Re: Is this a no go??
Pappy21,
Sounds like you're talking about the bedding pad just forward of the recoil lug, not the entire barrel channel.
Yours won't just drop in after sanding it down (well, it might, but it won't fit well and will likely adversely affect your accuracy). He/you will then need to rebed the rifle to your action.
The purpose of a bedding job is to match the stock up EXACTLY with the receiver. Sanding out the old bedding job won't cut it. It might get your receiver to get in there, but it won't be a good fit.
I'd remove as much of the old bedding job as possible, and start anew. That includes all of the bedding around the tang, sides of the receiver, recoil lug, etc...
The good news is that it isn't a hard job to do. This forum has a great tutorial that teaches you a good technique and with some studying and careful prep it'll turn out great and won't cost much at all. If I can do it successfully, anyone can.
Or, send it to a gunsmith to do for a couple of hundred.