XL7 barrel pillars....

[sfatbn07]

I have an XL-7 .270. I know that the barrel is not truly free floated since the end of rests on 2 pillars at the end of the stock. Is it worth it to sand down the pillars to get a free-floated barrel? I know that glass bedding is also an option, but not one that I am willing/able to pursue at this time. Any help/suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

[dmsbandit]

I have over 700 rounds thru my XL-7 in '06 and I see no reason to mess with the stock.

Shoot the gun, do your load work, record your results, and see what it likes. If you can't get under 1" at 100 yds for an average of numerous 3 shot groups, then you might want to experiment with the forend. Just remember that it's hard to add material to the forend and have the correct pressure to the barrel.

[hottarod]

If you are not having any problems with it then don't fix what isn't broke.  Having said that, I posted on here some time back about my groups getting very loose after just 2 or 3 rounds.  I finally tracked the problem down to a tight spot on the fore end of the stock.  I sanded that side down and my problem went away.  The pressure tangs or points on the front tip end of the stock were left in place.  They are obviously there for a reason which is to put some upward pressure on the barrel at that point.  I wouldn't take them off unless you are going to do a complete job on the stock.

[mousegun87]

The two pillars are OK *IF and ONLY IF* the stock is straight and true. But in both of my XS7 (308 and 243) I found the stocks to be warped towards the front end. So the two pillars are *not* applying the same pressure on the barrel. This causes the shot group to "walk" once the barrel gets hot.

[Dangerous Dan]

Info On XL7 and XS7 Stocks I Have Sold 25 Of These Guns and Here Is What I Have Found , As Mousegun Said The Ft Pressure Points are Not all The Same Gun To Gun , So I Would Shoot The Gun First If You are Happy With The Groups Good On You .
But If Not Here Is What I Have Found Rub Your Hand Down The Side Just In Ft O The Chamber If You Feel a Dimpel Here Is What I Have Found , The Pressure Points Have Way To Much Pressure , I Use A Cutter To Remove The Pressure Pionts and Most Of The Time The Dimpels Are Gone When I Am Through Doing That , I Also Glassbed The Action Pads and Recoil Lugs , The Outher Guns Better Take Heed Marlin Has a Winner With This Gun DD

[sfatbn07]

I do think that the stock is warped... The stock is closer/more snug/tighter on the right side of the fore end than the left. I don't know that this is caused by the pillars, though. Is it "required" to bed the barrel if I were to cut off those pillars? That's not something I'm comfortable doing and can't really afford to have done right now.

[oliver65]

This is what i have done in the past. Take an old credit card or something of the same thickness cut it small so it will fit between the stock and the action. This should shim the action wich should remove the forend pressure shoot it if it shoots better float it if not dont.

[sfatbn07]

This is what i have done in the past. Take an old credit card or something of the same thickness cut it small so it will fit between the stock and the action. This should shim the action wich should remove the forend pressure shoot it if it shoots better float it if not dont.

Stupid question but where exactly would I put the credit card slivers? When I've got the barrel/action removed from the stock, where exactly should they go?

[donut slayer]

right around the pillars and the action screw. What you are doing is to temp raise the action off the stock to see if the barrel pressure points are affecting the POI.

[sfatbn07]

what i ended up doing - and keep in mind i have minimal knowledge of the inner workings of a rifle - was to cut up a gift card and put the pieces in the slot of the stock that the barrel/action slides in to. I'll elaborate more cause I know I'm not making much sense - there's about a 3/8"-ish thick piece of metal the sticks down at a 90 degree angle from the barrel/action and fits into a slot in the stock. I put the credit card pieces down in this slot. I ended up only having to use 2 stacked on top of eachother to get the barrel off the pillars. If this isn't the right spot, then the reason I did it was because when I put 1 credit card slice in between that metal post I just mentioned and the action screw it canted the muzzle left into the side of the stock. The barrel was off the pillars but it was tight enough against the left side of the fore end that I couldn't get a dollar bill to slide down the length of the barrel. So, I did what I mentioned above and things seem ok.

However, I did notice that the bolt wasn't cycling smoothly at all. It was getting caught just before the bolt head went into the chamber. So, I started tinkering again and determined that the problem was I had tightened the tang screw to tight. Once I loosened that up a little it was much better, although I don't think its just like it was before I raised the barrel. As long as the action is cycling without any real binding, should I worry about anything? How tight (in in/lbs) should the action screw and the tang screw be?

Thanks!

[donut slayer]

no no no, not in the recoil lug slot. under the action around the action screws, just behind the recoil lug. If ya put the shims there (recoil lug recess)you can torque the action or barrel when you tighten the action screws.  The action screws should be around 65 in pounds which is tight, but not sprain your wrist tight in redneck pounds. 

[sfatbn07]

Ok. I took the credit card slivers out of the recoil lug slot and did some tinkering with them. They are now right in front of the action screw and the barrel no longer cants to the left at the muzzle/fore-end. I plan on going to the range tomorrow to test this out. IF this turns out to be a good thing, is it worth bedding the action of the rifle - especially since this is a hollow, composite stock?

[donut slayer]

I firmly believe, all stocks benefit from a bedding job. I use marine tex. Its a 2 part epoxy that is really easy to work with. Now the composite stock, It may have to be relieved and the oil removed for the bedding compound to adhere good. usually to remove the oil on a injection molded stock, the blue part of a propane torch is touched to the stock and the oil will oooze out. This is wiped away and before it cools bedding compound is applied. Like most everything, prep is 99% of the work. There are numerous articles on the net that can teach you how to bed a rifle. Check out brownells.com

[sfatbn07]

Again, forgive my ignorance, but what do you mean by the stock will have to be relieved?

Thanks!

[donut slayer]

Again, forgive my ignorance, but what do you mean by the stock will have to be relieved?

Thanks!

No problem what-so-ever. Relieved means to drill holes(shallow) or cut grooves in the stock so it will give the epoxy something to adhere too.