Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Gunsmithing Filling a barrel channel after reducing barrel contour.

If you had a stock that you love, and ended up getting a smaller contour barrel for it (say Varmint taper down to sporter) how would you go about filling the barrel channel (assuming that you didn't like the gap on both sides of the barrel.

I seen one time where a guy milled the channel to uniform width, then glued a piece of wood in the channel and reworked it to fit the new contour.

Seen another guy use a mixture of saw dust and glue to form a paste, wrapped the barrel in mylar, then filled the gaps between the stock and barrel. Once dried, he removed the barrel, unstuck the mylar, then sanded the excess off. (this was a laminate stock)

I have a stock I want to continue using, so I'm looking for other ideas, or other success with these...

If this is going to be the barrel and action you plan to use from hence forth, why not a full length barrel bed? If you want it floated, tape the barrel and full length bed then remove the tape.

Yes, its the hence forth gun. finally settled on a sub MOA load for my walking varminter (222 rem). I don't expect to change it again in my lifetime.

You're right. Barrel bed full length is certainly an option.

The stock I'm using I cut vents into, so I would have to plug those prior to adding the bedding compound.

I would also have to check how much clearance I have around the chamber area, (I know its free floated, but if I start taping, that may go away). I may have to relieve a little extra there, just to get the bedding a sufficient surface and thickness to hold.

How much clearance do you guys normally have, i.e. how many layers of tape?

thanks dan, you're better than the search function.

I will be doing one of these when my action comes back from the Smith. My plan was to rebed the action (mostly a skim bed except for the shank) because the douglas #2 has a smaller shank dia than the ruger contour its replacing.

Once I have the action and shank bedded, I will go do some shooting and see how it groups. If all is good I was going to tape the barrel from shank forward to generate the free float and then bed the barrel from the shank forward with accuglass and micro ballons. Ill clean up everything and then decide if I will repaint or have Mcmillan do it.

Thats my plan anyway.

You can insert a shim bead of matching wood on the edges and glass bed the barrel channel or you can just glass bed the barrel channel and try to match the color with the dyes furnished in Accuglass..You can glass a full filler peice of wood in the existing barrel channel and re-inlet the barrel channel...Restocking is always the best option..

Be aware that nothing is going to look great but a new stock, but if its a hunting rifle it will be functional and look OK...so I would just glass bed the channel to the new barrel and live with it..

Additional, if you want to match the bedding as is..bed the action, and one or two inches under the chamber for stability and free float the rest of the barrel, that is standard practice, you can apply two layers of paper tape beginning two inches in front of the front action ring to the end of the barrel, let it sit and you will have a free floated barrel, once the tape is removed.

No problem. Only found it because I had asked the same question.

In my case it ended up working out that I didn't have to backfill anything. The new barrel fit almost perfectly.

Good Luck!

-Dan

On a synthetic stock I would question adding wood or even saw dust if it was in contact with the barrel. Micro balloons, silica, glass fibers or graphite powder are all more inert than wood.

On a Varmint rifle I might put as many as four layers of tape on the barrel just for insurance. If you can't find the wide plastic tape locally Brownell's has it. Don't forget to wax the tape. Modeling clay the play dough type is oily enough to plug the vents and not stick, but will probably have to re-ream or sand with a dowel to have a smooth edge.

It was myh understanding that the stock is laminate or wood, in which case a laminate could be made to look original very easily, if wood you will have to match the wood and have a glass line, it will only look OK at best...If its composite then match the color and glass bed the whole channel..

The one I am doing is wood laminate. Luckily, its a sky blue and gray, and the lams have black lines seperating. Either a black or gray bedding compound will work without distraction.



Come to think of it, I've never had a synthetic stock...