[Bart B.]

Lefteye, yes, free floating the entire barrel is necessary for the best accuracy in any bolt action rifle. That's the only way to keep the stock's fore end from transferring its bending amounts in normal handling through the hard bedding material between it and the barrel to the barrel. When this happens, the barrel whips and wiggles differently from shot to shot instead of being the same fore every shot when totally free floated.

Poorly fit receivers in the stock's inletting for them sometimes need a pressure pad between the stock's fore end tip and the barrel for good accuracy when shot off ones shoulder with the fore end resting atop something on a bench. But when shot from field positions without that fairly repeatable artificial support, best accuracy goes to hell in a hand basket.

While the difference is often small, it is there. And the way most folks test their rifles to see the difference usually won't make it visible. Remington puts the following info in their web site: Only the Model 700 Tactical Target, SPS Tactical, VS SF II, Model 700 Sendero SF II and most Custom Shop rifles are factory free-floated. Other Model 700 models and Model Seven models, including the Model 700 VLS, feature a pressure point near the tip of the fore-end of the stock. Their free floating barrels' receivers are fit to a bedding block.

Jimro, Sierra's 30 caliber match bullets shoot much more accurate than any of their flat based 30 caliber bullets. None of their flat based ones have shot in the ones, but their boattail match bullets will. With 22 and 24 caliber bullets used in short range benchrest matches, the hand made ones do have a slight accuracy advantage up through 300 yards.

What are "off center gasses?" Never heard of such a thing. I do know that Sierra switched in the 1950's their match bullet designs to hollow point in stead of full metal jacket 'cause the heel dimensions were better controlled.