Gunsmithing Barrel crooked on bell and carlson stock
- Thread starter -paradox-
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You could have skim bedding done. They can relieve the action through holes in the stock and recoil lug area and skim bed it to even the relieve along the sides of the channel. P.M on the way
Nah not the action. It's a 700. It's honestly a good stock for the money but poor workman ship at the same time. Which I understand, they can only do so much for what they charge.
Seen it in more than one B&C and never the same barreled action so I'm gonna say it's not that uncommon to have a crooked B&C. Not saying that's what you have but I've seen it before. I had one, sanded until it looked to have an equal gap on both sides of the barrel and forgot about it. Like some have said, it could be other issues with yours I'm not sure. Mine was so bad it contacted the barrel at the end of the forearm and I'm sure it's why I got such a good deal on a 700 tactical in a fully adjustable B&C... Because it "wouldn't shoot". Shot great after opening up the channel though.
My Manner's T4A w/ mini chassis does the same thing but shoots like a champ. I can run a dollar bill all the way up and down the barrel and i only sanded an ass hair off the barrel channel. You can't tell unless you stare at it and it gives it some character.
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I guess you should torque it down and go shoot it. See how it acts before you do anything drastic...
Is the recoil lug sitting flat against the bedding block? That's much more important than your barrel channel being perfectly straight. If its not floating or bothers you, even it out with sand paper and a dowel.
Hate to burst your bubble but this is the way it is with Bell and Carlson, I've had far worse problems with their stocks than this. If you want perfection you're going to pay for it and by pay for it I mean $600-900 for a MCM or Manners and another $250 for a bedding job by a good smith.
Unless its affecting performance (doubtful) then shoot it and forget about it.
Hate to burst your bubble but this is the way it is with Bell and Carlson, I've had far worse problems with their stocks than this. If you want perfection you're going to pay for it and by pay for it I mean $600-900 for a MCM or Manners and another $250 for a bedding job by a good smith.
Unless its affecting performance (doubtful) then shoot it and forget about it.
Check the area under the reciever tang.
With the action screws loose lighty hold the action centered in stock and have a helper slowly tighten the screws while you watch the tang,
if the tang moves left look at the area under tang and the right side is probably misfit just slightly.
Rub a piece of chalk or the black off a burnt match head on that spot and set action in stock and again slowly tighten screws .
Remove action you will now see where your mark rubbed off. If that's the problem a little touch up with sandpaper or small needle
file is in order.
Go slow and retest until action stays centered when screws and tightened.
Or take it to a local smith.
With the action screws loose lighty hold the action centered in stock and have a helper slowly tighten the screws while you watch the tang,
if the tang moves left look at the area under tang and the right side is probably misfit just slightly.
Rub a piece of chalk or the black off a burnt match head on that spot and set action in stock and again slowly tighten screws .
Remove action you will now see where your mark rubbed off. If that's the problem a little touch up with sandpaper or small needle
file is in order.
Go slow and retest until action stays centered when screws and tightened.
Or take it to a local smith.
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Mine does this as well. You have to look hard to notice but it does the same thing. She shoots fantastic so I am not very worried about it.
My R700 P barrel toughed the left side of stock out of the box. I shoot it first and had 4" groups.
When I got home I diagnosed and fixed the problem. Next group was 5/8".
Next time I take it apart I'll bed the action.
When I got home I diagnosed and fixed the problem. Next group was 5/8".
Next time I take it apart I'll bed the action.
Check to see if it makes any contact, make sure to check with the bi-pod loaded. If its still free floated forget about it and go shoot it. Spend your time dry firing instead of thinking about it. If it does touch, get out the sand paper and dowel.
I've got a McMillan A5 for one of my Savages that does the same thing.
I've thought it was a turrible bedding job by yours truly causing it...but the thing shoots, so why worry?
I've thought it was a turrible bedding job by yours truly causing it...but the thing shoots, so why worry?
Thanks for all the replies. I'm shooting about 3/4 to 1 moa. It's my first bolt gun so it shoots better than I can at this point. I'm just not going to worry about it. I'm getting ready to bed the action so I just wanted to get some opinions before I bed it. The barrel is still completely free floated, accuracy is good so its just cosmetic from what I can tell. Not that noticeable really just kind of bugged me after I realized it was crooked hah. Thanks again.
When you bed the action, wrap enough layers of tape around the barrel to center the barrel in the stock. It'll be straight when you're done.
Ok, ill give that a shot. I emailed b&c and they said to check for paint and high spots on the fiberglass. There is quite a bit if remember right. I'll post pics of what I find and after I bed it. Thanks!
You should be fine, the amount of shift needed to center the barrel will only cause a very small shift at the action. BTDT, no worries.
My thought is that you've got a good rig. If it's not touching, don't mess with it. 1/2 to 1 MOA is just fine. No need to glass it, unless you're just dying to try playing with play-dough. If you want a museum piece, "blueprinted", then go for it. But, if you want a decent shooter, you've already got it. Don't sweat the stuff that don't matter, and don't go Ninj'in nobody who don't need ninj'in!
diamond dave's ninja school - YouTube
diamond dave's ninja school - YouTube
Haha. Well I was going to bed it anyway because the aluminum bedding block has high spots and it's rubbing finish off the barrel.
So, using tape I got the barrel centered and the action screws go in fine. Time to get my hands dirty.
You got it right in your pic, you only need tape in one place near the front of the stock. Make it thick enough to center the barrel, but not thick enough to lift the front of the action off the stock.
Don't tighten the action screws when you're bedding, just put them in there just enough to hold the action without causing any flex. Better yet, get some 1/4x28 bolts with a smooth shank and cut the heads off, it makes things much easier. Use a piece of surgical tubing or a couple windings of tape to hold the action down in the stock while it cures.
Don't tighten the action screws when you're bedding, just put them in there just enough to hold the action without causing any flex. Better yet, get some 1/4x28 bolts with a smooth shank and cut the heads off, it makes things much easier. Use a piece of surgical tubing or a couple windings of tape to hold the action down in the stock while it cures.
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Your recoil lug isn't straight. I've had the same problem. Here's a recoil lug that isn't straight:
The recoil lug isn't straight and fitting flush in the recoil lug recess of the stock instead the barreled action is resting on a 'point' of the recoil lug.
The recoil lug isn't straight and fitting flush in the recoil lug recess of the stock instead the barreled action is resting on a 'point' of the recoil lug.
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There are a few ways to handle this. First procure another 700 barreled action and test fit. If is is still crooked send the stock for repair/replacement. If you can't do that the bed the action, and follow up by bedding the barrel with 4 layers of painters tape under it. After finishing that send the stock to ShortBus for paint, and call it good.
That said the actual cause could be anything from a crooked lug to miss aligned action screw holes. It could also be an issue with the stock ( irregular bedding block, warped barrel channel... etc.).
Chip
That said the actual cause could be anything from a crooked lug to miss aligned action screw holes. It could also be an issue with the stock ( irregular bedding block, warped barrel channel... etc.).
Chip
I've had the same problem with a B&C. My issue was misaligned action screw holes. I'd make sure you understand what's causing your problem before you try to correct it with bedding alone. If your screw holes need additional clearance and you shove the barrel to the center of the channel with tape you're going to have stress on the barrel and it's just going to pop back to the right when you're done bedding.
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Did you just bore the holes out to a larger diameter? How did you determine that was the issue?
I determined it was the issue because I could see my rear inletting guide screw was touching the side of the hole when I pulled the barrel toward the centerline of the stock. I milled a few thousandths off of one side to create clearance.
Ah ok. Yeah I don't think its the screw holes though because if I press down on the rear tang without any action screws in, the barrel is still crooked. Its not the the recoil lug causing it either because I can slide the action forward and aft and rotate side to side and the barrel is still off center in the channel. I'm pretty sure the bedding block is just slightly off. I'll check over it again tonight before I bed it just to be sure.
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