Bedding
- Thread starter cjs88
- Start date
Technically no, but it's not a bad idea with stocks like a McMillan, Manners, or Greyboe for a few reasons in my opinion. Bedding the stock creates good surface contact with the recoil lug to transmit recoil forces to that area instead of possibly transmitting those forces to the action screws where it could damage stock. Pillar bedding also prevents crushing the stock over time after repeated tightening of the action screws and as hard as some of these stocks can be, it can happen. In turn, the bedding promotes better consistency in return to zero when removing and replacing the barreled action in the stock. These are just some of my thoughts and experiences on the matter.
Depends on the initial fit. I normally see better results but only bed if the accuracy is struggling. On a custom build I would just take the extra step in bedding it.
What matters is that you have;
- Solid contact between the recoil lug and the stock
- No contact between the action screws, bolt handle, or rear of the tang on the stock (will cause splitting/damage issues)
- Support around the action screw holes on the action (Pillars)
- Strong enough material to not compress (Pillars)
Wooden stocks and stocks that don't have heavy epoxy fill around the action screws should probably have pillars. If you're going to bed a stock, you need bedding around the action screw holes and the recoil lug. Everything else (full length bedding, for example) is just for warm fuzzy feelings and clean presentation.
If you have the above bullet points with a bare stock, you don't need to bed anything.
- Solid contact between the recoil lug and the stock
- No contact between the action screws, bolt handle, or rear of the tang on the stock (will cause splitting/damage issues)
- Support around the action screw holes on the action (Pillars)
- Strong enough material to not compress (Pillars)
Wooden stocks and stocks that don't have heavy epoxy fill around the action screws should probably have pillars. If you're going to bed a stock, you need bedding around the action screw holes and the recoil lug. Everything else (full length bedding, for example) is just for warm fuzzy feelings and clean presentation.
If you have the above bullet points with a bare stock, you don't need to bed anything.
They're not lying, I've shot FN SPR's dropped into unbedded McMillan stocks and they shot fine but for many of the reasons above they ended up getting bedded anyway.
I dont think bedding is necessary at all from my experiences with manners, Mcmillan, and grayboe stocks. All have aluminum pillars. I think it is like truing an action. It makes people feel good.
Mcmillan doesn’t think you need to bed their stocks either.
mcmillanusa.com
Mcmillan doesn’t think you need to bed their stocks either.
Should You Bed Your New McMillan Stock? - McMillan Stocks
Do I need to bed my new McMillan stock? If […]
mcmillanusa.com
I dont think bedding is necessary at all from my experiences with manners, Mcmillan, and grayboe stocks. All have aluminum pillars. I think it is like truing an action. It makes people feel good.
Mcmillan doesn’t think you need to bed their stocks either.
Should You Bed Your New McMillan Stock? - McMillan Stocks
Do I need to bed my new McMillan stock? If […]
I was told to bed by Manners
A good bedding job done properly can increase the accuracy about 30%. Some Smiths allow up to 5 thousandth movement with an indicator when checking their bedding jobs. Every factor comes into play when building an extremely accurate rifle ,It's always the accumulation of errors that add up that cause the issues. It is best to stay from 0 to 2 thousandth as you will see better results on paper with these numbers then the norm as mentioned above...
But what would I know ?
Mike R.
But what would I know ?
Mike R.
You would put a dial indicator just forward of the stock on the barrel securely and then you would place the indicator on 0. You would torque your action screws to spec making sure you tighten the forward one first. You would keep the gun vertical and back off the front action screw very slowly and see if you have any movement. If your Dial indicator doesn't move you’ve done a good bedding job. Sometimes depending on the issue at hand you will have reflective movement which is not a good thing. The indicator will move the other Direction and come back the other way and pass zero and that needs to be corrected immediately. You are really looking for the needle NOT to move but for Tac Ops we only allow up to .002 movement if it passes that we re-bed the rifle. I hope that helped you out a little…
Mike R.
