McMillan stock - barrel channel is off-set

[vtb]

Hello sh.

I've ordered and after wait recieved McMillan A1-3 edge for my rem 700 with Surgeon DBM (i.e. stock was inletted at factory for Surgeon DBM)

Today i've tried to bolt-on everything together (like first try-out of the kit) and when i torgued up all bolts i found that

1. barrel channel is on off-set with the barrel - the space on the left side is wider than on the right
2. Though the barrel is still free-float.

Question are:
1. What are the reasons?
2. how can it be changed? i mean will bedding off action help? or the only way is to make barrel channel wider on the right side?

I don't want to use devcon on the barrel channel - just because i've ordered EDGE fill to save the weight and if i will use devcon on whole barrel channel - it will kill the idea.

PS
i'll make the pics ASAP.

Thank you for your help

 

[Shortdraw]

Re: McMillan stock - barrel channel is off-set

Send it back to McMillan with your barreled action.

 

[vtb]

Re: McMillan stock - barrel channel is off-set

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: mnshortdraw</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Send it back to McMillan with your barreled action. </div></div>

I'm in Moscow. Russia.
So it's not the way for me.

 

[Ken Darnell]

Re: McMillan stock - barrel channel is off-set

vtb,

Mine was the same way. Bedding will solve the problem. You will not have to bed the entire channel just that action.

Ken

 

[vtb]

Re: McMillan stock - barrel channel is off-set

Ken Darnell, thank you!

 

[The_Hun]

Re: McMillan stock - barrel channel is off-set

Sometimes you have to just loosen the action bolts and take your hand and force the barrel to center up in the stock while you tighten up the action bolts and usually it holds it in the spot once you tighten the action back down. good luck

 

[seanh]

Re: McMillan stock - barrel channel is off-set

are you putting the barred action into the stock or the stock on to the barraled action?

I've got an old modified 4x that I have to lay the barreled action down then place the stock on it then bolt down. Once it's about 80% screwed down I'll stand it on it's butt and finish torquing. Any other way and it just doesn't fit right.

 

[Dog Doc]

Re: McMillan stock - barrel channel is off-set

So I have a Rem 700 in a Manners and it looks the same way as the OP. It is still free floating as well.
I have tried to push hard on the narrower side and can not loose the free float of the barrel but it is an obvious difference.

Is this more cosmetic or can accuracy be affected?

 

[tylerw02]

Re: McMillan stock - barrel channel is off-set

Sometimes an offset is because the recoil lug isn't perfectly centered. Sometimes the action holes aren't perfect.

I had an H-S Precision that was way out of whack. What I did was relieve the lug area, rough up the inletting for the receiver, and wrapped masking tape around the barrel to where it would make contact with the stock. I went ahead and did a full bedding job, leaving the tape intact around the barrel. It centered things up quite nicely and provided a great action-stock fit. The rifle shot better groups and looked better and more refined to boot.

 

[Wannashootit]

Re: McMillan stock - barrel channel is off-set

For what a McMillan costs, if the inletting is "off", I'd email them pics and ask them to send me another stock ASAP...with return shipping for the defective one.

It's one thing to put up with defective inletting on a $99 Boyds stock, if I spent $500 on one I wouldn't be satisfied with anything less than perfect. If McMillan is deserving of their reputation, they'd feel the same way.

Far as "how", that's a good question. I saw on a show a tour of the McMillan facility, they're all inletted on state-of-the-art CNC milling machines...

 

[darrenk75b]

Re: McMillan stock - barrel channel is off-set

There are many factors that some have pointed out which may cause the action or barrel to not sit correctly in the inlet, especially if dealing with a factory remington. It really is not a big deal, and is easilt dealt with when bedding.

Wrap your barrel up near the tip of the forend with some tape. When you have sufficient wraps of tape around the barrel, the tape will force the barrel into the middle of the inlet. Bed the action with this tape still around your barrel. When the bedding has cured, you will no longer have this issue. "Dry fitting" the parts together, while good for getting a feel for how things will be, will not be perfect. Bed the action and your troubles will go away.

 

[tylerw02]

Re: McMillan stock - barrel channel is off-set

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Wannashootit</div><div class="ubbcode-body">For what a McMillan costs, if the inletting is "off", I'd email them pics and ask them to send me another stock ASAP...with return shipping for the defective one.

It's one thing to put up with defective inletting on a $99 Boyds stock, if I spent $500 on one I wouldn't be satisfied with anything less than perfect. If McMillan is deserving of their reputation, they'd feel the same way.

Far as "how", that's a good question. I saw on a show a tour of the McMillan facility, they're all inletted on state-of-the-art CNC milling machines... </div></div>

No matter how perfect a McM stock is, they can't predict where your 700 will be out of whack. With tolerance stacking, it happens. You deal with it when it happens.

 

[dmg308]

Re: McMillan stock - barrel channel is off-set

Have a smith fit it and bed it properly and you should be good to go.

 

[vtb]

Re: McMillan stock - barrel channel is off-set

Here's the pic:


Ps
The rifle is stock Rem 700 XCR Compact with the factory installed B&C A1 stock (with aluminum bedding block) which was aligned perfectly - so it's NOT the Remington

 

[Wannashootit]

Re: McMillan stock - barrel channel is off-set

Looks to me that the barrel is slightly angled in the channel- I can't tell from the short section in the pic, but it looks like the gap grows on the one side, while it gets smaller on the other.

That's not bad- after seeing the pic I would agree with the others that bedding will take care of that minor misalignment. A very slight misalignment at the action can easily cause a few mm. of uneven gappage at the end of the barrel.

 

[Dick D]

Re: McMillan stock - barrel channel is off-set

Another thing to check that may explain this is the alignment of the barrel to the action. To do this easy you need a steel straight edge about 18" 24" long and a dial caliper and someone to help you. An 18" or 24" steel ruler from an office supply store works great. Hold the steel straight edge firmly alone the side of the action ( on the center line) and go out at least 12" from the front of the receiver and measure the gap between the barrel and the straight edge. Now put the steel straight edge on the centerline of the action on the other side and measure the gap between the barrel on this other side. If the gap is exactly the same on both sides then the barrel is straight to the centerline of the action. Very seldom will they be so on a production rifle. Some offset is common and within tolerances and the rifles will shoot just fine. That's why we have windage adjustment on scopes and/or rings.
Our CNC milling machines will hold tolerances of .001" or less over 30". It is simply not possible for them to run an action on one center line and the barrel channel on another center line as they are both done at the same time in one set up in the fixtures. We have many stocks and barreled actions sent back to us for this problem and 90% of the time this is what we find the problem is. The slightly offset barrel doesn't hurt the way the rifle shoots, it just looks funny. This is also why some of us buy custom made rifles with trued actions and precision ground recoil lugs. If it didn't make a difference then why would we spend the extra money.

 

[Dick D]

Re: McMillan stock - barrel channel is off-set

VTB,
P.S. if you can measure your centerline of barrel to centerline of action alinement by the above crude but effective method or some better way I would like to hear what you find out.
Dick at McMillans

 

[vtb]

Re: McMillan stock - barrel channel is off-set

Hello Dick Davis.

1. Thank you for reply.
2. I will try to do the measurements as you described above.
3. I don't want to be paranoid android but here are the pictures of surgeon dbm in place after I torqued the screws:

Left side:


Right side:


magwell on surgeon dbm is symmetrical it means that after assembly the edges of magwell should be on the same level above the stock.

As you can see - the left side is taller ( I speak about portion of magwell between front and back "teeth")
On the right height is 0.23 mm
On the left height is 1.49 mm

The width of dbm is 30.8 mm at this point so it means there is ~2 degrees cant from the vertical axis to the shooters side (left).

So - should it be that way?

PS
If I assume that action inlet is co-axis with dbm inlet then 2 deg cant to the left is the reason why space between barrel channel and the barrel on the left side is wider (on whole barrel length by same dimension) than on the right.

 

[fw707]

Re: McMillan stock - barrel channel is off-set

Put the front action screw into the hole and seat it against the escutcheon with your fingertip. Then look inside the barrel channel. Does it look like this?

 

[vtb]

Re: McMillan stock - barrel channel is off-set

bedded the action.
Issue solved.

Thank you, sh.

 

[Jerry W Hudson II]

Re: McMillan stock - barrel channel is off-set

My Remington M24 built by Remington is the same way. Bedding action solves the problem.