Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles School me on rifle bedding.

Guys-
Have been thinking of stuff to do for winter projects and have been thinking of bedding one of my M70 featherweights. I've been through Dave's detailed post (which was great, BTW) and I still have some general questions that I know people here can answer.

1. I know bedding is to make a rifle more accurate, but what is the actual, technical reason it makes a rifle more accurate?

2. I see in Dave's post the areas that he bedded (recoil lug, tang, barrel chamber)...are those the only areas to which one would apply bedding?

3. I noticed he "honed out" the barrel channel in the stock...why is this done? I assume its because the barrel is being "free floated", but isn't it that way from the factory already?

4. This may be a really stupid question, but why isn't the entire length of where the barrel contacts the stock bedded? (i.e. Why is the barrel "free floated") What is the technical reason for this?

Pardon my ignorance and thanks in advance for replies
Northerner

You will get a lot of good replies on this.

Bedding is a step taken in order to achieve consistency probably more so than accuracy. A lot of us become somewhat anal about wanting our rifles to hit the same point of impact every time we grab that rifle & head out hunting or shooting.

I like to give a barrel a chance at free floating to see if it can shoot well with no barrel to stock contact.


If it performs well free floating then I know I have an easy way of ensuring consistency because I can bed it straight & true in it's stock and have year round confidence by visually observing that clearance between the barrel & the stock.

I watch the stocks on some of my rifles vary with their free float clearance throughout the year with climate changes. The for end will sometimes move throughout the year crowding the barrel from below or from one side.

If this would be occurring throughout the year with full contact then my barrel would be seeing different amounts of contact pressure from the stock throughout the year.


Does that make any sense?

Bedding is an inurance measure for consistancy. (IMO)

1. I'm no scientist, but bedding allows the barreled action to be fired with minimal movement in the stock. In other words, it supports the BA better and more uniformly. If you crank down the action screws on some unbedded guns, the high points may torque the action a bit and stress it. Reassembly of a bedded gun will often give a closer return to original zero than a non-bedded gun.

2. Capturing and securing the recoil lug, as well as adding a custom-fit "pad" for the front and rear of the action are typically what most folks do. The front and rear of the action are most critical, as that is where the screws are going to place pressure. Some like to float the middle of the action or bed it all the way around.

3. The barrel channel is not always uniformly floated on some factory models.

4. The "free-float" is one school of thought, the "full-length bed" is another school of thought. Both have their fans. I like a floated barrel with heavy sporters and bigger contours. Many think that full-length bedding very light contours help them to be less finicky throughout a shot string.

JP