Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Gunsmithing Bedding question

I have a rifle (BSA CF2) where the front action screw goes into the bottom of the recoil lug. Are there any tricks to be aware of when glass bedding this type of action. The rear screw screw goes into the usual tang at the back of the action.

Thanks in advance.

Mike, on that style recoil lug, you want the bottom of the lug tight to the bedding compound. Any gap will result in flexing the stock and stressing the receiver.

The rest of the lug is bedded normally...tight at the back (naturally) and ample clearance on the sides and front.

Those BSA's are pretty cool guns. For whatever reason, there were quite a few in my part of the country.

Good shootin' -Al

Thanks Al.

I think it's good plan to have a bearing pad in front of the screw under the chamber...as is common on good Mauser bedding jobs. Mule Deer has a short treatise on this very subject.

BSA CF2 actions share more features with the Sakos than anything else. And they are significantly more rigid than even the best commercial Mauser...let alone any repurposed military 98.

A good stress free two point bedding job (no contact between the stock and action from the back of the receiver ring to the tang), front and rear pillars, plenty of clearance between the action screws and the pillar I.D., and bedding the bottom metal to the stock will give very good results.

If I'm taking wood off the back and bottom of the recoil lug recess so that I can bed the lug in epoxy how much wood should I remove? In other words how thin can the epoxy that the lug is contacting be before it is not strong enough to do the job?

Mike, I like a minimum .050 of bedding thickness on the back side. And the bottom (on actions like yours where the bottom has to be tight).

On stocks where there isn't a lot of material between the back of the recoil lug mortise and the action screw hole, I make the front pillar from aluminum square stock to reinforce the backside of the mortise. -Al

How do you drill the square hole for the pillar?😂😂

A square drill bit, of course! -Al

If you use a small drill or dremel tool, drill some holes down in the corners and 2-3 across the corners of the bottom and back lug surface corner about an 1/8"deep. Then cut some 1/8"slots down along the back surface. Maybe take 1/2 the material out and leave 1/2 there,so you don't change where the action fits.Same with bottom. You do not want to take wood off the entire surfaces. This will give you enough epoxy and a slim coat of what you left. I cover the sides and front of the lug with two layers of electrical tape and give everything a coat or two of mold release

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Just an update on this thread. I followed Al Nyhus's bedding guidelines and suggestions. First three shots after bedding (I used JB Weld) were inside one inch at 100 yards (that's me shooting, factory ammo (Federal blue box) and a 4x scope).

Next 5 shots after a scope adjustment were also inside one inch. I'm a very happy chappy, thanks Al for your advice.

Sounds like you did a fine job with your bedding, Mike. Congrats!

Good shootin' -Al

I used the bedding compound from the tang to about 2 inches up the barrel shank, including sides of the action. Now contemplating relieving a little from the sides. She shoots very well, maybe just needless worry. I believe she is a J9, in .338 win.