Given - I need to practice and work on becoming a better shooter. I accept that and look forward to doing that. But there are times when I feel VERY confident that I just pulled off 2 good, solid shots and they are farther apart than I feel they should be. Could I be doing something that I don't realize, of course, but I get better groups shooting my buddy's E. A. Brown higher quality rifle than I do shooting mine. That tells me there is room for improvement on the rifle itself.

i have a load I like with XBR 8208 and Hornady 68 gr bthp. I am still working on seating depth and fine-tuning that load. I am also working on developing a load with RamTac and the Hornady 68 gr bthp.

As as far as the rifle, I did not want to sink money into a lost cause, which was the reason for this post. From what I understand, I can make this rifle shoot better, independent of my skill level, with some upgrades. After reading this, I went and played with my rifle, and it takes VERY LITTLE effort to push the stock into the barrel, so I would bet that happens a lot when I put the gun on the bags. Seems this would completely defeat the purpose of having a free floated barrel. I think I will start with a new stock, and soon will get it pillared and bedded. After I see what that does, I will go from there.

in the meantime, I will continue to work on technique and loads, which both seem to be never ending quests for improvement, which is a big part of why this is so fun.

Thanks all for the great advice, your thoughts, and please continue the debates. No one has all the right answers, and sharing knowledge, whether you are giving or receiving, is also part of the fun. Pretty sure you can read through most of the replies on this post and find something to make you think a little bit, whether you agree with it or not, and that is a good thing.