Just to be clear, my post wasn’t intended to state or imply that bedding is or is not needed. I think the MDT poll does muddy the water a little bit compared to just contrasting the MPA & Foundation polls. Regardless, the PRB article doesn’t have a clear takeaway regarding the need or not for bedding - at least for me. I think people can look at that article and takeaway whatever they are looking for:
-MPAs, specifically, may have an issue. Or maybe chassis globally have an issue? Or neither.
-As has been noted, some gear is fairly regional. So processes like bedding may be more regional than gear specific. OR certain regions will perform specific processes as a direct result of the regional gear that is widely used.
-Manufacturer's recommend bedding as a CYA, and it cuts both ways - 'you're not seeing the best results because you haven't bedded your chassis' AND 'it's not the chassis fault that you are not seeing the best results, it probably wasn't properly bedded'. OR, manufacturer's should be seen as the SMEs and you should follow their advise to bed.....or not to bed
-The common thread in the linked video interviews in the article is that guys have "peace of mind" when they bed their rifle. That can also cut both ways. Feelings aren't fact and it's a poor argument to performance/results. Also, most of shooting is between the ears, so feelings actually matter.
-What 200 polled shooters 'do' and 'don't do' may or may not be causational. OR, the top 200 PRS members opinions should be heavily weighed since they are at the top of their discipline.
I think the discussion is interesting, but at this point I view the answers to the bedding question to be more indicative of personality than they are tied to performance.