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Posted: 1/10/2010 6:08:17 AM EDT
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As a newbie  , on my 16 inch rifle, at 100 yards.... How much better will it shoot?
I have a stag with MAGPUL handguard, just curious if the change is worth it. 
Thanks and ...... love this site, it's addictive. |
| Bear in mind it may not shoot any better. It is no different than full floating a barrel on a fully bedded bolt rifle. It may be better, stay the same, or be worse. The main advantage is you don't have the weight bearing on the barrel if you add a bunch of tactical accessories. If all you are hanging on it is a light, there probably is no advantage. I have a 16 in. BCM with the standard M4 type forend (it is midlength) that shoots 3/4 in for five shots at 100 yards every day. If I had one that wouldn't shoot acceptably, I might try it, otherwise working up a good load will pay more benefits IMO. there is a difference between theory and practice when it comes to rifles- any rifles. |
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The stresses you apply to a barrel can change the point of impact. If you have a standard barrel setup it may shoot slightly different when you shoot prone than when you use a standing hold with sling tension because of the forces applied to the handguard that, in turn, apply forces to the barrel and change harmonics. Accuracy is all about consistency and a free floated barrel will have less inconsistency.
The difference will be slight and if you use unmagnified optics or iron sights you almost certainly won't know the difference. I use free float rails on almost all of my guns though, including my SBR, for several reasons. First, they aren't that expensive compared to non free floated rails. I figure why not get the extra benefit, however slight, if it doesn't cost me much extra money. Second, they are rock solid if you want to mount a bipod, foregrip, or rail mounted front sight or laser. You can't put sighting devices on most non floating rails because there is some slop in them and they won't hold zero. |
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Quoted:
As a newbie , on my 16 inch rifle, at 100 yards.... How much better will it shoot?I have a stag with MAGPUL handguard, just curious if the change is worth it.
Thanks and ...... love this site, it's addictive. Well, that depends...how well can you shoot already? A FF rail by itself isn't going to make you a better shooter. |
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