Was surprised by how much pressure was in the forend of the Ruger stock. Amount of wood I had to remove from the fore end kinda surprised me. Anyway, free floating the barrel made a very very slight improvement in the accuracy.

Chuckle, lightening the pull of the factory Ruger trigger did more to improve accuracy than my barrel channel work.

My experience also..

I've seen upward pressure work on a couple of rifles. One was an Ruger MKII with a B&C Carbelite stock and the other a M700 w B&C Alaskan stock.

The M700 w/ B&C stock came with the two "pressure pads" at the tip of the stock. Now these pads had the spiderweb coating all over them. I went with the conventional advise that these were pure evil and removed them. Rifle shot no better. I ended up reconstructing a pressure point in a two step operation. (1) I bedded action and forend in a conventional manner, but added 3 layers of vinyl tape on the barrel at the end of the stock channel, about 2.5" in length. This forms a semi-circular section in the bottom of the stock channel. This I did a second pour on top of the first one, with a shim under the front action screw. This make a perfect semi-circular bed up upward pressure and uniform side contact. It subsequently shot very well.

I do have my theories and, trust me, they will be worth every penny you guys pay to hear them. Firing a bullet puts axial and rotational forces on the barrel. The barrel vibrates in response to these forces. A "good" barrel vibrates consistently, like a tuning fork. A bad one, not so much.

A pressure point merely dampens that vibration. Specifically, it decreases the amplitude of that vibration. Remember you are resisting movement downward and sideways (at least if you bed it the way I did).

Now I don't really know if a barrel vibrates in a Figure-8 pattern as suggested by Mr. Newberry below, but I'm confident that it vibrates in the vertical and horizontal plane. Dampening these vibrations can/should make it easier to find these sweet spots a the vibration amplitude is attenuated. That's my theory and I'm sticking with it.

I feel like I got my moneys worth, for sure.

For many years I always free-floated, then started full-length neutral pressure bedding on whippy barrels. I now bed lots of barrels full length with great success.

I have never bedded with a pressure point and had it remain stable over a long period of time.

Rifles talk...yet nobody listens.

Simply shoot the fhuqking thing with open ears and take it from there.

Now as to vertical stringing/bipod bitch slap,that is more of a function of the integrity of the stock,than it is the bedding job. A rigid handle(that means McMillan or a Chassis),is impervious to such thangs,as compared to Living Handles,Laminates and other attempts at Synthetics handles. So you must weigh integrity first,before painting yourself in a corner and then be realistic for the application of the blueprint and how it will be used.

I've had/have Ti's from 1st Gen REAL one's,to various Faux versions of same and none are of McMillan integrity/rigidity. They do however respond VERY well,to slight upwards pressure and a pad and they stay static in that regard. I'd gun as issued,with a dab bedded lug and tang affirmations,then let it tell me what it wanted. A silicone pad up front,is very often a Magical Cure,for long term POA/POI satisfactions. BT/DT and have ALL the T-shirts.

That being said,I never shoot said platforms from a bipod and all that work is either offa ruck or MPAJ Hasty Rest,with thunks given to pressure impetus and release. Said platforms have sold ALOTTA rifles in the flesh,after others have gunned same. Hint.

I've piles and piles of rifles with fore end pressure and FL neutral bedding and have lonnnggggggg been a fan of silicone pads,to sweeten the pot. This covering the gamut from 6-pounders to 18-pounders and all stops in between. Hint.

Catching the lug,orienting the tang and keeping schit out of a fhuqking bind are THE opening moves and tip pressure is something that gets critiqued,as empties fly out the port.

I tend to rest handles of the ilk near the receiver ring,to extoll the inherent integrity virtues of said location,in relation to it's influx upon a barreled action. Montucky handles are more rigid than any/all things Ti and they LOVE a silicone or similar pad.

Have never had one shoot "loose",wiggle or stray...mainly because they cain't.

Hint.

You've been led to water.

Boxer, will you post a picture showing this silicone pad? Exactly what is it and where could something similar be found?

I found a 4"x4" x 1mm thick piece on Fleabay for about $4.50 shipped. Clearance on my Montucky barrel channel is not much. I too would like Stick to hang some pixels.

Stumpy....

next time you lead someone to water....

Do the wife a favor...

While you're there...

Take a Bath...

I hear his soon to be ex wife will probably clean him out anyway

Can't say I'd remove them on this rig. Faux Ti

I was at Mr. Kleiguenthers shop one time. I watched him apply a pressure point in the barrel channel of a k15.
Over time with a wooden stock the wood seems to relax and the pressure on the barrel changes. The accuracy goes to pot. Then it's time to reapply the pressure or free float. I have a laminated and a Brown precession that has a pressure point that has not relaxed and are very accurate. Hasbeen

Maybe a pressure point is a good idea, but I have hoarded way too many centerfire rifles. Most I will never get around to test firing. If I do, I will not have time to tune up a pressure point, so I free float everything before taking to the range.

For the past few years, I have not even shot any factory barrels. I rebarrel everything before giving it a trip to the range.

But now with IMR-4451 and IMR-4166 available, factory barrels may be good enough.

Try it with,
Try it without,
Decide.

In the "early" days (and given my age, I can say that), Leonard Brownell and others believed that the next step you would take would be a full-length bed - action AND barrel channel. In the first AGRAGLAS instructions, that was what was recommended and Bishop's and [bleep]'s offered/recommended it in their finished custom stocks. In most instances, it DID improve over the previous status quo. Not saying that is the ultimate way to go as the norm for me is to free-float my rifles; however, the take-away is that stable pressure can temper a barrel's harmonics and shrink groups.

Why did the system "bleep" F - A - G - E- N - S ? Does that somehow represent an improper word OR is the automated system in need of reprogramming?

I have 100% of my rifles floated. Years ago I had a coule with pressure points in forend. After taking out that pressure point, they shot much better.

All of my Montanas like a pressure point.

I bought a ti rifle new in about 2001. I shot it, floated it, shot it, full length bedded it....shot it. It always shot good, but it has shot most consistent FL bedded.

I'm conscious not to reef the jesus out of the sling and not get stupid about applying pressure to the bipod.

That rifle will still put 5 into a quarter or better.