Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Recoil lug bedding

Hi Greydog,
Yes 3 scopes tried. Two 3-12 LRHS, and one LPVO Credo Trijicon. Bases bedded, scope rings lapped and now bedded. No evidence of scope or base movement. New Wolfe firing pin spring. 3 different shooters, 3 different handloaders trying to help with load development. No shooting off truck hoods or bunched up jackets, no bipods.
The biggest problem is inconsistency. Might get a decent 1”-1.5” 3 shot group showing some promise, then that same load could shoot a 4”-5” 3 shot group.
Now going to relieve front, sides, and bottom of the recoil lug and see how it goes.

Thanks everyone for the replies.

Sounds like you've certainly covered the basics very well.

Before working on the lug mortise, try this as a reference: With the butt on the floor and the barrel up, lightly touch the the barrel and the stock at the end of the fore arm with your thumb and index finger. Then, loosen the front guard screw and see if you can feel any movement. Then snug the front screw back down and repeat this at the rear tang.

Let us know what happens. -Al

Thanks Al. I’ve already checked that with this one and didn’t feel any movement. I should have it in my hands again this weekend so I’ll double check a lot of things. Maybe I’m overlooking something obvious.

Check to make sure your action screws have clearance around them. If they are touching bedding anywhere it can cause an issue. Everything else has been covered or recommended as far as I've read

Best wishes with your project



Trystan

Maybe try some factory ammo, couple different loads.

I know, I know, but who knows!

Sounds enigmatic.

Is there another stock you could try it in?

Benchmark makes both button and cut rifled barrels. Which rifling does his barrel have?

If cut rifled most brands need 50-100 rounds before breaking in and accuracy improves. Is the barrel free of copper? Is the crown good?

How about that crown?

Check to make sure your action screws have clearance around them. If they are touching bedding anywhere it can cause an issue. Everything else has been covered or recommended as far as I've read

Best wishes with your project



Trystan

I've had a few that didn't show any movement because they were bound up tight in the bedding. Correctly done, a barrelled action should literally fall out of the bedding when the screws are removed.

Looking forward to what you find. -Al

mod7rem;
Good afternoon to you sir, I hope your section of BC is getting weather you need and other than a squirrely rifle you're well.

Bedding... ugh - it's like a chainsaw thread here isn't it?

With the standard disclaimer that I'm not a trained smith and just like to fool with firearms to see what I can learn - as well as read as much as possible on the same subject.

I've kept track of the rifles I've bedded in a log book and am somewhere north of 70, so not the most by a long shot and not the fewest perhaps either?

Typically I'll put a layer of electrical tape on the bottom, front and sides of the recoil lug, mostly because it comes out of the stock easier and will go back into the stock easier too then.

On Mauser type actions I like to bed the barrel at least a couple inches as well. From what I read and I'm hoping I'm remembering it all now, the actions like a Mauser with a comparatively short threaded section and then especially the military ones with the thumb slot are easy to spring a bit or put uneven tension on them.

On 700 type actions with longer threads and stiffer actions, sometimes they seem to like that bit of contact at the barrel and sometimes they don't.

Then I've seen barrels that refused to settle down without some pressure on the fore end.

When these sorts of variables have been mentioned in previous discussions, there are some in the camp of "if it doesn't shoot fully floated you should A - sell it B - rebarrel again C - get a Stihl so you know you've got a decent saw.... no maybe not the last part.

I'm cognizant that for 99% of the firearms I'm bedding, they're hunting rifles, not target or bench rest, so I have lower expectations.

As well, I'm extremely cognizant that there are folks who have different accuracy expectations and standards than I do, as well as vastly different discretionary spending budgets and in both cases that's cool too.

Did your friend ask the smith who installed the barrel what he thought was a good direction to begin to look? That might be a good place to start.

Hopefully that was at least somewhat useful/helpful.

Good luck on the rifle project and with your remaining hunts.

Dwayne