Gunsmithing bedding front of recoil lug

[acts238]

I've read the bedding sticky , but I have came across a few rifles with full recoil lug bedded front & rear that shot excellent , one even had the barrel bedded full length also / so I'm asking for YOUR expert opinions on bedding both sides of the recoil lug and reasoning for doing it or not doing it , all my personal rifles are bedded per the bedding sticky, but after shooting my best group ever with a completely bedded recoil lug and barrel rifle Im not sure of the reason why its recommended to bed only the rear leaving space on front and sides +++ all responses appreciated +++

 

[XLR308]

I will bed the rear and both sides with only a single layer of blue painters tape on the forward side of the lug if the recoil lug doesn't have parralel sides but a slight inward taper, but I also like to bed a portion of the full diameter barrel shank as well.

 

[Rprecision]

I will bed the rear and both sides with only a single layer of blue painters tape on the forward side of the lug if the recoil lug doesn't have parralel sides but a slight inward taper, but I also like to bed a portion of the full diameter barrel shank as well.

Pretty much my method. I put a layer of tape on the front of the lug, bottom and sides. I usually extend my bedding to about 1" forward of the lug.

My opinion is this makes for a more resilient fit. The tape alows some clearance for taking it apart. But keeps it tight enough to not move. If bedding ahead of the lug is not your thing I could go either way. I think it helps keep stress off the barrel lug reciever junction.

Truth is, if a quality barrel is free floated, action bedded stess free, etc. I think your going to have a difficult time arguing some of these details have a measurable impact on accuracy. If you need a concrete example, only look to the hundreds of thousands of chassis systems out there. They overwhelming all shoot better then the human behind them.

 

[XLR308]

Pretty much my method. I put a layer of tape on the front of the lug, bottom and sides. I usually extend my bedding to about 1" forward of the lug.

My opinion is this makes for a more resilient fit. The tape alows some clearance for taking it apart. But keeps it tight enough to not move. If bedding ahead of the lug is not your thing I could go either way. I think it helps keep stress off the barrel lug reciever junction.

Truth is, if a quality barrel is free floated, action bedded stess free, etc. I think your going to have a difficult time arguing some of these details have a measurable impact on accuracy. If you need a concrete example, only look to the hundreds of thousands of chassis systems out there. They overwhelming all shoot better then the human behind them.

Really the only benefit of bedding part of the full diameter barrel shank I can say with certainty is that there is far less flex in the forearm of the stock and it just feels more solid.
I have verified that with a manners T4 and a Greyboe Renegade and they are definitely more rigid afterwards.

 

[jducos]

Question. How many groups did you shoot with that full bedded rifle?

 

[acts238]

Question. How many groups did you shoot with that full bedded rifle?

it was a 308win I shot it for a couple months , maybe 15 -20 times ? it wasn't just one group , it was enough to know it was an very accurate rifle , the best group was 5 shots at 500 yrds that measured under 2 inches =so what did I do ? I ground all that "wrong" bedding out of the barrel channel because after all everyone knows a free floated barrel is more accurate right ? then proceeded to re-bed it per the S/H bedding sticky , it still shot well but not as good as before . it was a wood stock a Savage J series silhouette 21 3/4 heavy barrel , so maybe the barrel bedded help to stiffen the wood , I dont know , the forearm was allready pretty thick
the original bedding job was done with a clear epoxy with strands of what appeared to be steel wool in it ? maybe it was used as filler because it would take a lot of epoxy to bed one that way , also the recoil lug was completely bedded , I think you could have shot it with the action screws out ,it fit so tight , it took some doing to remove the action from the stock .

 

[Snuby642]

Has anyone tried a semi hard gasket material for bedding?

 

[E. Bryant]

Has anyone tried a semi hard gasket material for bedding?

Before anyone jumps all over this, please provide an example of the material to which you refer.

 

[XLR308]

Before anyone jumps all over this, please provide an example of the material to which you refer.

I think he was referring to something similar to Loc-tight gasket eliminator.
I wouldn't trust something that isn't a solid cure like marine tex or Devcon 10-110, would seem counter productive to me.

 

[Snuby642]

A civilian equivalent to fms 1048.
A panel sealant, dense does not readily compress , something like that.

 

[Snuby642]

I understand it is considered blastfamy but can't believe no one has done it.

Guess i will get my stock messy.

Having trouble seeing support has to be a hard surface same with force of recoil from the lug.

Never had a response from someone that has tried it .

 

[Steelnecktie]

I will not bed length of barrel for many reasons. One of biggest is that that’s the only barrel that can go on rifle. Even barrel with same contour will not fit and will have stress.
If it was that detrimental to bed length of barrel, every benchrest shooter would have their rigs like that.
Another reason is stock flex, when shooting off bipod, stock will be pushing on barrel. If stock flexed the other way and dirt /grit/sand/hair/seed anything gets between stock and barrel, guess what, instant stress again.
Have no doubt in your accuracy, just too many things to go wrong for me to go that route.

 

[LRI]

If we're going to complicate our life, Lets really fuck it up so we can be on Dr. Phil. Ever look at an old Winny 52 stock? One with the adjustable pressure points up on the forend?

Basically, put one probe from a multimeter on your barrel, then attach the other side to a screwdriver. Dial the adjustable pads clockwise until you get a complete circuit. Now, go shoot it and see what it wants. I mean, if folks get a "wedding dick" over adjustable this/that, then surely this MUST be better.