I have a Remington 700 that I just rebarreled. I had some DIY Shilen that I replaced with a Bartlein 30" 1.25" diameter straight taper barrel. Monster of a barrel, weighs a ton. should help a ton with my recoil sensitivity.

I've had it in a Boyd's stock. Nothing fancy, just a laminated hardwood deal that I haven't messed with much. It's presenting me with the most obnoxious of challenges as far as fitment goes - no matter how much I hack out using various tools it's always in contact somewhere, it seems. It's actually getting to the point where I suspect that the new barrel may actually be causing the fore end to flex. I didn't anticipate this when I bought the stock, I just purchased at the lower end of my budget with the intention of making do until I get some bills paid down.

I'm not sure yet what I'm going to do, but my options seem to be to either spend money or spend more money.

I have always floated the barrel to get the best accuracy.
You may have to stiffen the fore end.
You will need some lamp black to see where the barrel is making contact.

I did glass bed one action which needed more support.

Two things have worked for me over the years:

1. Accurate torque pressure on the screws mounting the action to the stock. On the Rem 700 those would be the two screws securing the action, one forward of the internal magazine and the other at the rear of the trigger guard. Most people simply crank the screws down to a point that seems to be secure, which is seldom repeatable from one use to the next. I run the screws in to basic contact, then use a small adjustable torque wrench, always at the same setting.

2. Free-float the stock barrel channel, then a simple modification will provide consistent (and repeatable) upward pressure at the fore-end. Small dab of epoxy bedding compound near the fore-end tip, then a strip of card stock (business card works, about 3/4" wide) set into the epoxy, then slather epoxy over the paper card surface. Torque the barreled action into the stock (apply release agent to the barrel where in contact with the epoxy, margarine or paste wax will work), allow it to set, then remove and clean up the results. This will apply a very slight upward pressure, evenly and consistently. Also seems to overcome any tendencies of the stock to react to temperature or humidity changes.

For best accuracy consistency is our best friend.

One more thought, while I'm here:

Moderate loads have always provided better accuracy for me than the top-of-the-chart loads. All of my rifles have always performed best when my loads have been about 5-10% below book maximums.

My worst stock experience was when I bought a used Savage 110 years ago, 30-06. I gave it the once over then got ready for testing, paid $190 or so.

I found I couldn’t chamber a round, even factory ammo. I ended up a little flummoxed, seller was long gone. A few days after giving it to the local gunsmith, he called & said the stock was warped. It was such, that once tightened it would twist the action in a way where you couldn’t chamber a cartridge. It worked fine with no stock attached.

I wouldn’t of believed the wood stock could twist the action in such a way. A replacement stock fixed the problem. It’s now my ‘loaner gun’.

Anyhow, as able, work on your stock some. If needed replacements come from the budget line to expensive.

This has been a project - I've been slowly building it up over the past year.

I've been roughing the stock out with a die grinder and carbide burr, and following up with chisels/gouges and 80 grit sandpaper. It's been slow and frustrating work, especially since the stock isn't the one that I'll ultimately end up putting on there. I've been eyeing a Manners T4A or Grayboe Ridgeback for it, and the Choate tactical line just caught my eye, seeing as they advertise it can a 1.25" barrel.

I've actually been using "poor man's Dykem" (sharpie). I colored a bunch of barrel, installed the stock, and gave the fore grip a sharp rap with my palm. Pull it off, carve. Rinse, repeat.

Get a wooden dowel rod one size larger than the barrel and use 220 or 300 grit sandpaper wrapped around the dowel.

You don't want to take off any more wood than necessary. When you are finished, you should be able to run a dollar bill under the fore end to the action without any interference using the barrel to find high points.

There is no easy way other than using the barrel clamped in the action.

Next you assemble a group of bullets using the same powder load. Use the bullet that gave you the best accuracy and use several powders to further narrow the powder for the best accuracy.

I have tried the pressure point and free floating the barrel but the free floating always won hands down.

Significant progress. I have the fore end under control. I used a cylindrical bit and carved it out. Still need to smooth it out with sandpaper.

Now it's sitting against the sides of the channel. A round bit and some sandpaper should take care of that. I'm cautious about taking too much material off.

Thoughts on the future of the build, in no particular order:

I plan on adding some rigidity back by putting an arca rail on the bottom, and drilling and tapping a piece of steel to drop in the channel for the rail to interface with. It should work out nicely. Hell, it might work nicely enough that I don't want to replace it. I've also got the materials to pillar bed it.

After that, I need to address the balance issues. It's way overbalanced forward (I mean, it IS a 30" barrel with a wood stock). Some tungsten powder and epoxy should help there, though I have thought about trying to get my hands on some wheel weights from a local tire shop.

I got to shoot it today and WOW. I'm used to the recoil causing it to be nigh-unusable (I used to have a Sporter barrel in a Magpul hunter 700 stock), but this thing rivals my 6.5 Creedmoor. The objective today was to get pressure data, and maybe ring a bit of steel depending on how things go.

I was originally going to drop it in my ARC Xylo chassis for load dev, but I forgot the long hex wrench. Still am, but next time I need to bring that wrench.

I've chosen IMR 4166 because I have an 8# jug of it, and it performs admirably close to Varget. If this doesn't work then I'll fall back on my jug of IMR 4895 from barrels past.