The barrel is free floating, but I'm not sure about the tang. Are we talking about the rear of the action, just under the safety? The front screw on the nightforce 1 piece base seemed to tighten before bottoming out, and the gunsmith took it out and checked it (i'm assuming that was what he was looking for). He is the one who cut my barel down to 20" and recrowned it. They work on AI, and HS Precision rifles, so I trust him on the basics. I haven't cleaned the barrel yet- a lot of people seem to think you shouldn't clean till accuracy falls off.

140 of the 150 rds fired were all factory ammo, and I was chronographing the first batch ( all within 30 fps) so I can't blame the ammo. The strange thing is that the groups were tight (< 1in.), but drifting down after a while. As far as the barrel goes, I don't know if they could recreate in only 10 rds. Is there a contact at Savage that Could address this problem correctly?

Dave- Sorry I didn't give more detail on the reloading, but I didn't think it was relevant. The case trim length, and COL, were good. I tried neck sizing that first batch, and I don't think I got down to the shoulder. On the 2nd try, I turned down until I was getting the brass to fit. The reloads fit better now- But not perfect! I f/l resized a box and they seem to feed normal. When I feed and extract the unfired rounds, I am getting a horizontal scratch on the bullet (reloads, not factory). I have yet to try the 2nd batch.

Thanks for the help guys!