Originally Posted by Offshoreman
I leave only the rear REAR of the recoil lug untaped; I tape the sides, the front and the bottom of lug. The lug is there for one reason only, and that's to be the primary receptor of longitudinal forces (recoil) - the bottom areas of the receiver in the vicinity of the front and rear rings are the areas that provide the main support and directly opposite of the forces applied when tightening the guard screws. By leaving the bottom of the lug 'floated', I don't have to worry that the lug can in anyway become a third, possible pivot point.

This ^^^^^^

The only time the bottom of the lug should be in hard contact is when an action screw goes into the bottom of the lug (Sako, etc). On that style, they get a pillar recessed below the top of the inletting and covered with bedding compound.

You can see the recess in the 'before' view:

[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]

The 'after' view, fresh out of the bedding and before any clean up. The bedding thickness over the pillar(s) is very visible:

[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]

Forbidden Zoner