Full length, neutral bedding

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Big Jon

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How would the pro's go about this?

What I am thinking is to do it in two steps.

1) Bed the action as you normally would.

2) Bed the barrel after action bedding is complete/cured.

When bedding the barrel after the action is bedded, would you tighten the screws down to your normal amount of torque or would you just "set" the barreled action into the stock and maybe tie it off with some rubber tubing?

It makes sense to me to tighten the bolts down b/c given a proper action bedding job, there should be any movement going from firmly set in place to tightened bolts.

Thoughts?
 
Barrels do not get bedded. They're either free floated (from the chamber area forward) or have a small pressure point near the end of the forend, depending on the rifle's preference. The only way to find out of the rifle likes floating or not is to try it. Putting the pressure point in(or back in) isn't a big deal. It's just a dab of bedding material an inch or so aft of the end of the forestock.
So bed the action and shoot it first.
 
Bedding a really light gun with a skinny barrel has its benefits. It turns it into a solid, stiff, tough unit especially in a fibreglass stock. One must remember however that the elevation especially is likely to drift as it warms up. Probably good for three fast ones but that's about it until it cools back down. Okay for a hunting gun. For constant accuracy floating really is needed. The pressure point trick comes from Remington guns that I think are still built that way. The reason for the pressure point was and is so that the barrel would be aligned in the stock when in the dealers rack. Often the stocks warped and often the barrels were installed crocked either due the the barrel thread, action thread or both. Purely a sales gimmick. All this stuff has been around for a long time, nothing is new.
 
IR only glossed over a very large can of worms when he made his comments on full length bedding.

Full length bedding is not encountered much any more. Stocks such as the excellent models Ian offers have mostly eliminated the need for it.

Sometimes, slender barrels, especially those found on single shot rifles will require full length bedding. Ruger No1 rifles often suffer from wandering points of impact after the first or second shot. They aren't alone of course. Sometimes adding a pressure screw to the fore end mounting tang will cure or alleviate this problem but not always. I have found that full length bedding of the barrel channel in the fore end, especially in the full length stock models can make a huge difference for the first 3-4 shots.

Full length bedding can also make accuracy problems worse. It really depends on your stock. A well seasoned stock that is properly sealed can often benefit from FLB. The thing is that heat generated by shooting will cause expansion/warpage etc.

IMHO rifles that have the most to gain from full length bedding are rifles that will only be used to fire one or two shots at any given time. If you plan on taking a rifle to the bench and firing until it "settles in" there isn't any form of bedding that will accomplish what you want it to do. That goes for any type of rifle you shoot. A few weeks ago while at our local range I encountered a couple of guys that were shooting a rifle with so much heat rising from the barrel there was a definite shimmer rising from it. One of them informed me this rifle needed at least 10 quick rounds fired before it started to shoot well. The Rifle was a P17 that had been cut down etc and chambered in 30-06. I told him it must get expensive to sight it in for hunting. "NO, because once it's sighted in it's only used to shoot a couple of shots at a deer 50 yards away" says its owner.

What could I say?? I asked if I could look at the rifle and was very careful not to touch the hot barrel. Someone had bedded the whole barrel channel with fiberglass but nothing else. Both the triggerguard screws needed to be torqued. I guess as the barrel got hot, things tightened up. I have never seen such bedding before but I will admit, after torqueing the screws and allowing the barrel to cool down the darn thing shot very well. The owner was quite happy and informed me he would make sure the screws were "really tight" from now on. OH WELL.

Bedding can make a good rifle into a great rifle but it is often not the solution for poor accuracy.

One of the most accurate target rifles I had was bedded with "cork" from the front receiver ring to the end of the stock. It was a DCRA No4 Mk I*. Huge amount of work went into that job. Not by me. It was a great learning experience. The rear of the fore end had three dowels pushed through and glued into place on each side to keep everything on that end stable. It worked very well.

IMHO, FLB is for hunting rifles, not range rifles which will be used for extensive shooting. I am sure lots will disagree with my opinion but that is part of the fun is it not?
 
I have FL bedded a number of mountain rifles that had very light profile barrels. In every case I did the entire job in one go, and every rifle benefited from the FL bedding. Three I can remember in particular, a 270, a 7X57, and a 280 Ackley, shot amazingly well after FL being bedded.

I have always done the entire job at once because I was concerned about the cold joint one gets when doing the action and barrel separately. Ian will have more experience than myself, and perhaps can tell us if it make any difference.

A few times I added pressure to the barrel by putting the buttstock in a vise, with the rifle upside down, and hanging a five or six pound weight off the barrel immediately in front of the forend. You must bed it with the action screws torqued properly to do this.

Ted
 
I don't think cold joints are an issue if well prepped. I think the biggest issue when doing full length is getting it all jigged up do nothing is flexed in the process or flexed the whey you want.
 
Ian,

How would you go about it? Like I described or all at once like Ted? If doing it like I described would you tighten the action bolts during the barrel bedding (after the action is bedded)?

sunray,

I've been playing Duck Hunt for Nintendo, what's the best way to bed that gun to squeeze precision/consistency out of it?
 
Not that simple, all part of a process.

1) I turn my pillars with a .25 hole to be opened last. Bolt it all together with the pillars but no stock, check for function
2) With the stock included the stock should float between the action and the bottom
3) I use jigs to position the action level and the bottom flush, the process really starts at the bottom and works up
4) Bond in the pillars and bed the bottom front and back
5) When cured take it all apart, clean up as needed
6) Prep to bed the action, and barrel if wanted, no jigs needed as it will sit hard on the pillars
7) Bed the action and barrel using action screws torq to shooting values, or use studs and a clamp on the rear pillar area if action design suits (not 700 style)
8) If you want up pressure on the barrel put some up pressure on the barrel and final check for centre (I only put up pressure on #4's)
9) When cured I pull them apart with an action puller no headaches required, ream the pillar holes and bottom larger so the screws do not touch
10) Do a final cleanup
Target type guns always need the barrel floated, hunting guns can have the barrel bedded but accuracy will probably be limited to about three shots but only the range will tell the truth.
Be aware that wrapping the action/stock with rubber tube etc will bend the action and should not be used, It takes very little pressure to do this especially with a 700 style.
 
Last edited:
Ian Robertson said:
Not that simple, all part of a process.

1) I turn my pillars with a .25 hole to be opened last. Bolt it all together with the pillars but no stock, check for function
2) With the stock included the stock should float between the action and the bottom
3) I use jigs to position the action level and the bottom flush, the process really starts at the bottom and works up
4) Bond in the pillars and bed the bottom front and back
5) When cured take it all apart, clean up as needed
6) Prep to bed the action, and barrel if wanted, no jigs needed as it will sit hard on the pillars
7) Bed the action and barrel using action screws torq to shooting values, or use studs and a clamp on the rear pillar area if action design suits (not 700 style)
8) If you want up pressure on the barrel put some up pressure on the barrel and final check for centre (I only put up pressure on #4's)
9) When cured I pull them apart with an action puller no headaches required, ream the pillar holes and bottom larger so the screws do not touch
10) Do a final cleanup
Target type guns always need the barrel floated, hunting guns can have the barrel bedded but accuracy will probably be limited to about three shots but only the range will tell the truth.

"Be aware that wrapping the action/stock with rubber tube etc will bend the action and should not be used, It takes very little pressure to do this especially with a 700 style."
Click to expand...

Well Well Well ! isnt that a interesting statement on bedding from IAN back in 2015! RJ
 
Why not? said:
I have FL bedded a number of mountain rifles that had very light profile barrels. In every case I did the entire job in one go, and every rifle benefited from the FL bedding. Three I can remember in particular, a 270, a 7X57, and a 280 Ackley, shot amazingly well after FL being bedded.

I have always done the entire job at once because I was concerned about the cold joint one gets when doing the action and barrel separately. Ian will have more experience than myself, and perhaps can tell us if it make any difference.

A few times I added pressure to the barrel by putting the buttstock in a vise, with the rifle upside down, and hanging a five or six pound weight off the barrel immediately in front of the forend. You must bed it with the action screws torqued properly to do this.

Ted
Click to expand...

Agree, have done similar, with similar results. - dan
 
remington jim said:
Well Well Well ! isnt that a interesting statement on bedding from IAN back in 2015! RJ
Click to expand...

are you referring to this statement from Ian?: "Be aware that wrapping the action/stock with rubber tube etc will bend the action and should not be used, It takes very little pressure to do this especially with a 700 style.""
 
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