I’m sure I’ll come across these answers as I start doing more detailed research, but opinions seem to very on how tight the action screws should be (if installed at all) while the epoxy is drying. Is there a definitive answer? Also the barrel is currently floating, when I remove the previous bedding will I have to focus on floating the barrel or is the stock already recessed for the floating barrel?
I've found, that if you dont torque the action down super tight on the wet epoxy, and you have a blind magazine box, when you go to reassemble this set up, the action will now be quite a bit higher in the action, and now, your magazine box when fitted into the receiver, will have a few millimeters of free space at the bottom to allow it to drop out of the receiver. Now, the loaded rounds wont index correctly and it becomes a shitshow. Had this happen on three different rifles. All the same exact problem. Had it happen to 2 Rem 700's and a Howa 1500.
Before bedding they all fed like a tikka. After bedding, they would smash bullet tips into the bottom of the feed ramp at EVERY range outing. Took quite a while to figure out, but it was the little indentations or creases in the sides of the magazine box that indexed the shoulders of the rounds ever so slightly to the 10 o clock for the right round and 2 o clock for the left round, helping the bullet tips avoid that flat at the bottom of the feed ramps. Contrary to what people say, the mag boxes are not supposed to float in there.
Another way to look at it. Take your action out of the stock, then grab your bottom metal and bolt it to the action with no stock. Just snug up the bolts very slightly. THATS how your entire assembly is supposed to fit IN the stock. That's how every part in there was designed to function from the factory. If it's not that way mounted IN the stock, shits going to not function right 100% now, until it gets back to where it was originally.