Should I have my rifle glass-bedded?

[Mr. Hill]

I'm getting ready to have a smith mount a new scope on my hunting rifle, a Remington 700 classic in .308 Winchester with a walnut stock. The rifle shoots well now.

What do you think about having the rifle glass bedded by the smith, too? I've always thought that glass bedding will help keep a rifle consistent and prevent the action from moving during a shot. Would it be advantageous for me to have the rifle glass bedded? Any reason not to? Thanks for your ideas and advice.

 

[rockyboy]

Depends on the rifle. It may not need it. It's also a great project to do yourself. If cost is not a problem, sure. I'd have the stock removed with the smith and discuss if it's warranted.

 

[someguy2800]

If the stock is poorly inletted it can make a dramatic difference if done correctly. If done poorly it might not make any difference or might make it much much worse. If your happy with how it shoots now there is not much reason to mess with it. Does the point of impact change with different temperatures or seasons? Sometimes just floating the forend can fix that.

 

[GBExpat]

The rifle shoots well now.

Then, IMO, no.

 

[Varminterror]

Any wood stocked bolt action rifle I own gets pillar blocked, epoxy bedded, and free floated. I have often heard legends of free floating or bedding jobs making accuracy worse, but after bedding hundreds of rifles, I can say I have NEVER seen one get worse, so if you show me a real-life bolt action rifle which shoots worse after pressure relieving work was done, I'll show you a piss-poor bedding job.

Bedding jobs don't necessarily stop the action from moving during the shot (they kinda do), but rather proper bedding jobs help ensure the actions are seated in the stock the same way for every shot.

Anyone can do a block & bed job. Not everyone can do a good one. If your smith is experienced, then have them do it. If not, then have someone else do it. The method for measuring your results is easy, but most folks don't own a mag base dial indicator to measure it. It's very hard to screw up a bedding job, and very easy to improve accuracy, at least slightly, even with a half-assed bedding job, but it's not something EVERYONE should do for themselves. Remington actions are easy, Rugers are not. A guy needs to be sure he can sink and bed the pillars true to the action bore line to prevent contact with the screw shanks, so either piloted counterbores or drilling fixtures (either stock mounted guides or stock holding fixtures mounted in a press) should be used. I use the following spectrum - if you wouldn't change your own oil, I would recommend you do NOT bed your own rifle. If you can change your own oil, but wouldn't tackle changing your own water pump, bedding your own rifle probably still isn't for you. If you're the type who might build your own shed, retile your own bathroom, or change the headgasket on your truck on your own, bedding is a cake walk.

 

[Atla]

Good post Varminterror!

 

[GBExpat]

... If you can change your own oil, but wouldn't tackle changing your own water pump, bedding your own rifle probably still isn't for you. If you're the type who might build your own shed, retile your own bathroom, or change the headgasket on your truck on your own, bedding is a cake walk.

Excellent!

 

[FL-NC]

If the rifle shoots good now, I wouldn't mess with it.

 

[Llama Bob]

Glass bedding solves a very specific problem. If the rifles shoots well in the current stock configuration, it likely will not improve your situation.

 

[Offfhand]

Don't do anything! repeat: DON'T DO ANYTHING, especially do not have it glass bedded. The Remington 700 Classic has an intrinsic value based original factory configuration, and any alteration reduces its resale, trade-in and ,especially, its collector value. Every time I hear that a rifle has been made better by glass bedding, free-floating, etc, etc, I remember the many such altered and "improved" rifles I've seen sitting in dealers' racks with price tags reduced because they had been altered.

 

[Mr. Hill]

It shoots just fine regardless of temp, etc.

I guess I'm trying to fix something that isn't broken.

 

[GBExpat]

I guess I'm trying to fix something that isn't broken.

That appears to me to be the case.

We all suffer that kind of urge periodically.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

It shoots just fine regardless of temp, etc.

I guess I'm trying to fix something that isn't broken.

Exactly right. If you're worried about the stock shifting, you can prevent that by painting the inletted area with a good polyurethane. Some people use thick floor wax to accomplish the same thing.

 

[Klint Beastwood]

I agree with varminterror. I'm not a fan of wood in general because of its ability to change and warp though different weather conditions over time.

 

[Slamfire]

Any wood stocked bolt action rifle I own gets pillar blocked, epoxy bedded, and free floated. I have often heard legends of free floating or bedding jobs making accuracy worse, but after bedding hundreds of rifles, I can say I have NEVER seen one get worse, so if you show me a real-life bolt action rifle which shoots worse after pressure relieving work was done, I'll show you a piss-poor bedding job.

Great post Verminterror. I have bedded most of my wood stocked, be they walnut or laminate, and to date, they all show improvements in group consistency. Unfortunately it will be awhile till my Photobucket pictures are moved to another picture sharing service as I could show the on-target improvements. My M700 Classic in 6.5 X 55, free floating the barrel and bedding the action eliminated flyers and side to side bullet movement. The factory bedding was in fact terrible: the fore end touched the bottom of the barrel and the sides and the action moved around because the recesses for the rear lug and rear tang were huge. I cast epoxy pillars by drilling 3/4" holes around the action screws and pouring in Devcon epoxy. I used either stainless steel filled or aluminum filled, I have used both. This Devcon has the consistency of peanut butter, it sticks and does not drip. Once the stuff dries it is so hard you have to grind it out. Amazing stuff and strong. I will leave epoxy in the cup as a check on the cure rate. The amount left is about the size of a quarter and not much thicker, but I can't break it in my hands after it cures. After those pillars hardened, with my dremel tool I removed a lot of wood, I wanted a 1/4" thick layer of Devcon between the action and the wood. This worked great. I did one M700 bedding job with aluminum pillars, it was a lot more work getting the pillars to the correct length and the end result was the same.

Devcon Aluminum putty: http://www.devcon.com/products/products.cfm?brand=Devcon&family=Aluminum Putty (F)

Devcon Stainless filled putty: http://www.devcon.com/products/products.cfm?brand=Devcon&family=Stainless Steel Putty (ST)

The most useful tool I have used in action bedding is a dremel tool. You have to have one to route out the wood and grind down excess epoxy.

On rifles with good barrels, my groups have become round, flyers due to the barrel touching the fore end have gone away. While the rifles do change point of impact with bullet weight changes, it seems (not enough data to prove definitively) that the point of impact change is not as dramatic after bedding.

If the bedding job is unobtrusive, it will not affect the value of the rifle. Improving accuracy won't increase the value either, as all shooters expect a 1/2 MOA rifle anyway.

 

[joed]

I've had every rifle I own with a wood stock bedded by a smith. In my opinion it's day and night difference. I've noticed most of the rifles I own with synthetic stocks haven't needed it, so if they shoot nice groups I'll leave them alone.