Gunsmithing Bedding a featherweight, float barrel or no?

[Patrick_S]

While digging through some junk I found a spare wood stock for my pre-64 M70. I always have wanted to work on this gun, but did not want to ruin the value. Lucky find for me! I have heard that one should bed the action and the entire barrel channed on skiny barreled guns. What do you guys think? I'm thinking of pillar and MarineTex bedding it.


Thanks
Patrick Scott

 

[bohem]

Re: Bedding a featherweight, float barrel or no?

My first reaction would be to say no to a full bedding job on any barrel. Possibly shimming it but not a full job with a wood stock.

What caliber and what's the taper on it, let's do a quick calculation on what the droop would be and think about it a little bit first.

With a bedded action and chamber I got great results from a light sporter contour with a 22" barreled 308.

 

[Greg Langelius *]

Re: Bedding a featherweight, float barrel or no?

Sporter barrels tend not to do so well floated. Not that they're not accurate, but because they tend to have walking zeros once they get several rounds into a rapid string. As long as you don't get them hot, that's usually not an issue.

Sometimes a pressure pad out at the end of the barrel channel can tighten them up quite a bit, but often this requires handloading to get full advantage, as this also tend to alter barrel harmonics. That can be troublesome because most factory hunting rifles are optimized/tuned to use a generic commercial hunting load, and once you alter the basic harmonics, you're into unknown territory. It can be good, it can be bad, and it usually takes a handloader to find out.

With handloading and a pad, my M70 lightweight .30-'06 shoots as well as I'd want a tac rifle to shoot; without the pad, it does just as well with FGMM. So take your pick. My pad is made of self-stick neoprene foam sheeting, and can be removed or replaced in minutes.

Greg

 

[FNuser]

Re: Bedding a featherweight, float barrel or no?

I've done several in this fashion bed the receiver lug with the action screws and a business card under the very tip of the forearm, this will center the action in the stock,then full length bed the barrel in a seperate step with several wraps of an inner tube wrapped around the barrel towards the forearm without a business card in the fore arm when this is completely cured remove the inner tube and the forearm may or may not spring away from the barrel but will not bear on it in any fashion. Did this to a 30-06 with a full length mannlicher stock and it will shoot under .75" with a 4x leup m8

 

[ejg]

Re: Bedding a featherweight, float barrel or no?

I'd free float, bed and reinforce forend. Did a few and liked the result.
It's a bit more work but one gets a stable platform with wood looks.
edi

 

["Partridge"]

Re: Bedding a featherweight, float barrel or no?

i would try the pressure pad toward the end of the foregrip and bed the action.the pressure pad can have a very positive effet on accuracy with sporter weight barrels.

 

[Patrick_S]

Re: Bedding a featherweight, float barrel or no?

Thanks for all the good info everyone. I love the fact that a gun tinkering noob like me can get some good info somewhere. I guess I should have stated what this rifles purpose will be and what I expect out it. The rifle(30-06) has been in my family since it was bought new in 55', it remained unaltered until I was old enough to hunt with it. The only things I have done are replace the old cracking/tearing leather sling with a TIS quick-cuff and remove the old foggy and dark Redfield with a Sightron 3-9 in Burris XTR rings on a US Optics base. I dont want to detract from the value or spirit of the rifle. The bore is pretty hammered, but it puts 5 Federal Fusion 165s under 2" at 100. Thats fine with me as all of my deer are seen under a 100 and closer to 50. Last year it was about 30yds. Im not doing this to improve the accuracy of the gun, its the joy of the work that I am in it for. I still want it done "right" though, but keeping zero better than stock would be a plus. I have another Winny clone 30-06 thats going to get the full "tac" treatment. I bet you haven't seen too may Sears and Roebuck tac rifles. Should be unique anyways.

Thanks
Patrick Scott