I just purchased a Remington varmint sf rifle and am wondering whether or not floating and bedding the stock that comes on it would be worth it. Any gunwriter along with anybody's opinion is appreciated.

I have had good success using Steel Bed in plastic stocks. In particular a M-70 "All-Terrain" stock and three choate stocks installed on Mausers.

I had one that didn't work well. A Model 70 SS Classic in .338. My zero kept shifting around. I put the .338 in a McMillan AHR stock and accuracy improved greatly. I am guessing the recil made it flex too much.

You do have to leave a larger gap than usual [at least 1/16"] in the free float area as the stocks tend to flex more tha fiberglass and and touch the barrel.

Both will help.

It's always helped my rifles.

Get the stock away from the barrel, especially plastic. I worked on a VTR that shot terribly until I was able to chew away enough plastic AND enough heat to bend the forearm (don't ask, it was too much work and I'll never do that again ever) in a straight line with the rest of the stock.
Now it's a treasured rifle (for someone else) but before I did my voodoo, it was not a shooter at all.

I've bedded and floated a couple of my rifles, and a couple for friends with very good results. But, as stated above, the barrel needs a fair amount of space to be truly floated.

Glass bedding will often help and certainly will not hurt. Poor quality and/or light barrels will often shoot better bedded or with a pressure point. Personally I won't own a rifle that won't shoot floated.

Spot on except I'll use a rifle that is full length bedded, if it proves to be a good shooter:



Old picture, but it shows how a properly full length bedded rifle can perform. I also understand the NULA's are full length bedded with no freefloat. However, I prefer a free floating barrel 9 out of 10 times. Keeping in mind there are exceptions. I will say this: I will not waste my time shooting a rifle that is not properly glass bedded .

I had an early B&C stock that glass bedding wouldn't help. The webbing area was so soft, it would change zero after 12-15 rds.
I won't have a rifle that won't shoot it's zero when used with a shooting sling. Usually, that means a free floated barrel, but I have a custom .280 Ruger tang safety model that is full lenth bedded that shoots as it should.
BTW, plastic stocks are usually worse for use with a shooting sling than are wood stocks. But quality fiber glass stocks are best. The above Ruger, for instance, has a McMillian stock with extra graphite.
I do have one rifle with a softer plastic stock that shoots well with a shooting sling. It's a Springfield Armory M1A. What works for it is the Safari Ching Sling. It pulls the stock down instead of to the left like most other shooting slings. E

Yes.

Well, you can always put it through it's paces and then decide if it could stand improvement.

This is makes the most sense of any post on this thread. I see all these people buy a brand new gun and then start messing with the bedding and barrel channel before ever firing a shot through it. They might have just take a 1/2" gun and made it a 2" gun.

Float it and bed the lug right out the gate is how I usually run. Keep in mind, all plastics are not equal even among the same models. If it's stiff and fits properly, it may work as good as anything could. If it's super flexy, it's not going to be ideal even once bedded.

Funny, I consider both of these posts to be the most stupid on this thread. Please continue with the asinine comments, they are a hoot.

Steelhead, While I might agree, you've made a statement without pointing out why you think these statements are asinine.

That's probably true.

In Wisconsin.




Dave

Are we still talkin' 'bout stocks?

My new Hawkeye All Weather appears to be fully bedded, but I haven't tried to slip anything between the stock and barrel yet. I'm definitely going to shoot it before screwing with it. Those stocks are pretty stiff so I'm not worried about it slapping the barrel under .243 recoil, but it's possible that one or the other may shift from heat. My pre64 .270 shot very well fully bedded, and stayed sighted-in once I sealed the wood properly.

Whatever works, works for me.

If a gun is shooting great out of the box why mess with it?

Depends on the stock.
Early plastic Remington 700 stocks were only good for the sling swivels and recoil pad. Otherwise it was land fill. There is no resurrection for those. Next there are stocks that are already as good as can be and glass bedding is redundant.

Others, bedding and free floating is a good thing.

Just like old ladies underwater, it depends.

If you should ever decide to pull that rifle out of the stock, it's nice when everything goes back exactly as before.

I've seen plenty a guy scuff and bedding stocks 'so long as they shoot'. I can pull up a few examples over the years on the 'Fire. I can also show you a few of those examples where the stock broke, because it wasn't previously relieved and bedded.

If a rifle is bedded properly it ain't gonna shoot worse and it eliminates one possible variable.

Which ones?

Just finger-checked the mag box on my Ruger and it's wedged, so that at least will be dealt with before test-firing. My other Hawkeye, a Predator, started shooting rounder groups after I fixed the same issue.

Nice little rifle. Gotta feeling this one's gonna stick, and spend a lot of time afield. Lot of gun for $520.

Yes.

Once said something like, "firm, slim and round" in a PM to a Montanan - that was a mistake!

I might be wrong but stocks with aluminum bedding blocks would qualify. Also, I may be wrong but high end stocks are pre-bedded.

My Brown Precision required bedding and I have 3 stocks with aluminum blocks and all 3 required bedding.

Both true & on the money, IMO.

Bedding is always a good thing if done right, lots don't & also don't know when it's not right either.

As for free floating, it almost always works on all but the lightest barrels, such as 700 MR contour & with those, sometimes it does, sometimes it's better with the barrel bedded.

In order to properly bed the barrel itself, however you prefer to do it, floating is always done 1st & the rifle can be shot that way to see how good it is floated.

The ones that say they'll only own a free floated barrel are a hoot.

I won't tolerate an inaccurate rifle, but I surely ain't skeered of a bedded barrel done right & have a few done as such.

MM

Aluminum bedding block stocks in general do not qualify. I've a number of these and none were perfect as manufactured.

High end stocks, McMillan for an example brand I use, may have much better fit tolerances than typical factory stocks but it's impossible to pre-bed without the particular barreled action in hand.

I've done 3 cheapo factory synth stocks (proly a 30% glass filled polyester type of material).

Dexter Hysol Epoxy Patch (aluminum filled) or JB weld.
Can use tubes in hollow to lessen epoxy amount needed. Used stainless tubes for 1st one, proly try carbon arrow shafting if I do another and want to lessen weight.

Free floated all three, bedded recoil lug on 1st one. No action bedding. Did that with Microbed on a walnut 700 way back. Worked great. Too much work (refinished stock as well).

Plastic is better for my uses.

Sporters in .243win doing half inch at 100. Good enough for me.

I'm all for glass bedding. Only a few off my center fire bolt actions are not glass bedded. I have two kits in my gun room for future rifles in need.

I bought a cheap stock from J&G in Prescott in 1985. Ramline, I believe. The material that stock was made out of was so slick bedding would not 'Stick'. But the stock fit the action so well it didn't need it. That stock was on clearance and I paid $5 for it. I think it was a Springfield 03, which I've sold since.

After I tried to bed a barreled action in a blank the old fashioned way in the 60's, I have been a believer! I am a very poor stock maker!

I've no experience with high dollar stocks that are supposed to be drop in. I thought I have read about them before though. My Kevlar and glass stocks are all glass bedded.

This. Two action screws, a piece of steel and a piece of plastic. It's not that complicated.

Ok, Talus, I'm lost. What does "Two action screws, a piece of steel and a piece of plastic" mean?

I might know what the plastic part is.

I once had a Rem 700 .243 with a typical cheap synthetic factory stock, and to test whether bedding would help, I dropped a plastic bread wrapper tag into the recoil lug recess (thanks, MD!) before reinstalling the stock.

It tightened up my groups by half!

I always float my barrels and bed or partially bed the action on all my rifles.

I've had one instance, with a Remington Mtn Rifle that I had to bed back in tip pressure.

For the amount of time it takes, which is very minimal, I can't see why anyone wouldn't.

czech1022,

You're welcome!

I've heard from more than one shooter whose rifle shot so well after being "temporarily" free-floated with a plastic bread-bag tab that they just left it alone, never bothering to epoxy-bed the stock. :-)

Between the two comments, I'm confused. Where exactly are you placing the plastic? Under the barrel or in the recoil lug recess?

Under the front of the action, behind the recoil lug.