glass bedding question

[thelaw]

this may be stupid to ask this, but i don't know what else to do. long story short i have a rem. 700sps in .300wsm that i dropped in an HS precision stock. i had a gunsmith i know glass bed the action, well he glass bedded the entire stock from the back of the receiveer to the end of the forearm. he told me that he thought it would probably shoot better that way. i've always thought the idea behind the hs stock was to float the barrel anyway. my question, is it possible to remove some  of the glass bedding in the stock, say back to the recoil lug, or is this stock trashed now?

[KSR]

Full length bedding can work fine on some guns, shoot it first and then decide if you think it needs a free floated barrel.

[cwlongshot]

Full length bedding can work fine on some guns, shoot it first and then decide if you think it needs a free floated barrel.

 This is GOOD ADVICE!!
 After all its done now right??  BTW,. NO the stock is NOT trash. you can carefully remove the bedding from the barrel channel. itrs just a bit of work.

Good luck,
 CW

[thelaw]

the gun doesn't really shoot any better now than it did before the bedding. so how do you remove it? dremel tool?

[Keith L]

I would let the experts advise you, but I wouldn't think you would have to totally remove the bedding.  I have seen barrels floated by sanding the stock with sandpaper wrapped around the appropriate sized dowel.  That would take longer, but be more controllable than a Dremel tool.  Gunnut or one of the other Smiths here can best advise you.

[iiranger]

I have this old, retired gunsmith buddy who has forgotten more than I will ever know. He told me that in his young days, when stocks were still pretty wood, he would hang a 9 lb weight on the fore end while the glass dried, action/barrel in stock, screws tight. He figured that that gave him about 9 lbs. pressure up on the barrel. If that didn't shoot, then he got to sanding to relieve the pressure. It is like auto body fiberglass, usually. Just grab the appropriate sanding block. Or Dremel to go TOO FAST... ??  Practically all the stuff I have read recommended starting with a bit of pressure up in the fore end. I always guessed cause it is easier to take it out a bit at a time than put it back... You might, first, want to put a layer of postcard or business card between the barrel and the fore end and tighten things down and shoot that. If that don't work, free floating is always and option. Just takes sand paper or luck

[gunnut69]

Dremel tools are wonderful but if your not well versed in their use they can create a big mess in a big hurry.. Sand paper around a dowel works but is slower, perhaps a good thing? I would strongly suggest the sand paper around the dowel for a first effort. First though try the rifle with a bit of pressure just back of the tip. A small section of plastic(cut up credit card) in the bottom of the barrel channel just behind the tip will work as will electrical plastic tape stuck on the bottom of the barrel. Careful to not pinch the barrel in the width of the barrel channel. Only apply the tape to the bottom 1/3 of the barrel. Before doing any more loosen the front action screw with one hand while holding the  finger of the other hand bridging the joint between the front action screw and the stock. It should feel NO movement. With the front screw tight loosen the rear screw while bridging the gap between the rear receiver ring and the stock. If the either moves the action bedding is bad.. The action needs to be 'dead' or tensionless before barrel bedding can proceed.

[thelaw]

gunnut,

you kind of lost me on that last part, but i will try the piece of credit card at the tip of the forend and see what happens. thanks.

[cwlongshot]

Use one of these....





 They are avalible from WWW>BROWNELLS>COM

here is a link:

http://www.brownells.com/aspx/NS/store/catsearch.aspx?k=barrel+channel+tool&ps=10&si=True

 CW

[thelaw]

well, after some elbow work and sand paper, i was able to remove some of the bedding compound in the barrel channel. i am going to try the credt card method at the tip of the forend and see what happens.

[KSR]

If it still does not shoot good after trying to shim the forend, I would have the crown checked. If there is the slightest bit of
damage it will not shoot up to its potential.

[gunnut69]

Sorry but I never thought to ask what the rifle does now? Have you done the basics to improve its grouping i.e.-recut the crown, open the action screw holes in the stock, and the last part of my previous post, check the bedding of the action. By loosening the front action screw while holding one's finger on the joint between the front receiver ring and the adjacent stock one can detect bedding faults. The exact same at the rear.. Just because it was bedded soesn't mean it was done crrectly.. Recutting the crown is likely the first thing that one should do if a rifle is not shooting well, especially when the weapon concerned is a Remington. I guess we will need further info so further reccommendations are relavent..

[thelaw]

well, went and shot today after, installing a "shim" of plastic credit card material about 3/8"x3/8" under the barrel, just behind the forend tip. the gun shot a good bit better than before. all groups were nice uniform groups. although a couple were still larger than i would like, i did get some down around 1-1.25". thanks for the help.

[gunnut69]

Have you recut the crown. It's a critical part of the rifle and is oft over looked. Remove the barrel bedding and try the action bedding test. A rifle will NOT shoot it's best unless the bedding is right.

[prairiedog555]

Is re cutting the crown a job best left to a gunsmith?  and if so what is a reasonable cost for this? appoximate
I also would like to cut down barrell on my K31 swiss.  So re crowning is needed also, what is a reasonable cost for this process?
And is it a really difficult process, that is should I send it out to a gunsmith that specializes in this?  and if so could you reccomend one?  My local gunsmith is OK, but I would like some advise.
thankyou

[gunnut69]

Re-cutting the crown is simply put putting a new edge on the end of the rifling.. It can be done several ways. The clasic method(clasic?) is the chuck the barreled action in a lathe, indicating the muzzle true in a steady rest and using a shaped bit cut a new crown. This can also be done with hand tools using a pilot to keep the end of the barrel square to the bore..  While I have a lathe I usually use the hand tools as I've had excellant results and it saves a bunch of set up time.. The tools are not cheap but are available from Brownells and others.. It may be cheaper to simply allow a smith to recut it for you. I have also heard of doing this with files and a brass round headed screw and valve grinding compound. While this may work it is very hit or miss and a crown is very important to a rifles accuracy..

[Don Fischer]

gunnut,

you kind of lost me on that last part, but i will try the piece of credit card at the tip of the forend and see what happens. thanks.

I don't think I saw an answer here. The last part he was refering to was any binding in the action and how to find it. What ever you do with the barrel, it won't shoot well if the action is not well bedded. When either action screw is loosened there should be no movement in the action. Loosen the rear tang and it should stay right where it is. With the barrel completely floated when you loosen the front guard screw, you should notice no movement in the barrel or action. If your eye's are bad as mine anymore, as you loosen the front guard screw, hold the finger's of your other hand on the stock at the fore end tip feeling both the stock and barrel, you'll feel any movement. There should be none.