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Full length barrel bedding

Thanks for the replies. After doing little research about Forbes NULA and Barrett Fieldcraft going to try the action and full barrel bedding. This is in very stiff ADL stock and the barrel is heavy sendero contour that is only 16 1\2" long. The action is sitting on 1 \2" aluminum pillars.

This is experiment to just see what happens. It is easy enough to fix if no good.
I love experiments! Post your results. Wonder how the groups will change
 
Not to hijack since you decided on your approach, but has anyone bedded with a dampening type material like a urethane, etc? I did a 10-22 when I was younger with silicone just cause.
 
If this doesn't work will try that next. I have used the Black RTV. On the Marlin 336 full length bed barrel with the RTV and then relieve the front barrel band so there was slight clearance. It made that rifle into solid 1inch rifle at 100yds with peep sights. Same process with Mosin Nagant.
 
Mram10us , if you try the RTV experiment would recommend test with scrape barrel and stock. Just to get the "feel" of it. You actually trim the excess RTV with razor blade.
 
Not to hijack since you decided on your approach, but has anyone bedded with a dampening type material like a urethane, etc? I did a 10-22 when I was younger with silicone just cause.
It's been tried, you'd be surprised what's been tried and tested, many times it looks good till you get down the road a ways and the over all effects end up negative.
 
So some of you guys don't bed all the way back to the rear Tang?
I always float the tang from rear action screw back on savages. My gunsmith feels strongly about this but just on savage. They used to talk about it a lot on the savage forum and majority did the same tang float. I float my barrels from frt of recoil lug bedding out unless heavy long varmint or tactical contours those to several inches in frt of lug. It's always worked well for me.
 
I never put bedding under the chamber. My bedding stops at the recoil lug. Chambers heat up and the barrel expands there at a different rate than the receiver. Even my 30 plus inch barrels hang the whole way. The biggest problem with full length bedding is that the fore end has to be in the same spot on the bags or front rest or you will get verticle in your group. And what happens when you shoot several shots and the barrel gets bigger from heat and pushes against the bedding. The whole idea of bedding is to have no stress on the action. Well if the barrel fits perfect like the action and the barrel gets bigger then that is going to cause stress. I think it's best to let the barrel do like it wants with no interference. Walk down the line of a short or long range match or even PRS and tell me how many rifles are not free floated. If they shot better a different way they would be all doing it. Almost every AR made today has a free floating fore end/ handguard. Why. They are more accurate with nothing touching the barrel. Easier too install too. These are just my thoughts and observation. Expementing is part of the fun of building rifles. Maybe it will work ok for. Let us know how it does.
Shep
 
Here is a post By codyadams that has pictures that show the prefer'd method of bedding of some of us.

I find this method to be the most consistent when done right. Other methods occasionally work, but rarely. The best accuracy I have found from bedding has been a full, stress free pillar bed with the barrel floated (At least 95 % of it).

What I call a stress free bedding is to inlet the action and barrel channel so the action is resting on the pillars without touching any where in the inlet and resting on a support in the barrel channel to take the weight off the action. before applying the bedding compound I make sure the only contact between the stock and the barrel is these three points.

Bedding is applied to the inlet from the tang to just in front of the recoil lug and the action is pressed into the bedding compound with light pressure until it is is contact with the pillars. (No bedding is added to the barrel in the barrel support area, because it is there to support the barrel during the cure and keep it in alignment).

I use spring clamps to hold everything in place because they don't apply enough force to flex the action until the compound is cured. If you bed using action screws or bedding screws, they can flex the action a few thousandths taking away the main reason for bedding. 100% contact with the mating surfaces of the action without any added stress.

I have bedded a few barrel channels to fill a larger barrel channel But added a spacer between the barrel and the stock )Several layers of tape with release compound on the tape to even up the inlet. and even added a contact near the tip of the forend on light weight barrel contours to dampen, but sometimes it had to be removed for accuracy.

If you plan on only shooting one or two shots, full length bedding can work but once the barrel and action starts to heat up accuracy goes away.

Just my opinion

J E CUSTOM
 
I'm not surprised it's been tried. Where are the tests because I'd like to see them?
Guys don't put hard won lessons out there, to test this right is going to cost you quality stocks and good amount of components and a few month of shooting groups AND you have to have something to compare it to so there's a lot more groups as your control, there are few who have actually done the testing, very few!!
 
Guys don't put hard won lessons out there!
I disagree. I post a lot of threads that take lots of time and money. Many of us do. I see your point in competition shooting, but here on the forum, we aren't competing with each other. Testing can be very easy. Shoot a stock rifle and record groups (3x5). Bed with urethane or flavor of the month and shoot again. Sure, we can argue breaking it in first. I'm not looking for an exact number for the increase or decrease, just a trend to see if more testing is warranted.
 
I have full length bedded encore and contender fore ends when dedicated to a specific barrel and have had good results. Totally different system than a bolt gun.
 
Recently watched a Utube about the accuracy of a Tikka 3x lite - 6.5 Creedmoor - 24 " barrel (which I just bought on sale for $520 :) ) - and the shooter said after finding the right factory load - he was at about 1/2 inch - but he had the occasional flier.

If I understand it properly - the Tikka's come partially "free floated" - aka - half bedded? - but he did a full bedding job on it - and it took care of the occasional problem.
 
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