Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Gunsmithing Torque issue is "settled", NOW how about order

So good bedding job to maybe include pillars seems to be the ticket to a better shooting gun.

Now
Does it make a difference what order one tightens action screws?

Different for 3 screw actions vs 2 screw?

My practice is to tighten the largest heaviest first. That is usually the recoil lug on bolt actions. Take it to snug, move to the tang, they tighten the recoil lug securely, and back to the tang.

On three screws, the center only goes to snug.

+1

The only thing I would add to 1minute's advice is to lightly snug the two screws and then hold the rifle vertically and firmly bump it on the butt plate a couple times. This will set the recoil lug against the shoulder in the stock. Most bedding jobs have enough fore/aft clearance that you could bolt the action in without the lug bearing, which can be detrimental to accuracy.

I'll drink to the above...

One of the reasons I consider it idiotic to use tape on any part of the recoil lug other than the bottom...

I'll drink to this, only place I use tape is the bottom of lug unless the action screw goes into the lug like Weatherby's

I don't use any tape at all bedding the bottom, sides, and rear (tolerating some leakage toward the front of the recoil lug). I have a Mk V Weaterby that I could probably shoot for days without any screws installed. Takes me about 5 minutes to work the action out of that stock. Had serious concerns when I was initially pulling that one apart.

While the lug on the Mark V is not particularly long it is long enough to create pressure/torque issues on the action when heated... issues which were documented decades ago...

Novice here . . . why don't you want the bottom of the lug touching the stock? Seems that you need something to snug the action up against? If not on the lug, where is the pressure of the action screw being borne? I had a Sako l579 apart last night and it seems pretty clear that the action is resting on the recoil lug and the rear, bottom surface of the tang.

The bottom of the lug shouldn't be bottomed out. It should float in the bedding. It can create uneven pressure on the action when torqued if it's bottomed out and not allow the action to rest against the bedding/pillar.

This is correct for a action where the front screw goes into the action body and not into the recoil lug itself. The exception is an action where the screw goes into the bottom of the recoil lug, you want that area around the screw in full contact with the bedding on that bottom surface.

Taping the sides and front of a lug could be argued either way and probably is similar to fore end pressure or full length bedding. Sometimes it works but many times it does not.

has any one of the gunsmith's have experience with mld.70fn bolt assembly, that is just how the cast bolt handle is fitted to the bolt body I think it may be pressed in with very small splines but not sure + does the handle it self carry all the threads for the bolt plug? any help would be thankful for.lane