Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles To Bed or not To Bed

Good afternoon. I have a Wby ulta light which I can not get to shoot very well. The cal is 257 wby, the barrel is 26" & fluted. The model is Accumart ulta light. The stock has a aluminum block under the action which I have glass bedded. I have tryed a pressure point at different locations starting at 1" back from the end of the stock. To 3 " back. But not much change. Now I am thinking that I should bed the whole barrel. What do all of you think? Thanks for any and all input. Divemaster [color:"blue"] [/color]

What ammunition are you using ? Have you tried it with the barrel free floated ?
I usually bed the shoulder of the barrel about an inch or so and leave the rest free floating. No pressure point. I like to use a shooting sling. If the barrel is pressure point bedded, the use of a sling with produce a point of impact shift. Something I really don't want. E

Divemaster,
I've got a Wby. ultra-lite in .280. Mine shoots best free floated (under 1" for 5 at 100)
I shimmed under the recoil lug with a chunk of creddit card, to test and groups were cut in half.
I then took the dremil to the barrel channel for a more perminate fix, as I was getting some binding in the mag. with the action lifted with the shim.
VB

When the aluminum bedding blocks first came out, we all thought the issue of glass bedding was solved. However, we found it wasn't so. The bedding block rarely matches the receiver exactly, and having bedding compound in direct contacts with the receiver helps damper harmonics. A rifle with an aluminum bedding block should still be bedded. it should have a light "skin" of bedding under the action, then bedded down the barrel channel another 2-3" with the barrel free-floating. This works very well in the majority of cases.

Blaine

Your post got me thinking. I've got a Remington 700 in 270. It came from the factory with the pressure point. Would eliminating this pressure point make this rifle more accurate? The barrel is free floated everywhere else except for this one point. I have never tried it so if anyone has, let me know. Thanks!

Sometimes they are more accurate, sometimes not. Each rifle/ammo conbination is a law unto itself. I like them free floated so I can use a shooting sling w/o changing the rifle's zero, and, in the case of a wood stocked rifle, to slow down the atomospheric changes that affect the rifle's zero.
I might point out that, even though a rifle's barrel is free floated, it can still change impact because of weather changes and several other reasons. It is not a cure all for using a shooting sling either. Alot can depend on stock stiffness, the size of the barrel channel, etc. But, usually it helps alot in these areas. Accuracy is another matter. I've seen them go both ways. E

Hello Everyone. Thanks for taking the time to answer my post. The action is glass bedded and 2 " of the barrel. The gun comes with a pressure point & I have moved this back with a business card. I have not yet tryed to remove the pressure point. But will try what you did Campfire Outfitter and see if this works. The ammo I am useing is Weatherby as well as handloads. Bullets have been 100,115,117 & 120 in weight. Powers have bee R-22, R-25, N165, IMR-7828, IMR-4831, H-4350, & MRP. If I shoot this gun with a cold barrel and then let it cool back down to air temp. Then shoot it again, it will shoot rather well. But if I shoot it as I would in the field then the group open up. I know that this gun has a lite barrel ang will not shoot 5 or 10 shot groups. But for the money that this little gun cost. I would hope that it would shoot 3 shot groups. Thanks again to all for your time & help. Divemaster

Very true. We often think the action machining is perfect, but the reality is that they are far and few between. Bedding helps minimizing these problems on mass-produced actions. We see the problem in the bedding and we see it when we mount our precious scope - hence the need for lapping or live centering rings. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />