LOL. Yea, that works out well too. Randy Selby "The Real Gunsmith" is a fine example of just relying on age and "experience." It doesn't take a 40yr old to become an SME.
Also, that "kid" in the video is either in his 40's or very close to it, and has been a gunsmith for 15 years or so. He guest instructs at several gunsmithing schools around the country.
And yes, I'm well into my 40's.
One of the only younger guys who really impresses me (and older precision rifle smiths I know) so far is Ultimate Reloader.
In the case of bedding AR-15 barrels, Caleb is just on the wrong side of the facts.
The whole reason I got turned onto the bedding technique was from Bill Alexander, who also looked at what the AMU had done with it. Bill said when he was doing fleet Grendel accuracy testing with 10 different rifles, all using the exact same components, high-end cut-rifled pipes, billet receivers, free-floated, same torque specs, trick triggers, high-end optics and mounts, 5 of the rifles would shoot no matter what you did, and the other 5 didn't.
He applied the AMU bedding approaches, and bedded the gas blocks too, then the rifles tightened up demonstrably. AMU used much higher sample sizes across large fleets of uppers for the team, and started making waves when they consistently out-shot the USMC Rifle Team.
I first tried it on a JP 18” .223 Wylde barrel I had in a generic M4 upper. It was shooting 5rd groups into 1.7” at 100, which is just not what I expected that barrel to do. The barrel was given to me and had a high round count on it already, so I figured I’d at least see if bedding would change anything.
I trued up the face of the upper, which was way out of square, then bedded the barrel.
Took it out again and I’ll be if it didn’t shoot .5 - .6 strings of 5rds.
Another notable rifle was an Iron Ridge Arms AR-10 billet set build with a Krieger 20” pipe. It had a DPMS aluminum gas block that was gas eroded out, had a standard RLGS tube with an ArmaLite gas position, and was shooting 1.5-1.7” groups at 100 with a known Sierra hand load that shot lights-out in other rifles.
I stripped it all down, got a new steel gas block for it, ArmaLite gas tube, and bedded the barrel into the IRA upper. Took it out and started zinging .6” groups with that same load.
The JP example, AMU testing, and Bill A.’s recommendations made me a believer, and the Krieger pipe in IRA billet set just confirmed it. When GAP built my different custom LR-308 and LR-260, I think they did similar accurizing techniques as well. Both are freaking lasers, always have been from the first groups to the last. One was an Obermeyer pipe, the other a Bartlein.
I also did some single variable testing with this with 22” Lilja bull barrel 6.5 Grendels in Seekins billet receiver and their handguards. No bedding: 1.2” 5rd groups. Bedded: .3” to .4” rapid-fired 5rd groups with factory 123gr Hornady A-MAX.
I just bed my barrels as a rule and have done so for about 13 years now. Everything has been MOA or better, usually in the .4 to 1 mil region with quality factory ammo. Even the little 12” Faxon 6.5 Grendel shoots MOA or under with most factory loads.
Bill A. also mentioned something about gas system input onto the barrel with the port acting like a jet, 90˚ off-axis from the bore. It was more pronounced with external piston guns if I recall. He used to offer Adams Arms piston Grendels back in the day.
I also had this conversation with John Paul, owner of JP Enterprise. He said from a manufacturing standpoint, it’s always hard to get consistent surface dimensions from anodizers, so even with perfectly-true machining on the upper faces, when you get them from anodizing, there can be a slant on the face, so it added cost and complexity dealing with it from that end.
He prefers the thermal-fit process if I recall, which they control with their extension tunnel ID and extension ODs in the parts feed into the builds.
Everyone can do whatever they want, but I know what I’m doing every time I put an upper together. For those that are trying to milk accuracy out of a trash, bottom-end barrel, I would advise to consider stepping up a price point or 2 and get something a little better before polishing a turd. Don’t expect miracles from some of the lower-end tent stakes floating around out there.
