In my 55+ years of shooting I have used different methods of having the barrel contact the stock.

Free Float - This is where the barrel does not contact the stock during the entire length of the barrel.
Full Contact - This is where the barrel is in contact with the forend the complete length of the barrel.
Pressure Point - This is where the barrel is free floated from the receiver out to the tip of forend, then a pressure point is used to press against the barrel as the receiver is tightened into the stock.

I bought a Remington 541-THB and had problems with it. I posted about the impacts "walking" on target. The barrel channel was too small for the bull barrel, causing really strange pressure points all along the barrels length. I sold the gun. The person who bought it used sand paper and a dowel to open up the barrel channel in the stock and free floated the barrel. He was recently diagnosed with cancer and sold the gun back to the store I had sold it to. I bought it back to see if I could work out the problems. Now the barrel was free floated but was suffering from "barrel droop" because of its heavy weight and only a slip fit in the receiver. With the gun held horizontally on 2 sandbags the barrel drooped so that it was free floated until the black forend tip, where it made contact. The point of impact of the bullets walked around the target at 25 yds as the barrel heated up. BUT..... if I held the gun horizontally and turned it 90 degrees to the left, where the scope was on the side and the bolt handle was up in the air, the barrel droop lessened and I could now slip a dollar bill under the barrel at the black forend tip and slide it all the way back to the receiver. When I fired it in that position impacts hit 1/2-1 inch to the left. So the barrel was moving. I took the barreled action out of the stock and placed a small 1/4 inch diameter and 1/8th inch thick clear rubber "bumper" in the barrel channel on the black forend tip. These are small rubber bumpers you would put on the bottom of a laptop or other device to hold steady on a wood table top. That provided a "pressure point" on the barrel when I torqued the receiver screws. (This 541-TBH has 2 screws that go all the way through the stock and into the receiver) After re-sighting the gun back in with Federal UM22 ammo, I let it sit for 30 minutes to cool down. I fired 5 shots at a small shoot-n-see target and they all impacted into 1 ragged hole. I repeated this process 4 more times, letting the gun cool down for 30 minutes between groups. No point of impact change as I was getting with a full free floated barrel that was drooping and moving. So the pressure point method worked real well on this particular gun.

Now comes the second gun. I have a Remington 541-S Sporter that the stock makes contact with the barrel for its entire length, just the way it came from the factory. It shoots 1 ragged hole groups with Federal UM22 ammo. I wanted to see if free floating would increase its accuracy. I made a "shim" out of .035 brass stock. I cut it a little smaller than 1x1 inch and punch a 1/4 inch hole in the center. I formed the shim so that it duplicated the surface of the stock around the receiver screw hole. I replaced the barreled action and re-torqued the receiver screw. (This 541-S has only 1 receiver screw) I could now slip a dollar bill under the barrel at the forend tip and slide it all the way to the receiver. So now it was free floated. I shot it at 25 yds and noticed the first impact was slightly different from the other 4. I repeated the grouping tests, letting the gun cool down for 30 minutes between firing each group. I noticed the same results from the first impact being different than the other 4. I removed the barreled action and placed one of those small rubber bumpers in the barrel channel on the forend tip, and re-torqued the receiver screw. After re-sighting back in with Federal UM22 ammo I shot some more 5 rounds groups pausing 30 minutes between each group. It shot groups that were worse than when free floated, or in full contact. Impacts were slightly scattered around. It wasn't shooting into 1 ragged hole anymore. So I removed the shim and bumper and put it back into the factory original condition of full contact. Now it shoots all 5 shots back into 1 ragged hole. I guess it just doesn't want to shoot any tighter than that. Maybe I'll try Eley Tennex someday, but 1 ragged hole is all I'll ever really need in a 22 rifle.

Just wanted to post my observations about how changing barrel and stock contact methods changes between different guns, even if both are the same model but with different barrels. The 541-THB shoots best with a partially free floated barrel and a pressure point on the forend tip. The 541-S shoots best with full barrel contact with the stock. I also tried groups with Wolf Match Extra ammo but neither gun would shoot as well with the Wolf than they did with the UM22.

I have a 3rd 541. It's a highly customized 541-T standard barrel that is a one-of-a-kind gorgeous gun. All the bluing has been highly polished to a mirror finish. It has a highly polished custom blued, metal pistol grip cap, polished trigger guard and lower guard plate, and even polished and inletted custom sling studs. It also has a checkered metal buttplate that is curved and inletted into the stock over the top at the rear. It's mounted in a AAA highly figured custom Claro walnut stock with a real Ebony wood forend tip. The custom stock maker left full barrel contact with the stock when he customized it for my barreled action. He said it was his experience that these 541 guns shoot best with full barrel contact in the barrel channel. This beauty shoots 1 ragged hole, 5-shot groups with Federal UM22 at 50 yards. It doesn't do as well with the Wolf Match Extra ammo. I'm going to leave it just the way it is.

So anyone else have experience at barrel contact method experimentation? I'd be interested in hearing how changing from full contact, to free floated, or partial free floated with pressure point affected the accuracy of your guns. About 25 years ago I did the shim and pressure point method on a Ruger 77/22 and was really surprised at how it shrunk the groups it was shooting with Aguila Super Extra 40 grain copper coated solid ammo. Shrunk those down to 1 ragged hole at 50 yds and that's hunting ammo, not match grade.

Thanks,

Rod