Thread: Floated barrel, what's the advantage

Consistent accuracy is all about consistent harmonics. A floated barrel can whip independent of outside influence, resulting in a consistent mean point of impact, all else being equal. With a non-floating barrel, outside influences can cause your MPI to wander. Examples of those influences include bipod usage and varying degrees of fore end pressure. Floated barrels are generally immune from these effects, though there are other issues that effect harmonics, such as stock flex under recoil. This is why people often swap out polymer stocks for fiber glass, carbon fiber, laminate etc.