What Is a Floated Barrel?

A "floated" rifle barrel has no attachment points to the stock. The air gap between stock and a floated barrel is paper-thin, but serves to isolate the barrel from deleterious effects on accuracy caused by contact with the stock. For most hunting and recreational shooting at average ranges, floating the barrel of a rifle returns only marginally noticeable increases in accuracy. However, for competitive match shooting, or very long-range hunting, floating provides an extra edge of precision that may prove decisive. Floating affects a number of forces that influence accuracy.

  1. Harmonics

    • Every metal object vibrates at particular harmonic frequencies. Rifle barrels oscillate in a uniform manner as a fired bullet proceeds the length of the barrel. Contact with the stock, however, disrupts the barrel's natural harmonics, causing infinitesimal changes to the trajectory of the bullet as it exits the muzzle. When extrapolated over long distances, or in a target match where utmost control of the impact point is required, these small changes may have large consequences.

    Heat

    • A barrel heats up and expands as it is fired, then dissipates heat in a uniform manner. Natural heat expansion and uniform dissipation may be altered, however, by attachment points on the stock. These variations in heat minutely affect the "true," or straightness, of a barrel and introduce variations in accuracy.

    Warping

    • Wooden stocks may dry out and/or absorb moisture resulting in small dimensional fluctuations. A barrel connected to a stock at hard attachment points may be stressed and slightly warped by changes in the size of the stock due to moisture variation. Floating the barrel relieves the stress.

    Inconsistency

    • Marksmanship is consistency -- the ability to reproduce the same groups on a target time after time, as long as aim is constant. Shots fired from a stable aim should group tightly and not string out across the target due to erratic factors like transient variations in the barrel. A floated barrel eliminates inconsistency and randomness.