to Bed or not to Bed?

[EZM]

I am far from an expert in this area but have done some reading on the subject and opinions are all over the map.

Although most agree bedding a action (rifle) improves the characteristics of a rifle to allow it to become more accurate (if done properly), there are different opinions on how to do it and what you should use .....

Forgive me if these questions are stupid - but I'd appreciate your thoughts...

Rifle is a newly purchased used Remington 700 BDL wood stock in .30-06. Rifle is older generation (according to serial number maybe from the 80's) is it worth bedding?

What type of bedding process would this rifle benefit from? Considering the value to "payback" on what you should expect to achieve.

Pillar, the type of compound (and why) are important for me to understand.

And people's experiences with a wooden stock on a skinny barrelled 700 BDL specifically - I'd be interesting to hear results both good and bad.

[260 Rem]

Bumping an old thread ...pillar bedding. EDIT ADD: Pillars can be purchased or “made”. If you want the top of the sleeve contoured, you pretty much need to purchase. I bought a couple of sets from Bashaw Sports. One set was “adjustable” and the other required the bottom to be trimmed. I have heard of the threaded extensions used in light fixtures also work well when cut to length.

[260 Rem]

Sounds like you want a project so I won’t go down the “shoot it first to see if it might benefit from bedding” line. I am certainly no expert at bedding but willing to contribute “what I think”.
First, the reason to pillar bed a wood stock is to resist compressing the wood when tightening guard screws. If compression is occuring, it can alter the torque as temperature changes, resulting in changes to POI.
Pillars are often aluminum because it is easy to trim, but steel is fine...just harder for novices to work with. Some just drill out the guard screw hole, fill it with epoxy, and redrill to make a “composite” pillar. There are different schools of thought regarding “best practice”. Some pillar bed the action with no other bedding compound touching ...thus the action would essentially be “free floated”.
Some add a band of bedding at the tang and another at the recoil lug. Most bed the complete action from the tang to the recoil lug. Some continue the bedding forward of the recoil lug about an inch.
My bedded rifles are both pillar and epoxy bedded from the tang to the recoil lug (of course the recoil lug is always bedded). I never bed forward of the recoil lug because I get best results from a fully floated barrel.
I have bedded with Marine Tex, AccraGlass, and Bedrock with preference to the latter.

[Digger1]

I’ve discovered thru doing several that a simple epoxy bedding job reduces a rifle’s grouping by about half. A spot under the rear action screw, the recoil lug area, and with my 28” barrel piece I went out under the barrel a couple inches, as I saw recommended for long barrels. With that particular piece groups went from 1.5” to .75” with Nosler Trophy ammo. So in my opinion, bed it! It’s worth it. Just remember to use your favourite release agent. Lol. I like a thin rub of silicone grease.

[fps plus]

Follow the 3 “B”s for accuracy
Barrel
Bullet
Bedding

[58thecat]

Ok before you get down and dirty shoot it, see if there is a reason to bed, if it puts five in a dime size at 100 yards.....tear it apart at it not shooting well

[elkhunter11]

I prefer pillar bedding with a floated barrel, but this combination does not always improve accuracy. Now and then, I run into a rifle, that prefers a pressure pad in the stock.

[260 Rem]

Originally Posted by elkhunter11

I prefer pillar bedding with a floated barrel, but this combination does not always improve accuracy. Now and then, I run into a rifle, that prefers a pressure pad in the stock.

Yes, some barrels perform best with a barrel/bedding “block” exerting upward pressure near the front of the forestock. (And some factory stocks even have a “bump” in the barrel channel.). Personally, I think the “bump” is a cheap way to dampen vibration in a skinny barrel...). Back in the day when I ran into the bump/block, I sanded it out and replaced it with a “neutral” bedding block.
To create a neutral bedding block ... place two bands of tape about an inch apart accross the barrel channel a few inches back of the forestock tip ... place epoxy in the space between the tape (the tape is just to keep the job neat) ... set the barreled action (release agent where epoxy will touch)... torque the guard/action screws to spec and mark the position of the screw heads for future reference ... remove barreled action when epoxy is cured and clean up. Now you have a neutral bedding block that is touching the barrel but exerting no upward pressure. Shoot to access group size. Remove the barreled action and place an aluminum shim on the bedding block (pop can works well - even has a bit of curve for a good fit). Reassemble with the screw heads set back to the reference marks. Shoot and assess. Repeat 2-3 more times, adding another shim each time. Once you get the best performance, you are done. If there is no difference, go back to the barrel block with no shims (neutral) and accept the result as your reality. No harm done.

[EZM]

Thanks for the thoughts everyone ..... pretty much mirrors common logic on this subject.

I am thinking, as it's an old Remington, with a wood stock, over the years it's shrunk and I can feel the action/barrel moving if I press down on the action/barrel above the recoil lug - so I was thinking a bedding job would firmly seat the action nicely.

If the bolts snug down securely - I'm just debating in my head if adding pillars is worth it or not in this case or would a simple bed job be enough.

Keep in mind this is a $600 gun and I'm looking for simply MOA (or close to MOA) performance - not a tack driver or LR rifle.

This rifle will be the bush gun used in areas where shots will be 50-150 yards.

[West O'5]

Originally Posted by EZM

Thanks for the thoughts everyone ..... pretty much mirrors common logic on this subject.

I am thinking, as it's an old Remington, with a wood stock, over the years it's shrunk and I can feel the action/barrel moving if I press down on the action/barrel above the recoil lug - so I was thinking a bedding job would firmly seat the action nicely.

If the bolts snug down securely - I'm just debating in my head if adding pillars is worth it or not in this case or would a simple bed job be enough.

Keep in mind this is a $600 gun and I'm looking for simply MOA (or close to MOA) performance - not a tack driver or LR rifle.

This rifle will be the bush gun used in areas where shots will be 50-150 yards.

Of course it’s always fun to tinker and tweak max accuracy potential out of any rifle,but for a dedicated bush gun from 50-150y I’m pretty confident I could strap a barreled action on to a hockey stick with duct tape and hit minute of deer heart at that range,haha 😜

[shorty]

Always bed wood from in front of the recoil lug to the rear tang. And bed the pillars at the same time. Wood will change with temperature and humidity. At the very least it will be more consistent in different conditions.
Its not difficult to do yourself

[303carbine]

Originally Posted by EZM

I am far from an expert in this area but have done some reading on the subject and opinions are all over the map.

Although most agree bedding a action (rifle) improves the characteristics of a rifle to allow it to become more accurate (if done properly), there are different opinions on how to do it and what you should use .....

Forgive me if these questions are stupid - but I'd appreciate your thoughts...

Rifle is a newly purchased used Remington 700 BDL wood stock in .30-06. Rifle is older generation (according to serial number maybe from the 80's) is it worth bedding?

What type of bedding process would this rifle benefit from? Considering the value to "payback" on what you should expect to achieve.

Pillar, the type of compound (and why) are important for me to understand.

And people's experiences with a wooden stock on a skinny barrelled 700 BDL specifically - I'd be interesting to hear results both good and bad.

The first thing I do with a Remington rifle is remove the pressure point at the fore end of the stock, I free float the barrel then shoot to see if that is all that is needed.
The recoil lug and about an inch in the barrel channel under the chamber portion of the barrel is all I have ever needed to bed, I use JB Weld putty.
It sets up fast (25 min) and works very well, you can add more if you need it, and you can drill it. My release agent is simply Saran wrap between the putty and the wood.
Once you get it all where you want it, blue Loctite the action screws, let it set up over night (24 hrs) and sight in your rifle the next day.

[EZM]

Originally Posted by 303carbine

The first thing I do with a Remington rifle is remove the pressure point at the fore end of the stock, I free float the barrel then shoot to see if that is all that is needed.
The recoil lug and about an inch in the barrel channel under the chamber portion of the barrel is all I have ever needed to bed, I use JB Weld putty.
It sets up fast (25 min) and works very well, you can add more if you need it, and you can drill it. My release agent is simply Saran wrap between the putty and the wood.
Once you get it all where you want it, blue Loctite the action screws, let it set up over night (24 hrs) and sight in your rifle the next day.

Sorry - a little confused here, isn't the thought to use release agent between the barrelled action and the bedded stock?. If you are putting Saran wrap between your wood and bedding won't your bedding be independent of the stock?

If you end up with 3 pieces - the barrelled action, the bedding, and the stock - is that the intent?

[260 Rem]

The release agent goes “on the metal”. The epoxy is bonded to the wood. I had never heard of Saran Wrap being used before the mention by 303. Most of the commercial “kits” include a release agent that is liquid and drys on the metal. When the action is removed from the stock, it presents itself as a super thin transparent layer. It would be only a fraction of the thickness of Saran Wrap. I am a real chicken when it comes to the potential for an action getting glued, so I use a wax (neutral KIWI shoe polish) which I buff on the steel...and then put a layer of the release agent supplied in the kit on top of that!

[ken1989]

The release agent I have always used is RCBS case lube - stuff you spray on your brass before resizing.

[Dean2]

I use Kiwi or some other Carnuba wax. I want something that goes on thin, polishes out to perfectly smooth and leaves a perfectly smooth professional looking bedding job. Other thing to watch for is to fill any potential problem spots with Plasticine so you don't get a mechanical lock. I have never had a problem getting a gun out of a stock using just wax as the release agent but one trick is to not take the gun out of the bedding before it is completely set. With Devcon I wait at least 24 hours, and that makes the gun come out perfectly clean with an easy snap.

I have have done literally hundreds and have taught many dozen people how to do it for them selves. No one has ever stuck a gun.

[303carbine]

Originally Posted by EZM

Sorry - a little confused here, isn't the thought to use release agent between the barrelled action and the bedded stock?. If you are putting Saran wrap between your wood and bedding won't your bedding be independent of the stock?

If you end up with 3 pieces - the barrelled action, the bedding, and the stock - is that the intent?

I meant to say, put the plastic between the metal and putty, definitely don't want to glue the wood to the metal.

[260 Rem]

Originally Posted by 303carbine

I meant to say, put the plastic between the metal and putty, definitely don't want to glue the wood to the metal.

The risk of gluing the action to the stock adds a bit of nervous anticipation to the whole equation. I would never be capable of leaving the job alone for 8 hours so I set up a little heater to keep the bedded action at about 35C which cures the epoxy hard enough to remove in about 2 hours.
I have never stuck one (OK maybe one minor issue). I have read that if there is a bit of a problem, letting it freeze solid in the deep freeze will shrink the steel enough to make the break-out easier?

[303carbine]

Originally Posted by 260 Rem

The risk of gluing the action to the stock adds a bit of nervous anticipation to the whole equation. I would never be capable of leaving the job alone for 8 hours so I set up a little heater to keep the bedded action at about 35C which cures the epoxy hard enough to remove in about 2 hours.
I have never stuck one (OK maybe one minor issue). I have read that if there is a bit of a problem, letting it freeze solid in the deep freeze will shrink the steel enough to make the break-out easier?

The JB Weld (Waterweld version) I use sets up in 25 min.