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hornetguy, if the barrel gets hot, it expands in diameter. That'll put more pressure on any point it's bedded at. So why bed the barrel at the fore end tip where any pressure on the fore end from how the rifle's held will change the pressure on the barrel at that point? No competition shooter winning matches and setting records wants their barrels to touch anything; totally free floated forward of the receiver ensures the barrel's expanding from heat won't change its pressure against anything that'll make it bounce off of.
Barrels walking point of impact as they heat up is typically caused by the barrel is fit to the receiver with uneven pressure around where its flat part is against the receiver. If the receiver face is not square with the chamber axis, there'll be one point where the barrel is hardest against the receiver. As the barrel heats up and expands, a stress line at that point makes the barrel whip more and more in one direction as it gets hotter. Which is why, after letting the barrel cool down, it shoots back to point of aim where it started. This cause is easy to fix; face off the receiver and shim the barrel so it clocks into the same place keeping headspace correct.
If a barrel's not properly stress relieved, they also will bend a bit as they heat up. Replacing it is the only solution.
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