Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Gunsmithing Bedded First Rifle

In the days leading up to Thanksgiving I found a deal on a Grayboe terrain stock at Red Hawk Rifles that included the bottom metal. It was for a Rem 700 short action and I was dropping in a Bergara Ridge, although a 700 clone and a good fit I felt the need to tinker so I bedded the entire action. I used JB Weld (24 hour cure to allow plenty of time since it was my first) and the results were pretty good with a tight fit. Plenty of neutral shoe polish and masking along with a good cleanup. Haven't had a chance to give it a good range session but a quick couple rounds shows a bit of improvement.
Thanks to all on here that share their knowledge and experiences to help the inexperienced. Lots of different preferences for products and such but the info about how to do it is great!

Glad it worked out. Waiting for the very first one to cure, even when you know you checked everything and were careful, is pretty miserable.

Sounds like you did good

I would like to learn to do this, but I learn better in person that trying to risk damaging a rifle hoping to get it right.

There are some excellent tutorials on YouTube. MidwayUSA's is good. Just make sure to go slow and use enough release agent *anywhere* the bedding could touch metal. I like the Miles Gilbert kit... has very good directions.

Agree with 7mm there are some good videos out there and in the hunting rifles subforum there is a sticky about it. If you're worried about ruining your stock you can always find one cheap to walk through the process on. Put a WTB in the classifieds here or send John_Boy a PM as he paints and has a bunch of stocks for cheap sometimes. For your first one I suggest the slow cure formulas as it will give you plenty of work time. Just trust yourself and don't take it apart until you're sure its cured. And as others have said, plenty of release agent on anything metal and tape for the stock. Prep and cleanup will be 98% of the time spent with a couple minutes actually putting the bedding in.

What works far better than release agent is Johnsons Paste Wax.

Haven't gone that route yet, but plan too this spring. I always had good luck with the agent in the Gilbert kit so just kept using it.

I used to use the blue release agent but have long ago switched to a clear wax, in my case Renaissance wax. Not cheap but a little goes a long way. A couple of benefits in my mind are the cleanup with the wax is essentially a non issue, just leave it there if you want. And because it is so thin, I think I get a better/closer fit than with the liquid release agent, which is pretty thick when it dries.

Be very careful of mechanical locks.
Anywhere th at epoxy could fill in a void in the metal,
effectively pinning stock action together.

Congrats on a job well done! I did my first one a couple months ago and was very stressed while I waited the cure time. All worked out and the groups shrunk.

Range report? better/same/ or worse?

I have only done 3 and so far they are still nerve racketing, wondering if you did it right, used enough release agent and hoping it pops apart. I use the hornady 1 shot and plenty of it. They all turned out better. If not for the internet I would have never even tried it.

I use Mold Release spray instead of wax. Just use several coats and spray from every angle. Easy cleanup. I do like packing tape for any holes or magazine wells etc. Just have to use it prior to the release agent or it will not stick to the action.

God Bless, Louis