Not sure what I've done..Help??

[heftylefty]

I sanded my synthetic forearm until I can slip a dollar bill under the barrel back to the lock lug...and
behind the lug towards the hinge. I used a nylon washer over the lug for further clearance. Everything still seems to fit OK and looks good. I got to shoot the gun yesterday it's a .308 caliber. I can't see any difference.....shoots 2.5" groups at 50 yards. Here's my question. Am I suppose to bed the back part of the forearm with Jb weld or something?? Have I only done part of the work necessary to make the gun shoot better? I have followed all the stuff in the Handi 101 section etc...

[cwlongshot]

 Dont worry!!  We will get you thru this!! The forend is a big contributor to handi inaccuracy. But its not the cure all. There are a couple reasons you still have issues. Lets look at the barrel lug next.

You need to make sure the latch is engaging the barrel lug, adequately and evenly. I hate to sound like a broken record, but check the FAQ's. Its in there. 

 Take a look and get back to us..

CW

[heftylefty]

I checked the part of the barrel where it locks on to the receiver...the pivot point. There is a cupped out area on the bottom of the barrel that rides on a big pin that goes through the receiver. Just want to make sure we are talking about the same parts of the rifle. The pin going through the receiver has two bright marks on it at each end with a dull spot in the middle. The dull spot corresponds
to the hole in the cupped out part of the barrel. It kinda looks like the pin is striped...bright ring,dull ring ,bright ring. When the barrel is locked up to the receiver my action lever is kinda loose as described in the FAQ'S. There is no play in the barrel side to side...everything fits up nice and tight or so it seems. This barrel and receiver have been fired together maybe 60 to 80 times.
Footnote: I have just had a thought as I am writing this post and I think it's time to build a custom bench rest for this/these rifles. I want to make a special rest for the hinge point and then come up with a way to secure the butt against my shoulder so it can't move. I know there are tons of stuff you can buy but they are all made to rest the rifle way out on the forearm. When I shot this gun I really had a ruff time trying to get set up and was a bit uncomfortable. Once I have done this I will resume this post after I have fired the gun with the new bench set up. Y'all hang in there with me...I know I can get this thing right!

[cwlongshot]

No problem, we are not going anywhere and are more then willing to help!!

OK so far so good. But you checked the hinge and barrel fit to frame. that is good, but we need to look at the latch and its corresponding lug on the barrel. its located under the firing pin on the frame and beneath the chamber on the barrel as its mounted.

 You will need to clean the lug make it oil free. Now mark the upper surface, directly below the chamber, with something that is easily removed. I use DYKEM but smoke residue from a candle works well also. Now assemble the gun and snap it closed a couple times to scuff off that mark you made on the top of the lug. Inspect the amount of engagement and its area of contact. You want it to be even across the entire lug and at least half way to three quarters up that lug.

CW

[heftylefty]

longshot ...I really appreciate the help! I will check this area out an let you know what I find.

[Bayou Stalker]

Another easy trouble-shooting step is to shoot it with the forend removed from the rifle.  That will eliminate that variable as a cause.

[quickdtoo]

There are factory available rests that are Handi friendly, I've used the Cabelas Premier and the LeadSled DFT.

Tim

http://www.cabelas.com/prod-1/0020904227856a.shtml

[petemi]

Hey Tim.  CWs pretty good for a recuperating old guy, ain't he?  One of these days he'll have to get back to work and then we'll have to wait a while for his advice

Pete

[quickdtoo]

Well, he's actually a young fella, sure wish I was 42 again, that's so long ago, I don't even remember what it wuz like!!

Take your time CW, and heal up all proper like so you can be old like Pete and I!!

Tim

[heftylefty]

My neighbor has a lead sled and I have used it....My small frame makes it hard for me to reach the pedals
from the back of the sled....that piece that houses the butt of the stock gives me problems. I am gonna work up something just for a handy.... Maybe if I get it right I could post a picture for someone else to use.

[quickdtoo]

The Premier rest is about as Handi friendly as it can get, they've had it on sale for $80 a time or two, $100 now, I paid $150 for mine IIRC. I do have to elevate my seat a bit to use it or the DFT since they're higher than other rests, but that's good for reducing felt recoil with your upper body erect instead of hunched into the stock. 

Tim

http://www.gboreloaded.com/forums/index.php/topic,61083.msg368122.html#msg368122

[vincewarde]

My barrels have even engagement and look like the example in quickdtoo's fitting instructions - but they are nowhere near half to two-thirds as mentioned above.  What's the conventional wisdom on how much engagement is necessary?

Thanks!

[quickdtoo]

The example in the FAQs show ideal latch engagement, more will lead to a loose barrel sooner as the latch and shelf wears, less and you may have pop-opens/accuracy issues.

Tim

[vincewarde]

I guess I'm good!

[heftylefty]

I took a look at the latch "shelf" directly under the extractor and found a nice bright band about 1/16 of an inch all the way across the shelf. BUT... I also discovered that my forearm was off center of the frame.
Somehow when I put it on before I went to shoot I must have got the spacers kinked. I took these off of the screw lug and found that I still have clearance. My forearm now fits properly and is in line. Hey...Longshot...could this have made a mess of my attempts at grouping bullets? Also after all the reading and all of the great help I have received so far(I really mean that),...I think I am beginning to understand what the overall goal is here. I don't want anything to jump,bump,shift,slip,slide or otherwise move when the gun is fired. And then I want the next shot to be exactly like the last one....Am I getting there??? If I've got that part right then it makes all of this a lot easier to understand and accomplish. I used to think that as long as the scope was tight on the barrel nothing else mattered. I may never understand why that is not true....but that's another topic altogether.

[cwlongshot]

You got the idea!!  CONSISTANCY is key.  While a tite, well mounted scope/base is one important tooth in the cog its not the whole gear.

 At 1/16" of even engagement is about 1/3. Its less than I like but Tim's example shows less is more. So lets leave it there as we can always get more, but making less is more difficult. Whats more important is even & complete engagement.

 Miss mounting the forend could very well be part of the issue. Only shooting again will prove or disprove this. I think you said you had shot it with out the forend with no differences, right?

CW

[heftylefty]

longshot...I'm gonna fix my shootin bench just the way I want it and run another few rounds through
the bore of this .308. Hopefully as I eliminate the variables my groups will improve. I had no idea the forearm was fitted on the gun that way...now that it's back in line and I get a more comfortable set up
on the bench I should have a better understanding of the work I've done so far. Somewhere there's a 12 point growing that will be the recipient of these efforts!!!