The old dollar bill test revealed the very tip of the foreend touches the barrel on my 111.Disassembled, it looks like the milling machine did not make a complete pass the last time through on the barrel channel.

Is that something deliberate by Savage to apply some pressure on the barrel or did they just get sloppy on the inletting? A few minutes is all it would take to free float it entirely.

This gun has a wood stock, and was purchased new around 1995, when I was young and knew nothing about guns. I don't recall ever checking to see if it was free floated. It shot great out of the box as a Savage should, and all was good for a young deer hunter back in the day.