Bedding a scope base serves many purposes and if done right, can improve overall performance. I personally don't like to glue the base down because I often take them on and off and don't want to damage the finish on many fine actions. It can be done without damage if a person knows how, but lots of people don't and end up doing damage by roughing up the bond surface or after they remove the base trying to get the bonding agent off.
I also don't believe in drilling a hole for pinning a cheep base, Go ahead and spend the money on a quality base with a recoil feature and larger screws, It will save money in the long run. There are many advantages to buying quality bases, and trueness is one of them. This does not guaranty that the receiver will perfectly match the base but it helps. This is why I bed scope bases, not to make up for poor quality bases.
With a recoil feature and larger screws the only thing needed is to bed for a stress free fit. (No bending of the base and preloading the action).
Many years ago I would occasionally shim the bases to gain MOA. But found that this practice cause stresses on the action and scope that could change the POI at long distance as the action heated up or with extreme temp changes, so I stopped this practice and started buying base with the desired MOA or scopes with more MOA adjustments.
I bond the base it's self by not placing any release agent on it, but use wax on the action so it can be removed from the action with out any trouble (Damage). By doing the base this way, It can be removed and replaced without losing any Fit and avoiding stress. With a proper bedding and the quality features mentioned, (Larger screws, recoil features and bedding I find that many years of trouble free service.
I prefer doing bases this way because if I have to remove the bases to re-barrel or even sell the action it looks perfect and if the bases are re installed, they fit perfect.
Loctite, (Especially the wrong kind) doesn't need to be used if the proper torque is applied during the installation so I recommend avoiding it.
This is just the way I prefer installing and bedding a scope base, Many have their preferred method that works for them and this is just another way to install scope bases (Not the only way).
J E CUSTOM
