I just finished bedding my 22 LR 455 American, it turned out not bad for an amateur.. lol.
I used Devcon aluminum putty and shoe polish for a release agent. Filled the cutouts in the stock with closed cell foam and Play Doh, of all things. Does no one make modeling clay anymore??
Anyway, it came apart fairly easily, which is always a relief. The shoe polish works well.
I have a couple small voids to touch up at some point, and a few low spots along the top of the stock rails that need some more fill, but nothing critical.
The good news is that it definitely improved how the rifle shoots, more consistent now.
I did remove the sear and dreaded spring and ball. My fear of it getting locked mechanically was greater than my reluctance to take it completely apart. No problems getting it back together, although I would recommend the plastic bag over the action trick when replacing the sear spring and ball unless you have spares.
I filled the holes for the barrel screws with Play Doh, then ground small recesses for the screw heads in the bedding using a Dremel after it was set.
It shot OK before I started all this, but not up to what I wanted, plus I didn't like the semi soggy feel of tightening the action screws.
I pillared the stock first, then shot it with just the pillars under the action to see what it would do. Rock solid tightening the screws, but it strung shots vertically over an inch at 20 yds. Not performance!
At that point I was thinking the full bedding had better work or there's going to be a Boyd's laminate stock in my immediate future!
I don't mind laminate stocks, but this rifle has some beautiful walnut with tiger stripes, it would have been a real shame not to use it.
All's well that ends well at this point.
I'll get a few pics the next time it's apart.
I used Devcon aluminum putty and shoe polish for a release agent. Filled the cutouts in the stock with closed cell foam and Play Doh, of all things. Does no one make modeling clay anymore??
Anyway, it came apart fairly easily, which is always a relief. The shoe polish works well.
I have a couple small voids to touch up at some point, and a few low spots along the top of the stock rails that need some more fill, but nothing critical.
The good news is that it definitely improved how the rifle shoots, more consistent now.
I did remove the sear and dreaded spring and ball. My fear of it getting locked mechanically was greater than my reluctance to take it completely apart. No problems getting it back together, although I would recommend the plastic bag over the action trick when replacing the sear spring and ball unless you have spares.
I filled the holes for the barrel screws with Play Doh, then ground small recesses for the screw heads in the bedding using a Dremel after it was set.
It shot OK before I started all this, but not up to what I wanted, plus I didn't like the semi soggy feel of tightening the action screws.
I pillared the stock first, then shot it with just the pillars under the action to see what it would do. Rock solid tightening the screws, but it strung shots vertically over an inch at 20 yds. Not performance!
At that point I was thinking the full bedding had better work or there's going to be a Boyd's laminate stock in my immediate future!
I don't mind laminate stocks, but this rifle has some beautiful walnut with tiger stripes, it would have been a real shame not to use it.
All's well that ends well at this point.
I'll get a few pics the next time it's apart.