Quote Originally Posted by RJW NZicon View Post
The better question is the direction you went in, and that is accuracy with H barreled no1 mk3's. One of the most accurate H barreld rifles I've owned was ruff as guts, 100 floated average cond H barrel, and had a larger than average pressure plate around the main screw as the only non stock addition to the rifle, not even did it have up pressure at the barrel.
Hey charlie, watch you'r email tomorrow, I'll send you something interesting.
Now it could be that the H barrel liked being floated for reasons other than physical, ie perhaps the H floated
harmonics worked better than a no4 fully floated, but remember that the No4 barrel is 100% fully floated, with the exception that a number of people established that slight up tension reduced the accuracy more, so that is in the only contact.

I think it was Ed H used to put here an animation of a barrel snaking around, very good wat to visualize the issue.
Lets not forget where the H barrel originated from, a cut back lee metford (to measurements) barrel. yes it was thought to be better harmonics and that it still was approved by the NRA at the heavier than standard weight barrel because it was dimensionally the same as the lee metford one. I haven't ever had a lee metford apart to examine the bedding set up but would be betting it wouldn't be much different than the SMLE. So what Iam trying to get around to saying is that it doesn't have to be fully floated to shoot better. In fact i have seen some old range No1 mk3's with that much cork on top of and below it that it would'nt move if it had a truck trying to bend it!!and they shot very very well.
Cheers
Ned