Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles How to Remove Bedding.

Greetings,

I purchased a used McMillan on the site here and it is bedded . The bedding job appears to be well done, but when I attempt to insert my 1978 Weatherby Vanguard barreled action everything fits real well except at the very end of the action, where the safety is, the action will not lock down into the stock sll the way. The rest of the rifle looks fine but it needs to go down about another eighth of an inch at the back to fit properly. I can put the action screws on it I don’t want to shoot it like that.

Could it be a that the bedding is too high?

This is a Howa/Vanguard McMillan; could it be that my Vanguard is so old that the dimensions were a little different back then? I also have a recent Weatherby Vanguard synthetic stock from recent production and the barreled action seems to fit in the Weatherby stock just fine.

Thanks for any advice you might have. I want to be able to use the Vanguard because it was my fathers but I’m not crazy about the synthetic Weatherby stock.

Dan

If you have a Dremel tool you can grind it out, or if you have a milling machine, you can cut it out that way.

If it were me, and I could tell that the stock simply won't work as-is, I'd take a Dremel and open up the recoil lug area on all sides to see if the action will fit afterwards with no force (like it would in a non-bedded stock). If so, I'd re-bed the lug area at least. If wanting things done more "completely", I would remove most of the bedding material, leaving some pillars around the screw holes to keep the action sitting right, then I'd re-bed.

The Howa M1500 barreled action is the same and hasn’t changed. The barrels are .620” contours on all sporters at 22” and 24” or .570” for their sporter lights and Alpines.

Check with the previous owner and make sure what Howa based M1500 barreled action it was previously used on. Early on in their process for Howa McMillan used to start with their Sako inletted stocks and finish inlet to a M1500 Howa. Both are very similar. As others have stated just Dremel out and sand until you can snug it in. In the process make sure the barrel stays free floated. Good luck.

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It was either bedded to someone else's action or bedded to a "slave" action. In either case just because it has bedding doesn't mean it will fit YOUR action. I at least skim bed any rifle and the worst fit of a bedded action I have ever seen was on a rifle that came bedded from the factory.

If you use a dremel...tape up the sides of the gun to protect it. No matter what, it seems a dremel sometimes catches and zips off to a spot you didn't intend. Sucks running the dremel over a nice exterior.

What about when you are paying so close attention to the spinning bit that you don't notice the knurled chuck hit something for a nice skinned spot.....

Voice of experience here ^^^^^^^ .... Dremel is the answer. But, best to go slow. And best to mask off what you don't want to scuff up.

I would knock down all of the previous bedding a hair and open up the lug slightly and re/skim bed.

Been there too 😖