Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Remington recoil lug

I have this thread in the gunsmithing section https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbt...l-700-recoil-lug-my-version#Post16970396 and thought I'd run it through here too. I had an idea to sell these at one time but there didn't seem to be much interest in them at that time. I have some extra time in the shop right now and considering buying the material and making a few from stainless and plain steel, for bluing purposes. What thoughts do you fellows have?
Thanks
Jim

Let me know if you produce them. I can use a stainless one.

I would try one

Do you pin them to the receiver, or just hope it lines up and redo the bedding if necessary?

It's a great idea - well done.

How precise are the surfaces that mate with the receiver and barrel?

Am I missing something here? This design would also change the inletting of a stock somewhat? But use the current recall of design and recess a flat area in behind it? Possibly making it easier to bed and more stable?
Also see your from
Missouri what area?

"Do you pin them to the receiver, or just hope it lines up and redo the bedding if necessary?

It's a great idea - well done."


Thanks for the kind words. The lug can be pinned but what I have done is to index it by using the front guard screw hole in the bottom of the receiver. I machined a small countersink in the clearance hole in the lug and use a flathead screw to keep it in place when the barrel is tightened. That makes the bottom of the lug perpendicular to that 1/4-28 hole. I also could drill an indexing hole in the lug as well but was trying to make this so it was no needed.

"How precise are the surfaces that mate with the receiver and barrel?"

The surface that contacts the receiver is machined in the first setup of the material and after all the roughing is taken care of. That surface is machined with the bottom of a carbide end mill. The area that contacts the radius on the bottom of the receiver is machined at the same time with the side of the end mill. Both of the surfaces only have .005 of material to remove for the finish cut. This keeps the end mill sharp and cutting smooth and without taper. There is also an undercut in the corner so there is no binding in that area. When everything is finished on that end of the lug it it's laid on it's side and the end machined that the barrel is screwed against. I made a special set of vise jaws to hold the lug for that cut. This is an important area to have exactly parallel. Which they are. All of this machining is done on a Haas VF3.

"Am I missing something here? This design would also change the inletting of a stock somewhat? But use the current recall of design and recess a flat area in behind it? Possibly making it easier to bed and more stable?
Also see your from
Missouri what area?"

Yes it does change the bedding. Much like that of a Weatherby MKV. The factory lugs are about .187 thick. The one in the pictures is .250 thick. They could be thinner, .187 but I like the thicker version myself. I think the bedding would be more stable. It would make it impossible to cant the action after it's bedded verses the round bottom of the 700. Perry, Mo., about 30 miles southwest of Hannibal, Mo.

I like the idea. Are you trying to sell these or just taking input from your idea? I know a guy in the Hannibal area and his daughter that are competitive silhouette shooters.

Thanks. I made a couple of them with the intentions of selling them but the first step is to make sure they fit and work as they should so I made some prototypes. In posting here I was hoping to get some feedback. I'm self employed in the tool and die business and much of my past income has been from factories needing custom tooling for their manufacturing process. I have lost quite a bit of that business by it leaving the USA and to be honest want to get away from doing business other than manufacturing my own products and selling directly to the customer. So that's my reason for posting here. I know quite a few people from Hannibal and worked there for a few years.

Some time back it was popular to solder a lug to the bottom of the action and do away with the recoil washer altogether.

It's nice work for sure, my only concern would be that any clearance between the lug and bottom of the action may act as additional leverage to bind the lug at the tenon.....and of course potential mechanical lock during bedding.

Again, could be 100% wrong as well. Nice work.

That has entered my mind. I purposely made the radius to be the same size as the action or slightly smaller. In my mind it's better to have the outside edges hit and not the middle. Not every action will measure exactly the same but out of the dozens I have checked they all have been within .003. If the face of the action is square with the outside you eliminate any problems there. So if I make my part square it will fit fine. Having the screw in the guard screw hole to align the lug when the barrel is tightened helps keep it snug to the bottom of the action. I'll take a picture of it attached and post it on here hopefully tomorrow.
Thanks

I've seen that done. Also in Jack Mitchell's gunsmithing book he welded one on. That's more heat that I'd care to have in that area but it no doubt worked.

Bad idea. It’s just another joint to move and bind. You would also need to cut out more of the stock which weakens the stock. A good bedding job will be much more beneficial.

Also looks to be thicker than the stock recoil lug so it would need a longer than normal barrel shank at that ID diameter.

As long as the Rem lug is aligned, it works fine.

MM

One other thought is that on some stocks with aluminum bedding block made into the stock, they will have to be milled out to allow this recoil lug design to fit. I am not sure how much meat is on the bedding blocks that are made into the stocks but this might be an issue.

Are they any possible liability issues with it?
That would be a big thing maybe???
Dunno???

Looks well designed and exc workmanship
but mods like that on the recoil lug might have installer issues and then having to mod the stock for it might be a issue that might not have good consequences down the line when done by others installing it.

If ya produce it for sale.
Maybe some sort of disclaimer set up will give some CYA????

All just speculation on my part.

Not a Remington guy myself anyways.

I think a regular ole bedding job with a OEM rifle would be the way to go.
And proven over time in the various ways it can be done.

How much more accuracy and stability is gained by this mod versus bedding a unmodified one ??
Is the gain easily noticed???
This might be great doing it for yourself.
It might be opening pandora,s box for you doing it for others.

Not trying to be a dick in anyway about it at all.
Far from it.

Just looking at it from another perspective.

What are your instructions regarding Inletting a stock to accept the new lug design, and then instructions for keeping the action level during bedding, especially so as not to put torque on the tang?

Back around 2000 there were couple rifle greats on the internet, Gale McMillan (round bottom Rem700 benchrest guy) and Bart Bobbitt ( flat bottom Win M70 high power guy).

Bart said epoxy cannot hold up against the forces of recoil with the round grip.

In the last 20 years I have built a tested a number of Rem700s and Win M70s.

So far, with the number of shots I fire of 7mmRemMag, the round bottom epoxy is holding up.


I do buy aftermarket Rem 700 ground lugs to replace the stamped factory lugs. This probably adds nothing measureable, but they are cheap, and we are building a custom gun here:)

The actual lug thickness is .250 compared to the factory thickness of .187. Most of the aftermarket lugs are thicker. It could easily be made to .187 though and still be plenty robust.

Good question on the liability. In today's world that's with just about everything. Firearm and automotive parts make insurance higher. I know that by experience.

The stock does have to be changed to use this lug. Does that make it weaker? Well yes it does but to the point that it matters no. Just take a look at a Ruger, Winchester, Sako or Weatherby. They have lugs with flat bottoms. Oh and don't forget what Paul Mauser designed. So the person considering it just needs to decide if they want to alter the stock or not and are they going to do that or a gunsmith. For me it's an easy job to cut the material away for the lug and bed the action to the stock. I think there are allot of shooters that are the same. How many beavertail grip safeties have been sold for the 1911 even though it requires removing material and in theory making the frame weaker?

To answer the accuracy or benefit towards that is hard to say. I very much doubt it is going to aid in that at all compared to a factory recoil lug with all else done correctly. I can also say that it won't detract from accuracy either. The stability issue is more opinion, I think. Do we have one hole shooters with the factory lug. Absolutely. Some people in their own minds think in more precise terms than others so when you install a 700 action in a stock with the factory lug how can you be certain it's going back exactly the same every time? The only thing really determining that is the guard screws and they have clearance around them so it's possible to can the action that much. This could be a problem too. In a properly bedded stock there has to be clearance on all surfaces of the recoil lug except the rear area that absorbs the recoil. What if there was not much clearance and the lug hits on one bottom corner because it's canted? That's not good for accuracy. It's not a likely thing to happen but it is possible. The flat bottom eliminates this entirely.

I think Remington, and Savage for that matter, designed these recoil lugs as a material and cost saving idea. They do both of them perfectly too. I also think by not having to machine the lug from the same material reduces stress in the action so that could add to accuracy. Remington has an outstanding reputation for accuracy.

I look at it like this. Henry Ford make his fist cars available in any color you wanted as long as it was black. He soon found out people like options. Look at us now. The buyer convinces themselves what they want it best. It's that way in these lugs or any other custom part. You know that a regular ole bedding job with a OEM rifle would be the way to go. You are 100% correct too. Time has proven that over and over. But we change things. It's in our nature. Some will never like the idea of this lug. Some may love it. I think I'd like to see how many would like them. We can do that because we are Americans. One thing is for sure if I make a few and they don't sell it'll be a good indication I'd better get another idea.