Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Sako a7 barrel is NOT free floated?

I just bought a stainless synthetic Sako a7 because I got a good deal on it. When I brought it home I took it all apart to clean all the packing grease etc and noticed that about 3" forward of the receiver there are two pressure points on either side of the stock. In everything I've read and according to the manual it is supposed to be free floated. I'm not sure I want to keep it now and bring it back.

I would decide after I shot it.

As flimsy as those injection molded stocks are up front, there is no way in HELL I would shoot one that was not free floated.

I would just scrape out the material on the bedding pads and then keep it. It would not matter what brand of rifle or what material the stock is made from- float the barrel!

Most rifles shoot fine not free floated. It only hurts the value to booger up the stock. Shoot it first.

no,


Shoot the rifle first.
You won't be disappointed in it's performance. I own two A7's and they are are not flimsy up front.

Sub-moa rifles out of the box.

Yes. Try a workup first as is. If it won't come in then do a float and also check the receiver bedding. One can alway redo pressure points and the redo's will likely be better centered around ones barrel than a molded stock.

Remington, for example only uses speed bumps and removing them doesn't "booger" anything. I would agree to always shoot it first, however I've never seen a Remington sporter weight not shoot better when floated. Free floating, IMO, also helps to make a rife shoot more consistantly...ie when they get hot.

I've never seen a Model 700 shoot better floated. I never float one.

Ask ANYONE who shoots a Remington m700 in competition or for tactical uses and MUST have a reliable point of impact from day to day ,if they float their barrels. Heck Remingtons most accurate rifles are ALL free floated from the factory.

Only the Walmart grade schit you buy has pressure points in the channels Swampy.

Pressure points are a cure for nothing that cannot be solved by ammo section or load development.

If the harmonics in a barrel are so [bleep] up that it has to be pressure point bedded just to group well, it's a tent peg, IMHO.

Maybe that's why your groups are so big..

I brought the gun back and got a M70 Extreme Weather instead. Costs the same and is a better gun imo.

I couldn't have returned it after shooting it or mucking with the stock. The thing that pissed me off more than anything is the fact that they LIE about it being free floated. They even stick a patch of white plastic under the barrel close to the forend for you to think it's free floated. They are totaly missleading in that regards. The funny thing is that the t3's and the 85's are all free floated all the way to the reciever. I had the guy at the counter check after he didn't believe me that the a7 wasn't floated.

I can honestly say I think I dodged a bullet here. There is so much plastic on that a7 (I don't HATE plastic, I shoot glocks), the stock is flimsy, plastic magazine, trigger guards and bottom "metal". And honestly the worst thing was the square inch big aluminium recoil lug that kinds rattles inside the stock. Seriously??? That thing falls right out and I don't know how many times they test fire these guns (was a 270wsm) but you could clearly see the imprint from the receiver in the aluminium. I shudder to think what it would look like after a few hundred rounds.

Yes, I could devcon 10110 bed it and get a steel recoil lug made or something and stiffen up the front of the stock and remove the pressure points but when your spending a grand on a gun I don't think I should have to do that.

At least the m70 EW has no plastic on it and I honestly giggled like a school girl about how easy you can take that bolt apart. The action is also very slick and while it doesn't feed the 270wsm as smooth (not single stack after all) it is still very smooth.

If I can make a 130gr ttsx load go sub MOA I'll be happy and I'm confident I will be able to.

Everyone can spend their money as they like but seeing as these two guns cost the same I honestly don't know how the gun behind the counter talked me into the a7 to start with.

Less than dime sized groups @ 100 yards with factory ammo is good enough for me. You can booger up your stock if you like.

Swampy,

Even if your straight from the factory m700 rifles DID shoot that well( which you know they do not), floating a barrel is not just about groups sizes.

Barrels are free floated to maintain point of impact over time and also so that sling or bipod pressure does not affect POI.

You mean like this one ?

Sako A7 25-06, no work on the stock.

Upper group is 10 straight shots shot within 5 minutes.

Lower group is 3 shots with the Swift S2's.

Would be hard to ask for more than that.

Man-O-man and that picture isn't even cropped........lol

Five shots into Eisenhower dollar at 100 paces should be sufficient for most big game hunting.

Just recently acquired an A7 soft stock in 7mm-08. I too was very surprised by the "not free floated" all the way to the receiver. Before I did anything to it, took it out and shot it. No reason to complain - after zeroing the scope it shot less than MOA with 3 different factory loads. No clover leafs but it sure is going to be gun to have confidence in while hunting.