With the trend being towards heavier and heavier barrels like the proof competition contour, I'm beginning to question how much sense it makes to free float barrels of this size in a stock. If you're using a chassis I could understand it since the receiver in the chassis is going to be one complete rigid unit. With a lighter profile barrel I could also understand it because you're trying not to influence the natural harmonics of the barrel, but I have a hard time believing any barrel of this diameter is going to have any appreciable whip to it. My concern is having a stiff enough system at the receiver end so that it doesn't actually increase the vibration of the barrel. My next build is going to be on a Defiance Deviant tactical long action with a heavy tang, devcon bedded with pillars in a manners T4A CF stock and a Lilja #14 barrel. It's going to be a strictly prone gun shot off a bipod or bags. When you're talking about hanging an 8 pound barrel off of an action even with all that stiffening, I still feel like free floating is putting a lot of flex into the system, and it might be better to have it as one solid unit. On the other hand, my McMilllan 50 has a 16 pound barrel that's floated and it shoots lights out. But it's also in a solid fiberglass Big Mac stock that weighs 9 lbs and is probably 2 inches thick down the center so not exactly an apples to apples comparison. Has anybody tried full length bedding one of these super heavy barrels, and if so how did it work for you?
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Extra heavy barrel contours, to bed or not to bed
- Thread starter Doubleshot
- Start date
I wouldnt bed it full length. Id be more inclined to speak to Tom Manners and maybe have him heavy fill the the entire stock.
I played around with full length bedding years ago when I first started doing gunsmithing. I always thought it looked better being fully bedded especially on a wood stock. However, everything shoots better free floated, their maybe some weird exceptions sometimes, but it usually is related to the stock.
The manners are strong and I would just bed the entire action and a couple inches of the chamber area at most. The deviant with a machined in rail won't flex much at all if any. The serious bench rest competitors use a single shot action with no cut on the bottom and bond the action to the stock and free float the entire barrel.
The manners are strong and I would just bed the entire action and a couple inches of the chamber area at most. The deviant with a machined in rail won't flex much at all if any. The serious bench rest competitors use a single shot action with no cut on the bottom and bond the action to the stock and free float the entire barrel.
When you get into those full bull barrels, I could see it putting a lot of stress on the action trying to bend it at the front action screw, adding to that would be a heavy brake. It shows how important a good bedding job in the recoil lug area, it could act as brace somewhat.
I wouldn't bed the whole channel. As mentioned some bed the first inch or two or basically under the chamber but that's all I would do. My first Creedmoor in 2008 had a 28" MTU barrel in a Manners T3 and GAP bedded the first about 1.5" under the barrel and that's it. No issues and the barrel was very accurate. Have some 26-28" M24/40 contour and never an issue just tightening them into the Manners mini chassis. Also have one Proof Comp contour and the same with that.
My advice would be to do the short bed and shoot it. Don't try and fix a possible problem that no one else sees.
My advice would be to do the short bed and shoot it. Don't try and fix a possible problem that no one else sees.
Better off doing a bedding block on the barrel.
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Good post, it’s obvious there would be action deflection from a long heavy barrel.Better off doing a bedding block on the barrel.
barrel block « Search Results « Daily Bulletin
After some thought, the harmonic oscillation could be consistent if the bedding was done right.
Deflection would be there, but it should shoot the same every time like any other set up, the bedding can’t allow the bolt head to be off set with the chamber in battery from the droop of the barrel.
I think with a long heavy bull barrel, I would probably beds the chamber area and remove a inch or so at a time until I was happy with the tune.
I think a long bull barrel would gap the top bolt lug and push the bottom one.
Deflection would be there, but it should shoot the same every time like any other set up, the bedding can’t allow the bolt head to be off set with the chamber in battery from the droop of the barrel.
I think with a long heavy bull barrel, I would probably beds the chamber area and remove a inch or so at a time until I was happy with the tune.
I think a long bull barrel would gap the top bolt lug and push the bottom one.
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Thanks for all the responses guys. Good post ubettcha you hit on exactly what I was thinking about rigidity. Not so much in the receiver (which was why I chose the deviant with the heavy tang) but in the system itself and in the interface between the receiver and the stock. The main problem with the bedding block idea is that it requires an F class stock with a forend that resembles a canoe paddle. Mcameron I'm not sure it's a problem at all, just contemplating the what ifs. Logic says flex is going to induce vibration and vibration is never a good thing in a precision system. Gohring65 I'm not sure that it could deflect enough to actually cause lug contact issues, but at any rate that's why I chose the flat face bolt option both for that and the extra size on the lugs. Sitting here measuring everything the answer is probably going to be a compromise. The front of the lug to the end of the forend is a shade over 10 inches. Barrel has a 5 inch 1.250 straight section before it starts to taper, Probably bed the barrel for five inches in front of the lug Since I can't see any advantage to leaving part of the flat section unsupported. The tapered part can then freefloat. it would also move the fulcrum forward 5 inches which should take a lot of the stress off of the interface between the receiver and the stock.
It sure would be a cool experiment if you had a super stiff stock to sacrifice and bed the entire channel, then if it was unsatisfactory, you could work back taking a inch at a time and see if you could tune the bedding/barrel.
Could still do that, that's why I went with the carbon Manners. I've opened up barrel channels by putting the stock on the mill and using a 1.25 carbide cove router bit to open up the channel. The original stock was a McMilllan A5 and it wasn't even close to being stiff enough. I could grab the barrel at the end of the forend and squeeze them together just by hand
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