Bedding?

[diver9]

im planning on buying an m1a and dont know whether to go to the NM or the loaded. my concern is over the glass bedding that the NM has and the loaded doesnt. with this rifle i want to hunt with it so its not going to be a bench queen so im going to be taking it apart alot to clean and ive read and heard that taking a rifle in and out to much damages the bedding and deteriorates the accuracy. so my questions are first of is this true since they usually use marine tex which i use on my boats and seens to be stronger then steel. number 2 is are what are the alternatives to glass bedding and what are the pros and cons? and my final question is even if the bedding on the NM wears out does the accuracy open up to if the rifle was never bedded at all or does it get worse? thanks alot in advance for your time!

 

[DeSnifter]

Re: Bedding?

The only questions I can help you with are your first 2. Taking the stock in and out of the glass bedding over time will degrade the accuracy to some extent. For the purposes of hunting I don't think it will degrade it any noticeable amount. Maybe that would be a concern if you were shooting national matches with it. For what it is worth, in talking with a springfield rep they recommended taking the rifle out of the bedding as little as possible. Maybe 1 time a year for a full cleaning.

The only real alternative to glass bedding your M1A is getting a chassis system for it. The pros are that they improve accuracy, they are more robust (bedding won't deteriorate), and they allow for the addition of accessories if you plan to shoot at night. Main disadvantage with chassis systems are that they tend to be heavy, especially if you are going to be hunting with it. The M1A is a heavy rifle to begin with and with an optic mounted the chassis just makes it worse. If you do consider a chassis system I would most likely recommend the Sage EBR chassis.

For the money you may just want to look into getting an AR10 system.

 

[diver9]

Re: Bedding?

thank you for the response DeSnifter. when you say chassis your talking about the sage and ebr type stocks correct? will the mcmillan stocks do the same thing since they are still legal for highpower.

 

[DeSnifter]

Re: Bedding?

When I mean chassis I am referring to indeed the sage but also the J Allen Enterprises stock. The McMillan stocks I believe are glass bedded as well.

 

[diver9]

Re: Bedding?

gotchya thanks for the knowledge