diff --git a/src/QMCDrivers/CloneManager.cpp b/src/QMCDrivers/CloneManager.cpp
index 284a2e325..ff2e86e70 100644
--- a/src/QMCDrivers/CloneManager.cpp
+++ b/src/QMCDrivers/CloneManager.cpp
@@ -81,7 +81,6 @@ CloneManager::~CloneManager()
 {
   // delete_iter(CSMovers.begin(),CSMovers.end());
   delete_iter(Movers.begin(),Movers.end());
-  delete_iter(branchClones.begin(),branchClones.end());
   delete_iter(estimatorClones.begin(),estimatorClones.end());
 
 #if !defined(REMOVE_TRACEMANAGER)
diff --git a/src/QMCDrivers/CloneManager.h b/src/QMCDrivers/CloneManager.h
index 68ef328e5..f0b18559b 100644
--- a/src/QMCDrivers/CloneManager.h
+++ b/src/QMCDrivers/CloneManager.h
@@ -83,8 +83,6 @@ protected:
   std::vector<EstimatorManagerBase*> estimatorClones;
   ///trace managers
   std::vector<TraceManager*> traceClones;
-  ///Branch engines
-  std::vector<SimpleFixedNodeBranch*> branchClones;
   
   //for correlated sampling.
   static std::vector<std::vector<MCWalkerConfiguration*> > WPoolClones; 
diff --git a/src/QMCDrivers/CorrelatedSampling/CSVMC.cpp b/src/QMCDrivers/CorrelatedSampling/CSVMC.cpp
index 6dd1a6011..902363398 100644
--- a/src/QMCDrivers/CorrelatedSampling/CSVMC.cpp
+++ b/src/QMCDrivers/CorrelatedSampling/CSVMC.cpp
@@ -237,7 +237,6 @@ void CSVMC::resetRun()
   if(Movers.empty())
   {
 	CSMovers.resize(NumThreads,0);
-    branchClones.resize(NumThreads,0);
     estimatorClones.resize(NumThreads,0);
     traceClones.resize(NumThreads,0);
     Rng.resize(NumThreads,0);
@@ -255,8 +254,6 @@ void CSVMC::resetRun()
 #endif
       Rng[ip]=new RandomGenerator_t(*(RandomNumberControl::Children[ip]));
 	  
-     
-      branchClones[ip] = new BranchEngineType(*branchEngine);
       if(QMCDriverMode[QMC_UPDATE_MODE])
       {
         if (UseDrift == "yes")
@@ -288,7 +285,7 @@ void CSVMC::resetRun()
         app_log() << os.str() << std::endl;
 
       CSMovers[ip]->put(qmcNode);
-      CSMovers[ip]->resetRun( branchClones[ip], estimatorClones[ip],traceClones[ip]);
+      CSMovers[ip]->resetRun(branchEngine, estimatorClones[ip],traceClones[ip]);
     }
 
   }
@@ -314,7 +311,7 @@ void CSVMC::resetRun()
   {
     //int ip=omp_get_thread_num();
     CSMovers[ip]->put(qmcNode);
-    CSMovers[ip]->resetRun(branchClones[ip],estimatorClones[ip],traceClones[ip]);
+    CSMovers[ip]->resetRun(branchEngine,estimatorClones[ip],traceClones[ip]);
     if (QMCDriverMode[QMC_UPDATE_MODE])
      CSMovers[ip]->initCSWalkersForPbyP(W.begin()+wPerNode[ip],W.begin()+wPerNode[ip+1], nWarmupSteps>0);
     else
diff --git a/src/QMCDrivers/DMC/DMCOMP.cpp b/src/QMCDrivers/DMC/DMCOMP.cpp
index c0357fa0f..d0a1ec478 100644
--- a/src/QMCDrivers/DMC/DMCOMP.cpp
+++ b/src/QMCDrivers/DMC/DMCOMP.cpp
@@ -85,10 +85,8 @@ void DMCOMP::resetComponents(xmlNodePtr cur)
   {
     delete Movers[ip];
     delete estimatorClones[ip];
-    delete branchClones[ip];
     estimatorClones[ip]= new EstimatorManagerBase(*Estimators);
     estimatorClones[ip]->setCollectionMode(false);
-    branchClones[ip] = new BranchEngineType(*branchEngine);
 #if !defined(REMOVE_TRACEMANAGER)
     delete traceClones[ip];
     traceClones[ip] = Traces->makeClone();
@@ -101,7 +99,7 @@ void DMCOMP::resetComponents(xmlNodePtr cur)
     {
       Movers[ip] = new DMCUpdatePbyPWithRejectionFast(*wClones[ip],*psiClones[ip],*hClones[ip],*Rng[ip]);
       Movers[ip]->put(cur);
-      Movers[ip]->resetRun(branchClones[ip],estimatorClones[ip],traceClones[ip]);
+      Movers[ip]->resetRun(branchEngine,estimatorClones[ip],traceClones[ip]);
       Movers[ip]->initWalkersForPbyP(W.begin()+wPerNode[ip],W.begin()+wPerNode[ip+1]);
     }
     else
@@ -111,7 +109,7 @@ void DMCOMP::resetComponents(xmlNodePtr cur)
       else
         Movers[ip] = new DMCUpdateAllWithRejection(*wClones[ip],*psiClones[ip],*hClones[ip],*Rng[ip]);
       Movers[ip]->put(cur);
-      Movers[ip]->resetRun(branchClones[ip],estimatorClones[ip],traceClones[ip]);
+      Movers[ip]->resetRun(branchEngine,estimatorClones[ip],traceClones[ip]);
       Movers[ip]->initWalkers(W.begin()+wPerNode[ip],W.begin()+wPerNode[ip+1]);
     }
   }
@@ -136,7 +134,6 @@ void DMCOMP::resetUpdateEngines()
     }
     //if(QMCDriverMode[QMC_UPDATE_MODE]) W.clearAuxDataSet();
     Movers.resize(NumThreads,0);
-    branchClones.resize(NumThreads,0);
     Rng.resize(NumThreads,0);
     estimatorClones.resize(NumThreads,0);
     traceClones.resize(NumThreads,0);
@@ -171,12 +168,11 @@ void DMCOMP::resetUpdateEngines()
       Rng[ip]=new RandomGenerator_t(*RandomNumberControl::Children[ip]);
       hClones[ip]->setRandomGenerator(Rng[ip]);
 #endif
-      branchClones[ip] = new BranchEngineType(*branchEngine);
       if(QMCDriverMode[QMC_UPDATE_MODE])
       {
         Movers[ip] = new DMCUpdatePbyPWithRejectionFast(*wClones[ip],*psiClones[ip],*hClones[ip],*Rng[ip]);
         Movers[ip]->put(qmcNode);
-        Movers[ip]->resetRun(branchClones[ip],estimatorClones[ip],traceClones[ip]);
+        Movers[ip]->resetRun(branchEngine,estimatorClones[ip],traceClones[ip]);
         Movers[ip]->initWalkersForPbyP(W.begin()+wPerNode[ip],W.begin()+wPerNode[ip+1]);
       }
       else
@@ -186,7 +182,7 @@ void DMCOMP::resetUpdateEngines()
         else
           Movers[ip] = new DMCUpdateAllWithRejection(*wClones[ip],*psiClones[ip],*hClones[ip],*Rng[ip]);
         Movers[ip]->put(qmcNode);
-        Movers[ip]->resetRun(branchClones[ip],estimatorClones[ip],traceClones[ip]);
+        Movers[ip]->resetRun(branchEngine,estimatorClones[ip],traceClones[ip]);
         Movers[ip]->initWalkers(W.begin()+wPerNode[ip],W.begin()+wPerNode[ip+1]);
       }
     }
@@ -302,7 +298,7 @@ bool DMCOMP::run()
         for(int ip=1; ip<NumThreads; ++ip)
           W.Collectables += wClones[ip]->Collectables;
       }
-      branchEngine->branch(CurrentStep, W, branchClones);
+      branchEngine->branch(CurrentStep, W);
       //         if(storeConfigs && (CurrentStep%storeConfigs == 0)) {
       //           ForwardWalkingHistory.storeConfigsForForwardWalking(W);
       //           W.resetWalkerParents();
diff --git a/src/QMCDrivers/QMCUpdateBase.cpp b/src/QMCDrivers/QMCUpdateBase.cpp
index dba8fa833..c2a7d1b97 100644
--- a/src/QMCDrivers/QMCUpdateBase.cpp
+++ b/src/QMCDrivers/QMCUpdateBase.cpp
@@ -86,8 +86,6 @@ bool QMCUpdateBase::put(xmlNodePtr cur)
 {
   H.setNonLocalMoves(cur);
   bool s=myParams.put(cur);
-  if (branchEngine)
-    branchEngine->put(cur);
   return s;
 }
 
@@ -95,7 +93,6 @@ void QMCUpdateBase::resetRun(BranchEngineType* brancher, EstimatorManagerBase* e
 {
   Estimators=est;
   branchEngine=brancher;
-  branchEngine->setEstimatorManager(est);
   NumPtcl = W.getTotalNum();
   deltaR.resize(NumPtcl);
   drift.resize(NumPtcl);
@@ -128,14 +125,6 @@ void QMCUpdateBase::resetRun(BranchEngineType* brancher, EstimatorManagerBase* e
   Traces = traces;
 }
 
-
-void QMCUpdateBase::resetEtrial(RealType et)
-{
-  //branchEngine->E_T=et;
-  branchEngine->setTrialEnergy(et,1.0);
-  branchEngine->flush(0);
-}
-
 void QMCUpdateBase::startRun(int blocks, bool record)
 { 
   Estimators->start(blocks,record);
diff --git a/src/QMCDrivers/QMCUpdateBase.h b/src/QMCDrivers/QMCUpdateBase.h
index a0c0caa82..f7f0a6aae 100644
--- a/src/QMCDrivers/QMCUpdateBase.h
+++ b/src/QMCDrivers/QMCUpdateBase.h
@@ -137,8 +137,6 @@ public:
   /** stop a run */
   void stopRun();
   void stopRun2();
-  /** reset the trial energy */
-  void resetEtrial(RealType et);
 
   /** prepare to start a block
    * @param steps number of steps within the block
@@ -272,7 +270,7 @@ protected:
   ///random number generator
   RandomGenerator_t& RandomGen;
   ///branch engine
-  BranchEngineType* branchEngine;
+  const BranchEngineType* branchEngine;
   ///estimator
   EstimatorManagerBase* Estimators;
   ///parameters
diff --git a/src/QMCDrivers/RMC/RMCSingleOMP.cpp b/src/QMCDrivers/RMC/RMCSingleOMP.cpp
index f26f98136..f3a95848b 100644
--- a/src/QMCDrivers/RMC/RMCSingleOMP.cpp
+++ b/src/QMCDrivers/RMC/RMCSingleOMP.cpp
@@ -106,7 +106,7 @@ namespace qmcplusplus
 	      if (Period4WalkerDump && now_loc % myPeriod4WalkerDump == 0)
 		wClones[ip]->saveEnsemble (wit, wit_end);
 
-	      branchEngine->collect (CurrentStep, W, branchClones);	//Ray Clay:  For now, collects and syncs based on first reptile.  Need a better way to do this.
+	      branchEngine->collect (CurrentStep, W);	//Ray Clay:  For now, collects and syncs based on first reptile.  Need a better way to do this.
 	    }
 	  Movers[ip]->stopBlock (false);
 	}			//end-of-parallel for
@@ -211,7 +211,6 @@ namespace qmcplusplus
     if (Movers.empty ())
       {
 	Movers.resize (NumThreads, 0);
-	branchClones.resize (NumThreads, 0);
 	estimatorClones.resize (NumThreads, 0);
 	traceClones.resize (NumThreads, 0);
 	Rng.resize (NumThreads, 0);
@@ -229,7 +228,6 @@ namespace qmcplusplus
 	    traceClones[ip] = Traces->makeClone ();
 #endif
 	    hClones[ip]->setRandomGenerator (Rng[ip]);
-	    branchClones[ip] = new BranchEngineType (*branchEngine);
 	    if (QMCDriverMode[QMC_UPDATE_MODE])
 	      {
 		os <<
@@ -271,7 +269,7 @@ namespace qmcplusplus
     for (int ip = 0; ip < NumThreads; ++ip)
       {
 	Movers[ip]->put (qmcNode);
-	Movers[ip]->resetRun (branchClones[ip], estimatorClones[ip],
+	Movers[ip]->resetRun (branchEngine, estimatorClones[ip],
 			      traceClones[ip]);
 	// wClones[ip]->reptile = new Reptile(*wClones[ip], W.begin()+wPerNode[ip],W.begin()+wPerNode[ip+1]);
 	wClones[ip]->reptile = W.ReptileList[ip];
@@ -316,7 +314,7 @@ namespace qmcplusplus
 	  {
 	    Movers[ip]->advanceWalkers (W.begin () + wPerNode[ip],
 					W.begin () + wPerNode[ip + 1], false);
-	    branchEngine->collect (CurrentStep, W, branchClones);
+	    branchEngine->collect (CurrentStep, W);
 	  }
       }
 
diff --git a/src/QMCDrivers/SimpleFixedNodeBranch.cpp b/src/QMCDrivers/SimpleFixedNodeBranch.cpp
index 51fabbe5e..a47ee76bc 100644
--- a/src/QMCDrivers/SimpleFixedNodeBranch.cpp
+++ b/src/QMCDrivers/SimpleFixedNodeBranch.cpp
@@ -121,7 +121,6 @@ void SimpleFixedNodeBranch::start(const std::string& froot, bool append)
   MyEstimator->reset();
 }
 
-//void SimpleFixedNodeBranch::initWalkerController(MCWalkerConfiguration& walkers, RealType tau, bool fixW, bool killwalker)
 int SimpleFixedNodeBranch::initWalkerController(MCWalkerConfiguration& walkers, bool fixW, bool killwalker)
 {
   BranchMode.set(B_DMC,1);//set DMC
@@ -180,7 +179,7 @@ int SimpleFixedNodeBranch::initWalkerController(MCWalkerConfiguration& walkers,
   //update the simulation parameters
   WalkerController->put(myNode);
   //assign current Eref and a large number for variance
-  WalkerController->setEnergyAndVariance(vParam[B_EREF],vParam[B_SIGMA2]);
+  WalkerController->setTrialEnergy(vParam[B_ETRIAL]);
   this->reset();
   if(fromscratch)
   {
@@ -371,24 +370,9 @@ void SimpleFixedNodeBranch::branch(int iter, MCWalkerConfiguration& walkers)
   MyEstimator->accumulate(walkers);
 }
 
-/** perform branching
- *
- * Set the trial energy of clones
- */
-void SimpleFixedNodeBranch::branch(int iter, MCWalkerConfiguration& walkers, std::vector<ThisType*>& clones)
-{
-  branch(iter,walkers);
-  //synchronize it
-  for(int i=0; i<clones.size(); i++)
-    clones[i]->vParam=vParam;
-  if((BranchMode[B_DMCSTAGE])&&(ToDoSteps==0))
-    for(int i=0; i<clones.size(); i++)
-      clones[i]->BranchMode=BranchMode;
-}
 /**
  *
  */
-
 void SimpleFixedNodeBranch::collect(int iter, MCWalkerConfiguration& W)
 {
   //Update the current energy and accumulate.
@@ -476,23 +460,9 @@ void SimpleFixedNodeBranch::collect(int iter, MCWalkerConfiguration& W)
   MyEstimator->accumulate(W);
 }
 
-//Ray Clay:  Have to come up with a better way to collect and sync up reptile copies.  This is taken from DMC.  See RMCSingleOMP
-
-void SimpleFixedNodeBranch::collect(int iter, MCWalkerConfiguration& W, std::vector<ThisType*>& clones)
-{
-  collect(iter,W);
-  //synchronize it
-  for(int i=0; i<clones.size(); i++)
-    clones[i]->vParam=vParam;
-  if((BranchMode[B_RMCSTAGE])&&(ToDoSteps==0))
-    for(int i=0; i<clones.size(); i++)
-      clones[i]->BranchMode=BranchMode;
-}
 /** Calculates and saves various action components, also does necessary updates for running averages.
  *
  */
-
-
 void SimpleFixedNodeBranch::reset()
 {
   //use effective time step of BranchInterval*Tau
@@ -634,7 +604,6 @@ int SimpleFixedNodeBranch::resetRun(xmlNodePtr cur)
   WalkerController->put(myNode);
   ToDoSteps=iParam[B_WARMUPSTEPS]=(iParam[B_WARMUPSTEPS])?iParam[B_WARMUPSTEPS]:10;
   setBranchCutoff(vParam[B_SIGMA2],WalkerController->targetSigma,10);
-  WalkerController->setEnergyAndVariance(vParam[B_EREF],vParam[B_SIGMA2]);
   WalkerController->reset();
 #ifdef QMC_CUDA
   reset(); // needed. Ye
diff --git a/src/QMCDrivers/SimpleFixedNodeBranch.h b/src/QMCDrivers/SimpleFixedNodeBranch.h
index cece1a545..122c7838e 100644
--- a/src/QMCDrivers/SimpleFixedNodeBranch.h
+++ b/src/QMCDrivers/SimpleFixedNodeBranch.h
@@ -359,33 +359,18 @@ struct SimpleFixedNodeBranch: public QMCTraits
     return vParam[B_TAUEFF];
   }
 
-  inline void setTrialEnergy(RealType etot, RealType wtot=1.0)
-  {
-    vParam[B_EREF]=vParam[B_ETRIAL]=etot/wtot;
-    //Eref=Etrial=etot/wtot;
-  }
-
   /** perform branching
    * @param iter current step
    * @param w Walker configuration
    */
   void branch(int iter, MCWalkerConfiguration& w);
 
-  /** perform branching
-   * @param iter the iteration
-   * @param w the walker ensemble
-   * @param clones of the branch engine for OpenMP threads
-   */
-  void branch(int iter, MCWalkerConfiguration& w, std::vector<ThisType*>& clones);
-
   /** update RMC counters and running averages.
    * @param iter the iteration
    * @param w the walker ensemble
    * @param clones of the branch engine for OpenMP threads
    */
-
   void collect(int iter, MCWalkerConfiguration& w);
-  void collect(int iter, MCWalkerConfiguration& w, std::vector<ThisType*>& clones);
 
   /** restart averaging
    * @param counter Counter to determine the cummulative average will be reset.
diff --git a/src/QMCDrivers/VMC/VMCLinearOptOMP.cpp b/src/QMCDrivers/VMC/VMCLinearOptOMP.cpp
index 7d5e38f6b..107fca862 100644
--- a/src/QMCDrivers/VMC/VMCLinearOptOMP.cpp
+++ b/src/QMCDrivers/VMC/VMCLinearOptOMP.cpp
@@ -481,7 +481,6 @@ void VMCLinearOptOMP::resetRun()
   {
     Movers.resize(NumThreads,0);
 //       CSMovers.resize(NumThreads,0);
-    branchClones.resize(NumThreads,0);
     estimatorClones.resize(NumThreads,0);
     traceClones.resize(NumThreads,0);
     Rng.resize(NumThreads,0);
@@ -502,7 +501,6 @@ void VMCLinearOptOMP::resetRun()
 #endif
       Rng[ip]=new RandomGenerator_t(*(RandomNumberControl::Children[ip]));
       hClones[ip]->setRandomGenerator(Rng[ip]);
-      branchClones[ip] = new BranchEngineType(*branchEngine);
       if (QMCDriverMode[QMC_UPDATE_MODE])
       {
 //           if (UseDrift == "rn")
@@ -526,7 +524,7 @@ void VMCLinearOptOMP::resetRun()
 //             CSMovers[ip]=
         Movers[ip]=new VMCUpdatePbyP(*wClones[ip],*psiClones[ip],*hClones[ip],*Rng[ip]);
 //           }
-        //Movers[ip]->resetRun(branchClones[ip],estimatorClones[ip]);
+        //Movers[ip]->resetRun(branchEngine,estimatorClones[ip]);
       }
       else
       {
@@ -549,7 +547,7 @@ void VMCLinearOptOMP::resetRun()
 //             CSMovers[ip]=
         Movers[ip]=new VMCUpdateAll(*wClones[ip],*psiClones[ip],*hClones[ip],*Rng[ip]);
 //           }
-        //Movers[ip]->resetRun(branchClones[ip],estimatorClones[ip]);
+        //Movers[ip]->resetRun(branchEngine,estimatorClones[ip]);
       }
       if (ip==0)
         app_log() << os.str() << std::endl;
@@ -570,8 +568,8 @@ void VMCLinearOptOMP::resetRun()
     int ip=omp_get_thread_num();
     Movers[ip]->put(qmcNode);
 //       CSMovers[ip]->put(qmcNode);
-    Movers[ip]->resetRun(branchClones[ip],estimatorClones[ip],traceClones[ip]);
-//       CSMovers[ip]->resetRun(branchClones[ip],estimatorClones[ip]);
+    Movers[ip]->resetRun(branchEngine,estimatorClones[ip],traceClones[ip]);
+//       CSMovers[ip]->resetRun(branchEngine,estimatorClones[ip]);
     if (QMCDriverMode[QMC_UPDATE_MODE])
       Movers[ip]->initWalkersForPbyP(W.begin()+wPerNode[ip],W.begin()+wPerNode[ip+1]);
     else
diff --git a/src/QMCDrivers/VMC/VMCSingleOMP.cpp b/src/QMCDrivers/VMC/VMCSingleOMP.cpp
index d4b6fb378..d4976d64d 100644
--- a/src/QMCDrivers/VMC/VMCSingleOMP.cpp
+++ b/src/QMCDrivers/VMC/VMCSingleOMP.cpp
@@ -157,7 +157,6 @@ void VMCSingleOMP::resetRun()
   {
     movers_created=true;
     Movers.resize(NumThreads,0);
-    branchClones.resize(NumThreads,0);
     estimatorClones.resize(NumThreads,0);
     traceClones.resize(NumThreads,0);
     Rng.resize(NumThreads,0);
@@ -177,7 +176,6 @@ void VMCSingleOMP::resetRun()
       Rng[ip]=new RandomGenerator_t(*(RandomNumberControl::Children[ip]));
       hClones[ip]->setRandomGenerator(Rng[ip]);
 #endif
-      branchClones[ip] = new BranchEngineType(*branchEngine);
       if (QMCDriverMode[QMC_UPDATE_MODE])
       {
         Movers[ip]=new VMCUpdatePbyP(*wClones[ip],*psiClones[ip],*hClones[ip],*Rng[ip]);
@@ -235,7 +233,7 @@ void VMCSingleOMP::resetRun()
   {
     //int ip=omp_get_thread_num();
     Movers[ip]->put(qmcNode);
-    Movers[ip]->resetRun(branchClones[ip],estimatorClones[ip],traceClones[ip]);
+    Movers[ip]->resetRun(branchEngine,estimatorClones[ip],traceClones[ip]);
     if (QMCDriverMode[QMC_UPDATE_MODE])
       Movers[ip]->initWalkersForPbyP(W.begin()+wPerNode[ip],W.begin()+wPerNode[ip+1]);
     else
diff --git a/src/QMCDrivers/WalkerControlBase.cpp b/src/QMCDrivers/WalkerControlBase.cpp
index cfd8b5f4e..846d398c3 100644
--- a/src/QMCDrivers/WalkerControlBase.cpp
+++ b/src/QMCDrivers/WalkerControlBase.cpp
@@ -27,8 +27,7 @@ namespace qmcplusplus
 WalkerControlBase::WalkerControlBase(Communicate* c, bool rn)
   : MPIObjectBase(c), SwapMode(0), Nmin(1), Nmax(10)
   , MaxCopy(2), NumWalkersCreated(0), NumWalkersSent(0)
-  , targetEnergyBound(10), targetVar(2), targetSigma(10)
-  , dmcStream(0), WriteRN(rn)
+  , targetSigma(10), dmcStream(0), WriteRN(rn)
 {
   MyMethod=-1; //assign invalid method
   NumContexts=myComm->size();
@@ -560,7 +559,6 @@ bool WalkerControlBase::put(xmlNodePtr cur)
   int nw_target=0, nw_max=0;
   std::string nonblocking="yes";
   ParameterSet params;
-  params.add(targetEnergyBound,"energyBound","double");
   params.add(targetSigma,"sigmaBound","double");
   params.add(MaxCopy,"maxCopy","int");
   params.add(nw_target,"targetwalkers","int");
diff --git a/src/QMCDrivers/WalkerControlBase.h b/src/QMCDrivers/WalkerControlBase.h
index 54b93aec8..bd6279583 100644
--- a/src/QMCDrivers/WalkerControlBase.h
+++ b/src/QMCDrivers/WalkerControlBase.h
@@ -94,16 +94,8 @@ public:
   IndexType NumWalkersSent;
   ///trial energy energy
   RealType trialEnergy;
-  ///target average energy
-  RealType targetAvg;
-  ///target average variance
-  RealType targetVar;
   ///target sigma to limit fluctuations of the trial energy
   RealType targetSigma;
-  ///bound of the energy window
-  RealType targetEnergyBound;
-  ///current variance
-  RealType curVar;
   ///number of particle per node
   std::vector<int> NumPerNode;
   ///offset of the particle index
@@ -179,15 +171,6 @@ public:
     return curData[i];
   }
 
-  /** set the target average and variance
-   */
-  inline void setEnergyAndVariance(RealType e, RealType v)
-  {
-    trialEnergy=e;
-    targetAvg=e;
-    targetVar=v;
-  }
-
   /** update properties without branching */
   int doNotBranch(int iter, MCWalkerConfiguration& W);
 
diff --git a/src/QMCDrivers/tests/test_fixed_node_branch.cpp b/src/QMCDrivers/tests/test_fixed_node_branch.cpp
index 897c68d11..18b227821 100644
--- a/src/QMCDrivers/tests/test_fixed_node_branch.cpp
+++ b/src/QMCDrivers/tests/test_fixed_node_branch.cpp
@@ -53,18 +53,9 @@ TEST_CASE("Fixed node branch", "[drivers][walker_control]")
 
   REQUIRE(fnb.getTau() == Approx(tau));
 
-
   fnb.advanceQMCCounter();
   REQUIRE(fnb.iParam[SimpleFixedNodeBranch::B_COUNTER] == 0);
 
-
-  fnb.setTrialEnergy(-4.0);
-
-  REQUIRE(fnb.getEtrial() == Approx(-4.0));
-  REQUIRE(fnb.getEref() == Approx(-4.0));
-
-
-
   // default is classic cutoff scheme
   //fnb.setBranchCutoff();
 }