Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles DIY bedding M77 (pic heavy)

First I better show what that band of tape was for on the barrel. See how it acts as a centering shim to hold the barreled action true in the stock while the bedding sets up?







Once I had the excess bedding (squish) cleaned from the mag box area I held the action firmly in place while I loosened the forward screw & tang screw at the rear of the trigger guard so I could install the mag box in it�s place. I then re-snugged the action screws & included the mid action screw this time. I did this to ensure that the floor plate would open & close properly, don�t want anything binding when the bedding dries.




Now we fast forward about 5 hours to where I pop her loose. Although the bedding is far from completely cured at this time it is well on it's way & will not break apart or lose it's shape when you crack it open. I do this so that I can tend to any unwanted bedding compound on areas such as the screw threads before the bedding is fully cured, at this point it is very firm but manageable for minor clean up & trimming tasks.

To pop it loose I'll hold the rifle belly down with one hand firmly grasping the fore end way up front, the other hand is at the grip area with my thumb hooked over the top of the tang.

I'll use a firm but padded surface such as the back of a couch or simply double over a bath towel & place it on a kitchen counter top or table top near the table edge. I'm going to pull down on the fore end with my forward hand gently striking the barrel just forward of the stock fore end on the doubled over towel that lays on the counter top or table. Gentle at first & increasing strength of the blow (within reason folks) controlled straight downward pulls until you feel it pop loose. then you can carefully wiggle the action out of the stock to revile your new bedding. The release agent will be hanging onto everything like loose sunburnt skin at this point. You can just peel it right off.

Here's the new bedding in my .264 M77





[img]http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e364/northerndave/rifle%20bedding/Picture043.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e364/northerndave/rifle%20bedding/Picture042.jpg[/img]

I'll trim anything that needs trimming, peal the release agent & set it aside for a day to full cure. Once it is full cured I will chase the action screw holes with a drill bit to bring the screw holes back out to there original size, don't want that bedding hugging the action screws when we are all done.

There we have it, do it yourself free float & bedding.

hope it helps someone overcome fears of glueing there action into there stock

Dave