After the last event I went to was over, I noticed something odd about my 10/22 stock. If I squeezed the forearm and barrel, it would shift and grip the barrel, but then I could pull on it and it would move a ways away from the barrel. It was quite significant, about a quarter inch play between the barrel and forearm..
So then, this explained my alternating haphazard shots and tight groupings. When the barrel and stock forend were fitted together, my pivot point was near my sling support hand, and my accuracy was atrocious. When the barrel was separated from the stock, my pivot point was nearer the action, and my accuracy was exceptional. Why would this be?
It's a rhetorical question, with an answer you may never find in most forums. It made me scratch my head for weeks, then it started to dawn on me, the center of gravity is the key. Using my daughter's mylar birthday balloons string as a lighter than air plumb line, I found my rifle's balance to be somewhat in the upper portion of the magazine well. If my pivot point is way out by my sling support hand, then it is very easy for a small motion to jog the barrel. But if my pivot point is closer to the action where the COG is, say at the take down screw, then it takes more force to jog the barrel.
This is why floating barrels make so much sense.
Along the same line of thinking, bedding the barrel is important too. A small change at the pivot point equals a significant motion at the end of the barrel, and the greatest change at the target. What bedding does is eliminate any slop between the barrel and the stock from recoil.
If ideally I try to keep my COG forward of the chamber at the takedown screw, which is my pivot point, it changes slightly with each round fired. So then it is not always forwards of the chamber, but rather moves higher and forwards as the magazine empties.
I built pillar out of 10 nylon washers at my take down screw, which allows tightening (tuning), and noticed a 1/32" - 1/16" space between the action and rear of the stock, which is where most of the reactive force is located. As my stock is polycarbonate glass filled, I noted the linear thermal expansion is the same as that for lead. My plan then is to bed the rear of the action with two 1" x 1" x 1/32" lead sheets which will allow the stock's fitted stiffness to be retained with temperature variations. Now to find a lead sheet.
One more item before I complete this phase of the project. It is terribly easy to over engineer and spend lots of money. More times than not, it also comes down to the shooter, not just the machine. A gun is very simple, all the engineering it takes is the same as for pistons. But like a driver for a car, a shooter needs to know how to operate the machine.
That being said, an easy fix comes to mind for the shifting COG. It depends on the placement of the three fingers of the trigger hand on the stock. A hair shift downwards with each shot should do the trick, but this takes field experience, and knowing your rifle.
Got the lead, now to bed. For those of you who have 10/22s, you may find this thread is particularly useful. As far as match grade rifles go, the 10/22 is the bottom of the barrel (pun!) and seriously requires many modifications. Fortunately many of them are relatively inexpensive. My trigger job consists of a bobby pin, and filing down the bolt release to make it an auto bolt release. Also a polymer buffer pin works wonders taking out the jarring when the bolt slams back.
Along the lines of skill development I found this link for offhand shooting. Note where it says, "The heavier the rifle, to a certain degree, the steadier it will hold in this position; but this can easily be overdone. Light, muzzle-deficient rifles require the left hand run well out to control them"
http://sportsmansvintagepress.com/offhand-shooting-trigger-control/
And the "lost link" for the bobby pin. Really can't wait to test it!
http://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=167898&highlight=Bobby+pin+trigger+return
I bedded it, with an inch square 1/32 lead sheet right behind the pot metal action. Nice snug fit.
BUT, I found something better! Drumroll please....
Sorbothane!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sorbothane
OK, when this catches on, just give credit here.