Can't believe how much better my AR shoots after free-float.

[Henry Hill]

I used to think I was a terrible shot, my groups were horrible and sighting in took me a little longer then the average shooter. After free floating my barrel my groups have been half what they previously were. I have been taking a little more time on my shots but the difference was very evident ( all of a sudden after free floating my shooting becomes 100% better ). Anyone ever have a similar experiences ( day and night difference ) ? I was just wondering what else would improve my accuracy ( other then practice of course ) . Got a 4lb trigger and using a Stag 3H upper. I also vaguely remember a thread on calguns discussing the most important things for accuracy but cannot locate it, can anyone help?

[killshot44]

Nothing magic about it. Effective practice should equal better results.

[evolixsurf]

I am wondering this about my rimfire ruger sr-22. There is a free float hand guard but the barrel is supported by a v block on the hand guard at the far end of the guard. I dont want to remove it completely, but what if I moved it all the way back to where the barrel is mounted(or close to it). Would that improve accuracy?

[Henry Hill]

Nothing magic about it. Effective practice should equal better results.

I have been practicing, but also two of my friends who have only shot once before in their lives ( I took them out to the range one time before I free-floated the barrel ) and they were actually able to hit within the first 5 circles of the bulls eye consistently. Before they were hitting either outside of the target circle or the ground next to the target, lol.

It does seem kind of strange though that it is so drastic. I had a magpul MOE that was not a tight fit against the handgaurd cap so I had to put duct tape on the cap ( tons of it ) to make it more tighter... Had a VFG attached the MOE and my delta ring would rotate slightly ( now that I think about it this may have had a factor in my inaccuracy before.. )

[osis32]

I immediately removed my handguards and went free float so I dont know if I have gotten any more accuracy or not. but I do know with my free float I was shooting 1.5" 5 shot groups at 50 yards from the bench. I definitely think free float had something to do with it

[esskay]

If your barrel is not free floated and you sling up tight when shooting, or shoot off a bipod, or even if you're free floated but you rest your barrel itself on something -- it can affect your point of impact by several MOA!

[Koolpsych]

Hmm when I free floated my barrel I think my accuracy stayed about the same, haha maybe I am just not good enough of shot to really notice the difference?

I figure at average ranges (200 yards or less) a free floating barrel shouldn't make more than 1-2 moa difference unless you are really putting pressure on the barrel (aka standing on it or something crazy).

[SJgunguy24]

Breathing incorrectly and anticipating the shot will open up your groups. I'll say 80-90% of the time it's the operator not the gun. Squeeze and you want the break of the trigger to suprise you.

[CALI-gula]

After my many years of shooting, exhaustive testing and re-testing of many theories, methods, and accessories... studying zen-like arts, meditation, and even taking a sabbatical to a Buddhist temple deep in the hills for seven months, all to improve my shooting skills... I found that above all, putting the target 6 feet away from the muzzle does WONDERS for accuracy.

.

[Joe]

After my many years of shooting, exhaustive testing and re-testing of many theories, methods, and accessories... studying zen-like arts, meditation, and even taking a sabbatical to a Buddhist temple deep in the hills for seven months, all to improve my shooting skills... I found that above all, putting the target 6 feet away from the muzzle does WONDERS for accuracy.

.

hahaha

[SJgunguy24]

After my many years of shooting, exhaustive testing and re-testing of many theories, methods, and accessories... studying zen-like arts, meditation, and even taking a sabbatical to a Buddhist temple deep in the hills for seven months, all to improve my shooting skills... I found that above all, putting the target 6 feet away from the muzzle does WONDERS for accuracy.

.

Polish sniper school grad eh'? I perfer a mag dump to increase my chances.

[Cobrafreak]

Maybe you have a habit of gripping the front of the weapon tight or sling tight? Proper technique is letting the weapon rest upon the palm of the hand without gripping it. If you use a sling for stability you can cause wild shots by making it too tight thus bending the barrel. The free float grip would get rid of both of these situations.

[ocabj]

Squeeze and you want the break of the trigger to suprise you.

When I take the shot, I want to know the trigger is breaking at that very moment because I'm making it break.

'Surprise' trigger break technique might work for benchrest where there's no movement in the gun whatsoever. And when I say benchrest, I mean real benchrest where there's no contact with the rifle except the trigger and maybe the butt plate.

But if you're shooting any other position, letting the trigger break 'surprise' you will lead to out-of-call shots.

[Henry Hill]

I don't get what you guys mean by letting the trigger suprise you. I practice dry firing ( usually right before I make a shot ) where I try to pull the trigger without moving at all/ not flinching.

[HK Dave]

I don't get what you guys mean by letting the trigger suprise you. I practice dry firing ( usually right before I make a shot ) where I try to pull the trigger without moving at all/ not flinching.

What this means is... you should not anticipate when the trigger will break...

Pull as if you have no clue when your gun will fire... as if you didn't even know it was a gun and it would go boom. It should be a surprise.