floated tang

Everything I've read about savages say the tang should be floating or you will have accuracy problems. Was gonna take my fairly new 12bvss to the range and while getting ready I just happened to look at it and notice it doesn't look floated to me. So I try to slide a piece of paper under it. Not sure if that's how you check it? Anyway it wouldn't go. So I took my (2) 110s outta the safe and they are both the same. Is a floated tang a modification everyone makes or are the supposed to be that way and I just happen to have 3 that arent? Or am I checking it wrong? If they are supposed to be floated from the factory I could maybe understand the 110s not being. They are both walnut stocks and older guns so maybe the stocks have squished over the years I bought them both used so who knows. The 12 though is pillar bedded so I can't see that being the case with it. Any suggestions? And if I need to remove some material how do I reseal the stocks? Thanks!

You won't be able to slide paper or card under the whole thing. Just all around it and only so deep as the first 1/4 inch or so. If it's tight, sand it down till you can get a card underneath, then seal with Birchwood Casey Seal and Filler or something similar. I wouldn't worry too much about it unless you pillar and bed it, though. Otherwise, humidity will just make it swell and shrink and play games with you anyhow.

Noe more than it takes to float the tang I would fix all three,oh and you might want to check the barrel too.

The barrel on my 12 is floated and so is the one 110. The other 110 is a old 243 with the flat screwdriver looking bolt that holds the bolt handle on. It has forend tip pressure like a ruger m77 where at the very end of the barrel channel there is a raised spot that presses again the barrel. I got that gun 6 months or so ago with intentions on building a varmint rifle out of it but haven't picked up a scope for it or decided whether to try it out with the pencil barrel and factory stock or if it's worth using the action to try to build my first savage? I actually have never seen a savage with a stock that had forend tip pressure but as I'm sure is obvious I'm not real experienced wrenching on guns either.

This is one of the 3 shot groups I shot tonight with that model 12. It shoots nice but no I can't quite get a sheet of paper to run around the tang on any of the 3 guns. There seems to be tight spots.

http://i1342.photobucket.com/albums/...psrcysyyfo.jpg

LOL don't mess with it!

Correction: don't mess with it if that's typical. If you get flyers outsde of 1/2 inch, I'd float the tang. It WON"T hurt nothin', no matter what.

Sometimes that barrel tip pressure on the stock helps. I might be hesitant to change that. Depends on how consistent it is.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by foxx

LOL don't mess with it!

Correction: don't mess with it if that's typical. If you get flyers outsde of 1/2 inch, I'd float the tang. It WON"T hurt nothin', no matter what.

Sometimes that barrel tip pressure on the stock helps. I might be hesitant to change that. Depends on how consistent it is.

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Ya it's pretty typical when I do my part. I occasionally get flyers but I'm honestly almost always sure is me. I really hadn't done much shooting for several years and just kinda getting back into it this spring again so I'm still making a flinch or twitch here and there. And I wondered about trying that 243 as is first. If it doesn't shoot well float the barrel then I suppose! Thanks for the help

now see that's new info. If it shoots leave it alone.

Ya I'm still getting myself back in the swing of breathing correctly and proper trigger control but the more I shoot the more the gun shoots like that! It's starting to come back lol! The group before this one though I twitched right when I squeezed off on the third shot and put that one a quarter inch away from the first two and I knew I did it as soon as the trigger broke. This model 12 is box stock too. No modifications at all. Just wanted to make sure floating the tang wasn't something I need to do but by the sounds of it I might be better off to leave it be!