Remington 700 SPS accuracy

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I've got a Remmy 700 SPS in 30-06 Springfield. It has a very light sporter contour barrel and of course a synthetic stock. After two or three rounds the barrel heats up and the accuracy goes all to hell, would I benefit from bedding the barrel or is this barrel too light, or can you not bed synthetic stocks? Should the barrel be bedded where the barrel meets the action, or should it be bedded the full length of the stock? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
 
Bedding

Could be heat but more like the bedding, every gun I own except one is glass bedded including a & 7mmwsm in a McMillan stock synthetic and also a Banser composite
I have seen many of the shelf guns become 1/2 to 5/8" by bedding them.
 
manitou210 said:
Could be heat but more like the bedding, every gun I own except one is glass bedded including a & 7mmwsm in a McMillan stock synthetic and also a Banser composite
I have seen many of the shelf guns become 1/2 to 5/8" by bedding them.

Would you bed the entire stock or just around were the receiver meets the barrel manitou210? I take it you use fiberglass? I know very little about bedding as you can tell:redface:
 
Here's my experience, for whatever it's worth.

I have a Remington 700 Stainless Synthetic Mountain Rifle in .30-06. It has the much-maligned "Tupperware"-type stock. These days I can put the first three shots into about an inch or less... at 200 metres. My secret is in the careful bedding (along with careful handloading).

What I've done is bedded the action in the conventional way. Those "Tupperware" stocks are notoriously difficult to bed because normal bedding compound won't stick to them. What I did was rough the hell out of the bedding area with a rasp and Dremel and then use an unorthodox bedding compound -- the heavy-duty variant of automotive Bondo called BondoGlass. This stuff has millions of tiny fiberglass particles embedded in it, and it is nasty to work with, but it dries REALLY quickly, so your bedding job will be complete within minutes. It worked well on this particular job.

I've also found that because of the ultra-skinny .30-06 barrel, the barrel whip on my Mountain Rifle needed to be dampened if I hoped to have any kind of consistent accuracy. The solution is to bed in a patch under the barrel about an inch behind the forend. Once the material was dry, I covered the bedding pad with a layer or two of black electrician's tape, so the barrel was not resting on something hard. The result was a tiny bit of pressure on the barrel at that point, with some "give" because the tape is slightly springy when compressed.

Man, does this system work!
 
I use KMS tools 30min epoxy and it sticks to the SPS stocks very well.I have used this epoxy on a number of different stocks from bansner to vanguard walnut with great results.I have an SPS in 30-06 bedded this way and the barrel floated,shoots under MOA with either 165gr or 180gr bullets.RB
 
bondo should be sealed.....make sure that no moisture can get at it,it's like a sponge when it comes to moisture/water....I would use the fiberglass equivalent to bondo instead personally...

but you could use bondo as your first bedding attemp to try it out and see how it works for ya,just to see if you have bedded it correctly I suppose,....just my 2 cents

http://riflestocks.tripod.com/bedding.html
 
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So your barrel doesn't touch the stock at all RB? I thought that a very light barrel would whip and need some kind of support? Having said that, I did use a shim just under the end of the barrel at the forestock to creat a little more upward pressure and the accuracy went all to hell in a handbasket, so maybe full floating the barrel is the way to go. I guess you just bed where the barrel meets the action and just behind the recoil lug? Anybody know a good sight with step-by-step instructions for a rebel without a clue:redface:
 
I have been using the Lepages Epoxy steel available at most hardware stores with excellent results. Does cure up in 10min or so. Work fast.

I have been using the steel impregnated stuff and have never had a failure in years and dozens of rifles. Devcon Epoxy steel is also excellent and much slower cure time. JB weld has been used too but have no experience.

Spray the surface with aersol brake cleaner first. This removes any mold release. Then gouge the surface deeply. I use a chisel and cut up the surface. Drilling small shallow holes in the action area will help too. Anything to give that glue some bite.

Once set, it does hold very well and so far, no issues with falling out.

I personally would put bedding under the first inch of barrel and free float the rest. The foreend is too flimsy and changing pressure due to holding will cause POI shifts.

With this heat, you are lucky if you get 3 rds off before accuracy goes south (barrel warps). Keep it cool. I usually take 2 shots per sitting and do three sittings. This gives me a 6shot composite that also shows how repeatable the accuracy is (you need a consistent hold of course).

MOA or better is excellent performance with a factory rifle and more then adequate for hunting. What I want is reliable and consistent accuracy. Once I have a load, I will do one shot cold barrel testing over a number of days. This ensures that the most important first shot goes where I want.

Jerry
 
I would not recommend using Bondo as a first resort. I only mentioned it because I have one of those crappy "Tupperware" stocks (very different from yours), and Bondo seems to have worked with that material.

However, I repeat, if you use Bondo, do not use regular Bondo. MAKE SURE YOU USE THE HEAVY-DUTY VERSION CALLED "BONDOGLASS".

What the other gents said about an Epoxy-based bedding compound should be your first choice, if that material will stick to your stock.
 
So your barrel doesn't touch the stock at all RB? I thought that a very light barrel would whip and need some kind of support?

My barrel does'nt touch at all.I don't consider the SPS barrel that whippy,the last mtn rifle barrel I worked with was considerably lighter.I have had great accuracy out of this 06 barrel,it is fast @2800fps with 180gr baltips,and accurate with both 165gr baltips and 180grbaltips/accubonds going well under MOA.The 180gr go under MOA right out to 400yds,I have'nt tried the 165gr loads past 100yds yet or with the new 165gr accubonds.RB
 
p-17 said:
I would not recommend using Bondo as a first resort. I only mentioned it because I have one of those crappy "Tupperware" stocks (very different from yours), and Bondo seems to have worked with that material.

What would you call a "Tupperware" stock? Is that some sort of Remington factory stock? Is it different than the synthetic stock I have on my SPS p-17? My stock seems pretty flimsy.
 
My "Tupperware" stock is a factory stock. It is injection molded plastic, as opposed to fiberglass/kevlar. It is not stiff. In the 1990s the injection molded stocks were all the rage because they were cheap and light, but shooters soon realized that these stocks had problems.

Companies like RAM-Line still make these injection-molded Tupperware stocks. As I said earlier, they are a ##### to bed because most bedding compounds don't like to stick to them.
 
Took my new M700 SPS in 7mm Mag to the range today and was happy to see the first four groups under an inch:) This was with a hot and windy day to complicate matters. I was even doing barrell break in! This rifle was straight from the box, no trigger work,no bedding, and with reloads. I am pretty happy so far.
 
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