Hi, hoping to get some ideas on good smiths to send a problem child off to.
Bought two model 70 super grades in the last couple years and had it with em.
Tried bedding the 308 and made some progress but think I'm done trying to mess with it anymore.
A real shame neither shoot worth a hoot. Had decent luck with my featherweights. Figured I'd step it up go all out on these fine rifles but came oup felling gutshot on the deal.
Like to find someone who appreciates these models and has good experience getting them shooting well.
Prefer to stick with just bedding for now if possible.
Any recommendations? And have no idea what's involved sending them out... Ex/ through ffl or?
In SW Missouri.
Thanks, Chris

Have you ever heard of Hill Country Rifles? They have been accurizing rifles for a long time. I do my own work, but if I did not, that is who I'd send it to.
https://www.hillcountryrifles.com/accurize-it/

Good luck with it. There are some that think they know and others not so much. The proof is always on target.

Thanks for the recommendation

for bedding
alex sitman at masterclass stocks....excellent workmanship

Thanks. I don't have enough post count to message here but there is a member who I've run across his name on the web enough to want to check with. Out of WI. .....
I'd try again on it but honestly I'm becoming aware there are lots of details that matter a bunch, and these super grades are really special rifles which I don't want to learn on at this stage of my experience.
Convinced both of them will be plenty good with just bedding. I can hold the barrel and forend of stock and loosen the front screw and there is movement on both rifles. A lot less on the one I tried bedding....but...😂

All these years of searching topics on here should have just joined and participated.

OP is probably referring to Redneck. Unfortunately for the OP, Redneck has retired from gunsmithing. Given the weather here in WI today, he probably moving snow with his John Deere.

Al Nyhus may be able to help you.

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/17708268/model-70-bedding

Chad Dixon at Long Rifles Inc. and John Whidden at Whidden Gunworks both know their way around a Model 70. John won several National Championships with his.

[quote=Dinny]Al Nyhus may be able to help you.

Al, if interested in talking,
4172143736
Chris

Are you shooting factory ammo or hand loads? What size groups? What scope and rings/bases?

Kevin Weaver is another excellent M70 gunsmith.

Thanks. Reloads, around 1/34"-2" now (with the 308), Burris ffII, Talley.....all good on that front.

Kept hearing how well those Tikkas shot and ended up getting one not long ago. Figured this would be a good time to put myself back in check or not (wasn't really necessary as I got a few that are pretty close to bug hole shooters, but , what the hey)
We'll sure enough, tiny groups immediately.
Dang I hate that! Almost wished it was me beings I love these 70s so much. Grew up with them.
Anyway, I'm not done with these last two (the other sg is a 6.5 cm just got this summer)
Not going to buy anymore but will get these two lined out eventually.
Gonna stop wasting valuable primers, bullet, powder combos on them though and probably pick up a 308 Tikka in the meanwhile - as this last one in 6.5 cm kinda spoiled me with tiny groups. 🤔
If something doesn't materialize on getting these fixed I'll go back to the drawing board late winter and try to get some feedback from you guys as I dig in
Appreciate the responses.

Chris, I tried to send you a PM but it won't go through.... -Al

Yea I haven't earned my keep around here yet.
🙄

You have been a member for well over a year, contact admin and see if they can't help you with that.

Especially since you are not buying or selling in the classifieds.

Thanks for saying that. May do that but don't mind contributing when I have time.

Chris, make sure and do your homework before you send either rifle off for bedding work.

Model 70's are unique in several areas when it comes to producing a bedding job that helps accuracy. Most of this work is subtle, hard to explain and even more difficult to photograph or convey in words. If any of these areas are compromised, the end result can be as if there's been nothing done. Or worse.

90% of the pics posted on forums of finished Model 70 'bedding jobs' show these defects of workmanship and lack of understanding in glaring detail, by the way. That's not a slam but rather it points out an opportunity to improve skills for those wanting to progress.

That won't be a popular statement, I know....but there it is.

Good shootin':) -Al

Thanks for sharing. Yes I believe those of us who crave more precision are drawn to more problems than we start with sometimes!!!
I've done quite a bit of digging online and found some things that likely are some of what you are referring to.
What you are pointing out and from reading is why I've decided it's best to leave it to someone like yourself. Then as time permits I can refer back to the work done, read more and have a go at it on a rifle that sits on a lower shelf so to speak.
I'm still working on my post count here but not much of a talker.
If I do end up trying to rectify the issues with my first bedding job maybe I can start a thread on it .

Others have given you solid advice on bedding. On your last question, re: shipping. Since you already own the rifle, as long as the smith is an FFL (they will be if you go with one of the outfits recommended above), you don't have to go through an FFL sending it to them -- and they can send it directly back to you. UPS stores won't ship firearms. UPS hubs generally do, or at least did, until recently. We've been seeing mixed reports about some still shipping rifles and others refusing. USPS will do it but they are generally a lot more expensive, at least in my area. Make sure you take photos of the rifle before packing it, photos of how you packed it, and then insure it for what it would really cost to replace. I also always include a note inside the box explaining where the package is headed in case the outside labels gets lost. Good luck!

Bedding a rifle is not rocket science*. I've done it successfully multiple times. Nobody taught me how - it's mostly common sense and thinking things thru from start to finish. Over and over until you can say the steps outloud.

I had a guy lined up to help me the first time, but then I studied on it enough to tell him to him stay home that Saturday morning.

I've even done a Garand, which is a complicated project and IS ROCKET SCIENCE!~ (studying that print of where to take out the wood really made me scratch my head until I finally understood it!) You need to buy or make a couple of gauges/placement tools for the Garand.

I won't go into details here - they can be found elsewhere.

I use carnuba car wax as a release agent, and Brownell's Acra Glass Gel with atomized stainless steel mixed in. Tough stuff.

Their pigments work REALLY WELL. You would have to look at my Garand with a magnifying glass to see that it has been glass bedded.

Just don't try to do it when it is 90F+ in your shop, unless you keep the gel floating in a bowl of ice.

https://www.brownells.com/aspx/learn/learndetail.aspx?lid=10498

~~~~~
* you just have to convince it that you love it.

...

Yea kinda agree but there are details that if not done correctly cost you success. Once I am aware of them and then know how to address them I'll never want to have someone else do it.
I'm closer than before. For instance, I didn't leave clearance on the front or sides of the recoil lug. Having thought about it enough I finally had the ah ha moment and realize you want all that shock concentrated at the lug - not channeling down the sides of the stock.
I figured if the right person did it for me then I would have a blueprint to reference.
But also realizing what you're saying and do think I'm closer than before.
I spent time with the 308 I bedded lately. Holding at the firetup of the stock and barrel and loosening and tightening the front action screw. The movement was there and wanted to try something. I took a thin tab of aluminum and drilled a hole in it and placed it on the platform behind the recoil lug where the action screw goes. Put it back together and tightened right up to the point the barrel and stock won't move.
This tension I believe is from lightly tightening the action screw when I bedded it. Must of been enough to put some tension between the barrel and stock. Then it set up that way. Makes sense now as I can feel the barrel pulling down to the stock when adjusting the tightness of the action screw.
Then I loaded up at my best charge and seating depth I was able to get before.
The results were amazing.
I knew I needed to check again on both sides of 2.820 so did that.
Found the direction to head and now I'm a happy camper.
Won't be satisfied till I take care of it correctly and address the other things but for now it's a good thing.
The creedmor is another story, not there yet.

Was the bottom of the lug bedded tight? -Al

Yes, I didn't tape/clearance it either.
Might have picked up on the clearance thing on a post of yours somewhere.
Wondering though... Be a mess if tape came off a little in there and the lug got welded to the stock...
What do you use to get the clearance that stays put when sliding it together with the bedding compound?

I prefer to use 3M vinyl tape as it leaves a much smoother finish.

Bedding is like blueing - it's all in the prep

If I'm following you correctly, the lug is tight to the bottom of the recoil lug mortise. If that's the case...and the shim you used under the receiver helped the accuracy...that just told you all you need to about clearance under the lug.

I use multiple layers of 10 mil thick vinyl tape on the lugs so it comes out cleanly. This is a pre -64 being done.

Good shootin' -Al

I leave only the rear REAR of the recoil lug untaped; I tape the sides, the front and the bottom of lug. The lug is there for one reason only, and that's to be the primary receptor of longitudinal forces (recoil) - the bottom areas of the receiver in the vicinity of the front and rear rings are the areas that provide the main support and directly opposite of the forces applied when tightening the guard screws. By leaving the bottom of the lug 'floated', I don't have to worry that the lug can in anyway become a third, possible pivot point.

This ^^^^^^

The only time the bottom of the lug should be in hard contact is when an action screw goes into the bottom of the lug (Sako, etc). On that style, they get a pillar recessed below the top of the inletting and covered with bedding compound.

You can see the recess in the 'before' view:



The 'after' view, fresh out of the bedding and before any clean up. The bedding thickness over the pillar(s) is very visible:

Excellent feedback guys. Really appreciate it.

Got to disagree with you on a minor point Al
With a round bottom action and using a quality lug, I bed the sides tight so the rotational recoil is taken by the side of the lug, not the bedding bolts

No matter the shape of the action, the rotational intertia that the bullet transfers to the action is pretty minimal. What keeps a round action from rotating is it's contact with the stock and the action screws holding it in place. Jim Borden did some engineering studies on this and published the results as did Dan Lilja and the late T.J. Jackson.

As a side note, the action screws 'see' virtually no side loading from firing. Their single purpose is to provide adequate clamping force between the action and stock. The common 1/4" action screws are actually very excessive for the job they need to do. The round Hall actions (and a couple others) that are designed as glue-ins have 10-32 screws instead of 1/4-28's, for example. I've converted several of those to bolt-ins using the 10-32's and lots of side clearance on the lugs with no issues. If you look at the load tables, an 8-32 would still be more than adequate for the job.

The next time you get a chance, take a barrelled action and hold it at the barrel shank and fire a round. You'll be amazed by how little 'torque' there is.

Good shootin' -Al

It has always seemed very simple to figure out how to bed an action.
(Never messed with Garands, or Rugers)


A couple screws hold the action in. Wherever they enter the action there
needes to be support. So the clamping force is focused to that area
of the stock and action. The recoil lug needs supported where it takes
force(the rear). Nothing else should be tight, it becomes a pivot point at worst. A place to inconsistency transmit harmonics at best.

Look at an action, it becomes simple.


Bedding the barrel?
Gotta deal with "what's normally best", and go from there.
Either accept results, or go down the rabbit hole of how to bed, even
branching out to tip pressures and how much.

Always been able to satisfy myself with a free floated barrel.
My standards are old and outdated by many 1" @100yds.
And experience limited to my guns and not many others for few friends.
Maybe what some pros do monthly.

Uh, maybe don't use this method.

Notice the crack from driving in the "pillars"

Just like hangin' a fart can on your Honda and thinkin' you've got an NHRA Pro Stock car.

But it's got a CV Life scope with cool illumination...so at least it's got that going for it.

"It's showing promise." -Al