Custom bolt action barrel not centered with stock

[Ccollins77]

New shooter here. I built my first custom bolt action rifle. Xlr element magnesium chassis, proof 16.5” cf barrel, and a bighorn origin action. Just got it back from the gunsmith last week and noticed that the barrel isn’t centered with the stock. It is free floating. I shot about 50 rounds through it this weekend and got it zeroed. Groups weren’t super tight but about on par with how I normally shoot. I was just wondering if this could be an issue. I did have one round that wouldn’t chamber properly. But only one out of a little over 50. I could be nit picking because of how much the smith charged me but I just wanna be sure it is a problem. They did bed the recoil lug I think. I will attach pics. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[Ccollins77]

Notice how it sits slightly to the right

 

[KnowNothing256]

I understand the frustration, but if it’s free-floated, it shouldn’t matter.

It’s unrelated to the barrel alignment issue, but why wouldn’t the one round chamber?

 

[b6graham]

Id be pulling the barreled action. Checking the bedding. And retorquing.

You see this with stocks like Manners because of the process in making stocks. But in a machined chassis this shouldn't be happening

 

[Ccollins77]

I understand the frustration, but if it’s free-floated, it shouldn’t matter.

It’s unrelated to the barrel alignment issue, but why wouldn’t the one round chamber?

Not sure. I just couldnt close the bolt handle with that round only. Maybe a faulty round? I set it aside and tried it again later and it still wouldn’t chamber. You can see the marking on the casing where it wouldn’t load properly. I’ll take a pic of the round when I get home

 

[Ccollins77]

Id be pulling the barreled action. Checking the bedding. And retorquing.

You see this with stocks like Manners because of the process in making stocks. But in a machined chassis this shouldn't be happening

That’s what I was thinking. You think it might be over torqued?

 

[KnowNothing256]

Post a pic of the bedding job when you get a chance, now I’m curious!

 

[Raufoss]

Why TF would they glass bed the recoil lug..

It’s ain’t a chassis issue. It’s either the barrel that off center or the glass shit they put.

 

[Ccollins77]

Why TF would they glass bed the recoil lug..

It’s ain’t a chassis issue. It’s either the barrel that off center or the glass shit they put.

Not 100% certain but I think that’s what they told me. They would glass bed the recoil lug. I could be wrong. It’s a gunsmith with a pretty good reputation around here. Looks like I’ll be contacting them to see what is going on

 

[BoltRunner]

That’s what I was thinking. You think it might be over torqued?

Over torqued is not going to pull it to one side or the other unless it was over torqued to the point something was broke. Over or Under torqued will play with your accuracy but it isn't going to pull your barrel 1/8" to one side or the other. Agree with the above, pull the barreled action so see what's going on then re-torque to specs... Inch lbs not ft lbs

 

[Greg Langelius *]

These would seem to be cosmetic issues to me, as long as the rifle performs on the target. I wouldn't worry twice about cosmetics as long as the rifle can shoot.

With no offense intended, did you get a proof target with the rifle? A master gun builder should be able to get the rifle's true potential onto the target. Probably no harm going back and asking for one. While I respect the advice given; I wouldn't be playing with the hardware before giving the builder a chance to look at it unaltered by the owner, and that includes torques.

Greg

 

[KnowNothing256]

These would seem to be cosmetic issues to me, as long as the rifle performs on the target. I wouldn't worry twice about cosmetics as long as the rifle can shoot.

With no offense intended, did you get a proof target with the rifle? A master gun builder should be able to get the rifle's true potential onto the target. Probably no harm going back and asking for one. While I respect the advice given; I wouldn't be playing with the hardware before giving the builder a chance to look at it unaltered by the owner, and that includes torques.

Greg

I mostly agree, but respectfully dispute the statement that removing and reinstalling a barreled action would constitute modification of hardware. I think I understand that you’re approaching this from a warranty kind of mindset, where the problem should be returned to the smith as-is for the best shot at effective troubleshooting. However, if the problem goes away with removal and reinstallation of the BA with proper torques, then it tells you something is off with the chassis, barrel shoulder, or action face. The action screws and chassis/action contact surfaces should be all centered on the midline of both objects, and torquing something down too hard on the centerline should only cause a bowing up/down, not left/right. Then involve the Smith with what you observed.

More importantly, removal and reinstallation of the BA is a basic task, and should not require the input or oversight of a smith.

 

[Ccollins77]

I spoke with the smith and I’ll be dropping it off in the morning. I’ll keep y’all posted on what I find out. I really appreciate the input and advice!!

 

[XLR308]

I have an XLR carbon chassis with a Kelblys Atlas Tac action in it and there is no reason to bed an XLR chassis that i have found.
Sounds like a solution in search of a problem to me.

 

[Ccollins77]

I have an XLR carbon chassis with a Kelblys Atlas Tac action in it and there is no reason to bed an XLR chassis that i have found.
Sounds like a solution in search of a problem to me.

I was told no bedding was required in an xlr chassis as well. I spoke with a few smiths before having it built and they all recommended on bedding only the recoil lug

 

[BoltRunner]

I mostly agree, but respectfully dispute the statement that removing and reinstalling a barreled action would constitute modification of hardware. I think I understand that you’re approaching this from a warranty kind of mindset, where the problem should be returned to the smith as-is for the best shot at effective troubleshooting. However, if the problem goes away with removal and reinstallation of the BA with proper torques, then it tells you something is off with the chassis, barrel shoulder, or action face. The action screws and chassis/action contact surfaces should be all centered on the midline of both objects, and torquing something down too hard on the centerline should only cause a bowing up/down, not left/right. Then involve the Smith with what you observed.

More importantly, removal and reinstallation of the BA is a basic task, and should not require the input or oversight of a smith.

100% agree with this over torqueing will not pull it left/right unless you have issues with your chassis/stock, shoulder, or action.

 

[XLR308]

I was told no bedding was required in an xlr chassis as well. I spoke with a few smiths before having it built and they all recommended on bedding only the recoil lug

Not to be an ass but if you go to a mechanic they will all recommend shit you dont need to make money if you let them.
Just a point of advice.
I live about 15 minutes away from XLR Industries shop and they are top notch guys making top notch products.
I would personally recommend you reach out to them for advise going forward as i know they will actually respond and not blow smoke up your ass.

 

[KnowNothing256]

One last tip, this one for your smith. If it turns out it was the bedding job that caused the issue, tell him to wrap the barrel in electrical tape, maybe 2-3” from the end of the forend, thick enough to just touch both sides of the barrel channel but not thick enough to prop it up out of the channel. This’ll keep the barrel centered while the new bedding sets up.

Hopefully that’s not the issue tho, because it’s actually a little more complicated than that.

 

[supercorndogs]

Id be pulling the barreled action. Checking the bedding. And retorquing.

You see this with stocks like Manners because of the process in making stocks. But in a machined chassis this shouldn't be happening

Whats the major difference between machining the inlet in a chassis, and machining the inlet in a stock?

 

[XLR308]

One last tip, this one for your smith. If it turns out it was the bedding job that caused the issue, tell him to wrap the barrel in electrical tape, maybe 2-3” from the end of the forend, thick enough to just touch both sides of the barrel channel but not thick enough to prop it up out of the channel. This’ll keep the barrel centered while the new bedding sets up.

Hopefully that’s not the issue tho, because it’s actually a little more complicated than that.

I have an action bought from one member on here and barrel from another set in the XLR Carbon chassis i mentioned and it is perfectly centered.
XLR actually inleted the chassis to accomodate the trigger hanger on my Kelbly action but wouldn't accept any payment for it and had it done in less that three hours.
Reach out to them and request an opinion on a path forward i dare you.
They are beyond reproach in customer service.

 

[ShtrRdy]

When you sighted the scope to the rifle, did the windage adjustment end up close to being centered? I would be more concerned the barrel was not in line with the action after it was installed.

 

[b6graham]

Whats the major difference between machining the inlet in a chassis, and machining the inlet in a stock?

idk but im 0-2 on getting a manners with a straight barrel channel

dont think they machine the barrel channels on a manners

then new TCS/LRH solve the problem though

 

[supercorndogs]

They do their inlets with a ball mill. Straight lines are usually a product of hand fitting, not something to be expected from a drop in product.

 

[Im2bent]

One last tip, this one for your smith. If it turns out it was the bedding job that caused the issue, tell him to wrap the barrel in electrical tape, maybe 2-3” from the end of the forend, thick enough to just touch both sides of the barrel channel but not thick enough to prop it up out of the channel. This’ll keep the barrel centered while the new bedding sets up.

Hopefully that’s not the issue tho, because it’s actually a little more complicated than that.

Eh if you have to give tips to your smith........

 

[KnowNothing256]

Eh if you have to give tips to your smith........

I don’t disagree, but at this point if it’s his goof he’ll likely fix it for free. Although @XLR308 makes a good point, if the mfg would be willing to true it up for free, that might be the best bet. Likely all they’d do is remove the bedding compound and restore the recoil lug recess to factory spec then verify proper barrel alignment.

 

[longjon]

New shooter here. I built my first custom bolt action rifle. Xlr element magnesium chassis, proof 16.5” cf barrel, and a bighorn origin action. Just got it back from the gunsmith last week and noticed that the barrel isn’t centered with the stock. It is free floating. I shot about 50 rounds through it this weekend and got it zeroed. Groups weren’t super tight but about on par with how I normally shoot. I was just wondering if this could be an issue. I did have one round that wouldn’t chamber properly. But only one out of a little over 50. I could be nit picking because of how much the smith charged me but I just wanna be sure it is a problem. They did bed the recoil lug I think. I will attach pics. Any help would be appreciated.

If all else fails, check the bedding around the recoil lug. Typically if the barrel sits on one side or the other it may be the spacing/bedding around the lug..

 

[lte82]

Most likely a barrel that isn’t perfectly straight, or has a bore that isn’t concentric and/or straight, and wasn’t timed so that the curvature was at 0 degrees. Probably not a huge issue, but annoying for sure. I’ve heard a number of gunsmiths mention that proof barrels tend to have more issues with this than others as well.

Between the 20+ custom barrels I’ve had, only 2 have been noticeably off center. Both shoot great.

If you pick up a factory Savage or Remington, I’d say 50/50 chance your barrel will also not be perfectly straight in the barrel channel.

 

[Lynn313]

These would seem to be cosmetic issues to me, as long as the rifle performs on the target. I wouldn't worry twice about cosmetics as long as the rifle can shoot.

With no offense intended, did you get a proof target with the rifle? A master gun builder should be able to get the rifle's true potential onto the target. Probably no harm going back and asking for one. While I respect the advice given; I wouldn't be playing with the hardware before giving the builder a chance to look at it unaltered by the owner, and that includes torques.

Greg

This is good advice. The smith isn’t going to feel responsible after you have been messing with it unless you clear it with him.

 

[Lynn313]

idk but im 0-2 on getting a manners with a straight barrel channel

dont think they machine the barrel channels on a manners

then new TCS/LRH solve the problem though

I’ve got 2 custom with Manners stocks & Bartlein barrels put together by GAP team. They both lay perfectly straight in channel

 

[AldoMang]

New shooter here. I built my first custom bolt action rifle. Xlr element magnesium chassis, proof 16.5” cf barrel, and a bighorn origin action. Just got it back from the gunsmith last week and noticed that the barrel isn’t centered with the stock. It is free floating. I shot about 50 rounds through it this weekend and got it zeroed. Groups weren’t super tight but about on par with how I normally shoot. I was just wondering if this could be an issue. I did have one round that wouldn’t chamber properly. But only one out of a little over 50. I could be nit picking because of how much the smith charged me but I just wanna be sure it is a problem. They did bed the recoil lug I think. I will attach pics. Any help would be appreciated.

Most people who handle the weapon won't look at it that closely and won't notice, but I know how you feel though. Without the advantage of examining the action and stock I'd recommend, at the most, that you speak to the gunsmith. He/she may be able to redo the bedding after modifying the stock for a more symmetrical fit unless it is of a configuration that is unworkable by the gunsmith. IMHO, if a machine works well, therein lies its beauty.

 

[Ware'sTacticalFirearms]

Most likely a barrel that isn’t perfectly straight, or has a bore that isn’t concentric and/or straight, and wasn’t timed so that the curvature was at 0 degrees. Probably not a huge issue, but annoying for sure. I’ve heard a number of gunsmiths mention that proof barrels tend to have more issues with this than others as well.

Between the 20+ custom barrels I’ve had, only 2 have been noticeably off center. Both shoot great.

If you pick up a factory Savage or Remington, I’d say 50/50 chance your barrel will also not be perfectly straight in the barrel channel.

This was the first thing that came to mind, I used to dial all of my barrels in at the breech end and throat and would sometimes see barrels with quite a bit of curvature/bend before I “timed” them to 12 or 6 o’clock. OP, look at the trigger location, if you have a bedding problem that’s causing your barrel to be that far off center I bet your trigger won’t be centered. Just a thought

 

[MDSpencer]

I agree with Ware’s. Most likely the barrel isn’t timed. 1/16” right could mean 5” at 600-800 yards. I time all my customers. Whether it’s a hunting gun, short range bench rest or F-Class.

 

[b6graham]

I’ve got 2 custom with Manners stocks & Bartlein barrels put together by GAP team. They both lay perfectly straight in channel

Coming from a builder like GAP they better. Mine were direct from Manners

 

[338dude]

Not 100% certain but I think that’s what they told me. They would glass bed the recoil lug. I could be wrong. It’s a gunsmith with a pretty good reputation around here. Looks like I’ll be contacting them to see what is going on

You may have to take a Dremel and remove some of the bedding around the recoil lug and redo it this time holding the barrel centered in the barrel channel

 

[Ccollins77]

This was the first thing that came to mind, I used to dial all of my barrels in at the breech end and throat and would sometimes see barrels with quite a bit of curvature/bend before I “timed” them to 12 or 6 o’clock. OP, look at the trigger location, if you have a bedding problem that’s causing your barrel to be that far off center I bet your trigger won’t be centered. Just a thought

So I dropped it off with the smith yesterday and he called this morning saying that it’s not an issue with the barreled action. He claims everything is true but that the chassis is the issue and it’s purely cosmetic. I asked him if maybe the bedding could be the problem and he didn’t think so. I’m picking it back up from him today so I will take a look to see if the trigger is centered. I think that could very well be the problem. If no bedding is required by manufacturer specs, and then you bed it, i feel like it would probably throw something off. I reached out to xlr this morning as @XLR308 mentioned just to get their opinion on the matter. Sounds like they have outstanding customer service

 

[Ccollins77]

You may have to take a Dremel and remove some of the bedding around the recoil lug and redo it this time holding the barrel centered in the barrel channel

I have a strong feeling the problem is in the bedding. The smith is claiming that it wouldn’t effect accuracy just purely cosmetic. Is that true? I feel like it would definitely throw off accuracy

 

[KnowNothing256]

Eh, it could but you never know. If you remove the bedding material yourself, you’ll probably have to re-bed it. If the mfg takes it out, they can probably do it on a mill and get it back to spec, unless your smith removed chassis material when he bedded it.

If the mfg can’t help you, I’d just Dremel out the smith’s bed and redo it with the barrel properly centered.

 

[Ccollins77]

Eh, it could but you never know. If you remove the bedding material yourself, you’ll probably have to re-bed it. If the mfg takes it out, they can probably do it on a mill and get it back to spec, unless your smith removed chassis material when he bedded it.

If the mfg can’t help you, I’d just Dremel out the smith’s bed and redo it with the barrel properly centered.

Thing is the manufacturer states that no bedding is required. I think it’s awesome if xlr would be willing to take care of it for me but the smith already charged me a lot of money (more than I’m willing to tell my wife) so I feel like he should be the one to fix it. Depending on what xlr tells me, I’ll probably have the smith take out the bedding and see how it fits without it. At this point, I’m just frustrated af. For a $4000 rifle, there should be no discrepancies even if it’s cosmetic and still shoots straight

 

[OREGUN]

I have a strong feeling the problem is in the bedding. The smith is claiming that it wouldn’t effect accuracy just purely cosmetic. Is that true? I feel like it would definitely throw off accuracy

The job of bedding is to make a matched surface for the action to clamp against so there’s no pressure points, no bends, no room for movement and no stress on the action as it relates to the stock. With that said, if the bedding job is done well (without regard to the alignment issue, just yet), I don’t really think there would be an accuracy problem. I’m having a little bit of trouble understanding how the action screws would line up if the action was so far off to one side that the barrel was misaligned in the channel. I would take the action out and have a look myself. Is the action inlet centered behind the barrel channel inlet? Is there a measurable quantity of bedding material on one side that isn’t there on the other side? Is the action 8 let centered in front of the butt? Lay a straight edge along the chassis from butt to nose and see what’s not lined up. Are the action screw holes so sloppy that you can get the action off to one side and still get the screws to go through? If the action mates well with the bedding and the action screws go through and tighten without pulling the whole arrangement out of alignment and the barrel is truly free floated all the way back to the recoil lug then I wouldn’t worry about it. If you plan on shooting this stock off of a bench rest or in F class where the stocks tracking in the rest is of utmost importance, then I would say you have a problem. If you’re shooting it off of a rear bag and bipod arrangement or off of improvised positions in the field, I doubt you will ever know. I would definitely go out and shoot the gun a little bit before I got too carried away with any Dremel tool activities. There’s a strong likelihood that if you get in there and chip away at it with a Dremel tool you’ll end up having to replace the entire stock/chassis and it’s a 100% certainty that at this point any removal of material will require a re-bedding. There’s going to be no such thing as just milling out the bedding material.

 

[Ccollins77]

The job of bedding is to make a matched surface for the action to clamp against so there’s no pressure points, no bends, no room for movement and no stress on the action as it relates to the stock. With that said, if the bedding job is done well (without regard to the alignment issue, just yet), I don’t really think there would be an accuracy problem. I’m having a little bit of trouble understanding how the action screws would line up if the action was so far off to one side that the barrel was misaligned in the channel. I would take the action out and have a look myself. Is the action inlet centered behind the barrel channel inlet? Is there a measurable quantity of bedding material on one side that isn’t there on the other side? Is the action 8 let centered in front of the butt? Lay a straight edge along the chassis from butt to nose and see what’s not lined up. Are the action screw holes so sloppy that you can get the action off to one side and still get the screws to go through? If the action mates well with the bedding and the action screws go through and tighten without pulling the whole arrangement out of alignment and the barrel is truly free floated all the way back to the recoil lug then I wouldn’t worry about it. If you plan on shooting this stock off of a bench rest or in F class where the stocks tracking in the rest is of utmost importance, then I would say you have a problem. If you’re shooting it off of a rear bag and bipod arrangement or off of improvised positions in the field, I doubt you will ever know. I would definitely go out and shoot the gun a little bit before I got too carried away with any Dremel tool activities. There’s a strong likelihood that if you get in there and chip away at it with a Dremel tool you’ll end up having to replace the entire stock/chassis and it’s a 100% certainty that at this point any removal of material will require a re-bedding. There’s going to be no such thing as just milling out the bedding material.

I’ll take a harder look at it today when I go to the gunsmith after work. I’m definitely not gonna take a dremel to it. I don’t know enough about this stuff to feel comfortable doing that. This is strictly a hunting rifle. Short and light. Mainly for coyotes, pigs and occasional white tail here in Texas. I do most of my shooting off a tripod unless I’m hunting out of a stand. I’m gonna put some more rounds through it this weekend in a lead sled (if it’s not raining) to truly see how it groups. 1st time I shot it, it started raining as soon as I got it on paper. I couldn’t really see shit down range

 

[b6graham]

A lead sled isn't a good way to test a rifle

 

[OREGUN]

I’ll take a harder look at it today when I go to the gunsmith after work. I’m definitely not gonna take a dremel to it. I don’t know enough about this stuff to feel comfortable doing that. This is strictly a hunting rifle. Short and light. Mainly for coyotes, pigs and occasional white tail here in Texas. I do most of my shooting off a tripod unless I’m hunting out of a stand. I’m gonna put some more rounds through it this weekend in a lead sled (if it’s not raining) to truly see how it groups. 1st time I shot it, it started raining as soon as I got it on paper. I couldn’t really see shit down range

If you are going to see the smith, have him show you/explain how it’s not his work that’s at fault and how the alignment issue doesn’t change the alignment of recoil forces back through the butt. He may be correct…I’d want to see why he thinks so.

 

[OREGUN]

A lead sled isn't a good way to test a rifle

Don’t let the lead sled confuse you, OP. @b6graham isn’t wrong.
Shoot the rifle as it will be used and see if it provides the precision and accuracy you are capable of/expect from the system.

 

[Ccollins77]

Don’t let the lead sled confuse you, OP. @b6graham isn’t wrong.
Shoot the rifle as it will be used and see if it provides the precision and accuracy you are capable of/expect from the system.

Just using the sled to get a precise zero. I’ll be throwing it on my tripod after to see how it groups

 

[b6graham]

Just using the sled to get a precise zero. I’ll be throwing it on my tripod after to see how it groups

With a false recoil pulse

Bipod and bag. Or even sandbags would be better strategy

 

[KnowNothing256]

The job of bedding is to make a matched surface for the action to clamp against so there’s no pressure points, no bends, no room for movement and no stress on the action as it relates to the stock. With that said, if the bedding job is done well (without regard to the alignment issue, just yet), I don’t really think there would be an accuracy problem. I’m having a little bit of trouble understanding how the action screws would line up if the action was so far off to one side that the barrel was misaligned in the channel. I would take the action out and have a look myself. Is the action inlet centered behind the barrel channel inlet? Is there a measurable quantity of bedding material on one side that isn’t there on the other side? Is the action 8 let centered in front of the butt? Lay a straight edge along the chassis from butt to nose and see what’s not lined up. Are the action screw holes so sloppy that you can get the action off to one side and still get the screws to go through? If the action mates well with the bedding and the action screws go through and tighten without pulling the whole arrangement out of alignment and the barrel is truly free floated all the way back to the recoil lug then I wouldn’t worry about it. If you plan on shooting this stock off of a bench rest or in F class where the stocks tracking in the rest is of utmost importance, then I would say you have a problem. If you’re shooting it off of a rear bag and bipod arrangement or off of improvised positions in the field, I doubt you will ever know. I would definitely go out and shoot the gun a little bit before I got too carried away with any Dremel tool activities. There’s a strong likelihood that if you get in there and chip away at it with a Dremel tool you’ll end up having to replace the entire stock/chassis and it’s a 100% certainty that at this point any removal of material will require a re-bedding. There’s going to be no such thing as just milling out the bedding material.

Ok, so some of this is good and some not. First and foremost, you’re describing a full bed job, but I believe OP stated the Smith only bedded the recoil lug. Depends on the action inlet surfaces, but basically that almost certainly means the only bedding material is behind (and potentially also in front of) the recoil lug. This is different from bedding the action, and could certainly introduce a horizontal cant if done very improperly. Not sure I could do it intentionally, but I think I can envision it.

As to 100% for sure needing to remove material, if the smith just skim bedded the recoil lug, the mfg can probably just take that off by running their normal program, since the underlying material isn’t changed when you skim bed.

But, again, just talk to the smith, and your frustration is fair.

 

[OREGUN]

Just using the sled to get a precise zero. I’ll be throwing it on my tripod after to see how it groups

You will not get a precise zero with a LS. The recoil impulse is wrong, your position behind the gun is wrong, each shot breaks/recoils differently from the last…the list is too long. It will cause more frustration and false data than I can take time to explain.

 

[OREGUN]

Ok, so some of this is good and some not. First and foremost, you’re describing a full bed job, but I believe OP stated the Smith only bedded the recoil lug. Depends on the action inlet surfaces, but basically that almost certainly means the only bedding material is behind (and potentially also in front of) the recoil lug. This is different from bedding the action, and could certainly introduce a horizontal cant if done very improperly. Not sure I could do it intentionally, but I think I can envision it.

As to 100% for sure needing to remove material, if the smith just skim bedded the recoil lug, the mfg can probably just take that off by running their normal program, since the underlying material isn’t changed when you skim bed.

But, again, just talk to the smith, and your frustration is fair.

That’s fair…lug bed only….I can see it…but wouldn’t that be a rotation not a shift? And how do the screws get through if it’s rotated?

And back to the OEM for re-machining is getting into that “total replacement” territory I was talking about.

 

[XLR308]

I’ll take a harder look at it today when I go to the gunsmith after work. I’m definitely not gonna take a dremel to it. I don’t know enough about this stuff to feel comfortable doing that. This is strictly a hunting rifle. Short and light. Mainly for coyotes, pigs and occasional white tail here in Texas. I do most of my shooting off a tripod unless I’m hunting out of a stand. I’m gonna put some more rounds through it this weekend in a lead sled (if it’s not raining) to truly see how it groups. 1st time I shot it, it started raining as soon as I got it on paper. I couldn’t really see shit down range

If you are going to ask him any specific questions without being to intrusive simply ask him if he had to remove any chassis material to do the bedding job.
That will let you know if sending it to XLR is even a path forward.
Pretty sure the inlets are cut on CNC machinery and i havent ever heard of anyone else having an issue with alignment but could be wrong.
When i first went to thier facility i got to go back to the manufacturing area and seen the machines talked to some of the employees while they rounded up some new parts for me and dropped off the backbone of my Carbon chassis to be inletted for the trigger hanger.

 

[lte82]

Bedding the recoil lug isn’t going to shift the action that much unless it was done completely wrong. Post a picture of the bedding.