Northern Dave, I may have read it wrong but I believe the tape ring on the barrel either at the fore end tip or back closer to the action body acts to shim the action up enough to float the barrel. Then the epoxy cures making a now permanent shim. The card is just a test before doing the actual glue bedding to test for results of no tip pressure. It does seem that some stocks still may require a bit of material removal on the side or tip of the channel to get a fit that works for the mag well or bottom metal and allows the free float.
I used to only shoot shotguns and rimfires, then I made the mistake of getting a subscription to handloader.......
