Bedding Savage Rifle Question

[dbuck]

I was reading where they where saying to bed the forend of a sporter barrel so that you would have upper pressure and free floating a sporter barrel is no a good idea. I was taught to free float a barrel when bedding. Does this only apply to varmit and heavy barrels. I'm getting ready to bed a 7mm-08 sporter barrel.

Thanks

[darkker]

This is a can of worms you just opened. Do a member count, that is about how many opinions you will get on this.
My $0.02 on the matter goes like this. I had a sporter weight Stevens in 243, and just bought a Salvin, sorry Marlage, XL-7 in 25-06.
Both of those guns came with "pressure points" cast into the tip of the stock, to apply pressure on the barrel. Neither of them shot very well, and once you had 2-3 down the pipe, the groups REALLY went to hell. In both cases, I filed them away, and the rifles became perfectly acceptable shooters.

[Forester]

I have bedded both, and never had a sporter that shot better with a pressure point than floated. I would float the barrel and if it just will not shoot then try a pressure point.

[hunter2]

DITTO!!! I have always bedded the first 3 or 4 inches of the barrel. Has worked for everything so far.