What is the skinny on floating barrels?

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Mentolio

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Apr 22, 2015
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NJ
Originally posted in reference to the "Vulcan Tactic" carbine thread:

I'm not a high-end PCP guy, but this gun...yet I have a concern, and maybe some of you more experienced folks can offer insight: floating barrels scare me. My Disco, with two barrel bands, is still kinda easy to knock the barrel off center (they're tight, but a light knock on a tree will occasionally knock the barrel out of alignment and screw my accuracy). This gun is a "semi floating" barrel in the bull pup config, with the scope rail mounted near the middle of the barrel, so not too scary. The carbine has the rail mounted back near the receiver, with a lot of barrel just floating out there...so my question is: of how much concern is this? Are these hi(er)-end guns built so much better than my Disco or Mrod that I need not fear a light bump in the woods knocking the barrel "out of alignment" and ruining my accuracy (at least until I get home and correct the problem)? I don't buy guns to bench shoot, I take them into the field and hunt...and I am a bit clumsy no matter how hard I try to be otherwise. :/
 
I kind of know what you mean. I have a FX Royale 400, and am a little careful with the flimsy looking barrel. I say "flimsy looking" cause I am not sure that it is as fragile as it looks. I have carried over my shoulder for the last six squirrel seasons. Many of my hunts are up & down ridges and some rough country, several miles a day, no issues with it, still shoots 3/8" groups @ 50 yards. One thing I never do, is lean the barrel against anything. I hang it by the sling or support it by the stock. Probably even less of a concern with the bullpups.
 
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Mentolio:

Free floating as to what I am concerned should be the VERY LAST resort and not the norm, it should be used when a barrel just doesn't shoot...BARREL FLOATING has been highly publicized as it is used by BR shooters, but there are many misconceptions and many people truly believe that it is the holly grail for accuracy and it is not...

Some top BR competitors don't tell you that their barrels are actually NOT FULLY FLOATED from breach to the crown and a great number of them have 1 -1.5" at the breech very solidly bedded...What you can do if your gun allows you to do it is to play with the pressure at the touching point or barrel band and tune your barrel vibrations that way...If it works, fine...If it doesn't then try free floating it...If your gun allows some bedding at the breach area, try 1-2 inches of bedding and free float the rest...Also try the same 1-2 inches of bedding with some pressure or touching point after 75 -80% of the barrel length....Every barrel vibrates and tunes up differently.

Regards,

AZ
 
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Higher quality airguns that are made better do work just fine with NO barrel band. A very stiff barrel mounted in a large mon-block design floats just fine without fear. YES you "could" beat it enough to cause problem but you would have to try. The fellow who owns this BM1000 also grabs the barrel and uses the rifle for support getting up from the seated position and it never shifts a click. On some design with a truly flexable barrel and only say 1'1/2" seating into breach you would want a barrel band. You cant compare a discovery with a ( good little rifles there are but ) with a high quality rifle costing a good bit more.




John
 
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I have a bottled marauder that has a fully floated barrel and shroud and it is a true moa rifle. I lean the barrel/shroud against trees and leave it in a safe rested on the barrel with no ill affects.

On the flip side, I have many other marauders that have unfloated barrels fully captured in a solid barrel band that perform equally as well.

After owning and working on many different guns from the low end to the ultra high end Anschutz and FWB rifles, I am convinced that airguns certainly differ from firearms as far as barrel harmonics. I do agree with Azuaro that all guns differ and experimentation is the only way to find what is best for a particular gun.
 
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I prefer a barrel band on my rifles. If the barrel is shrouded I like the band to secure the shroud firmly. I like the barrel ínside the shroud to have just a small amount of play. On barrels without a shroud The band should give the barrel a little room to move to compensate for the reservoir flexing and moving under pressure. Steel has a memory and the barrel will spring back If bumped while contained inside the band.
 
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"Mentolio"Originally posted in reference to the "Vulcan Tactic" carbine thread:

I'm not a high-end PCP guy, but this gun...yet I have a concern, and maybe some of you more experienced folks can offer insight: floating barrels scare me. My Disco, with two barrel bands, is still kinda easy to knock the barrel off center (they're tight, but a light knock on a tree will occasionally knock the barrel out of alignment and screw my accuracy). This gun is a "semi floating" barrel in the bull pup config, with the scope rail mounted near the middle of the barrel, so not too scary. The carbine has the rail mounted back near the receiver, with a lot of barrel just floating out there...so my question is: of how much concern is this? Are these hi(er)-end guns built so much better than my Disco or Mrod that I need not fear a light bump in the woods knocking the barrel "out of alignment" and ruining my accuracy (at least until I get home and correct the problem)? I don't buy guns to bench shoot, I take them into the field and hunt...and I am a bit clumsy no matter how hard I try to be otherwise. :/

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The Mrod does have a fully floated barrel as far as the barrel band goes from the factory unless someone added an o-ring or other material to the barrel band. BSA rifles are free floated from the factory also. There is nothing wrong with a free floated barrel and there is nothing wrong with a banded one if they perform as they should. You mention the disco having two bands and feel it is more stable than a barrel without bands but you also say you have knocked it off with a slight bump. So my question is if you can easily bump the disco barrel changing the poi with two bands how are those bands helping? It seems to me they are causing an issue because they hold the barrel in the position it was bumped into. If that was a BSA you would not have had that poi happen from bumping the barrel because it would have returned to its natural position.

 
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