Re: Manners Mini-Chassis opinion?
I have a Mini chassis on a rifle Mark Gordon built for me: About half way done there is a conversation about bedding the Mini Chassis system from Mark Gordon but I pasted below what he said:
SAC Mini Chassis
Mark Gordon Short Action Customs: "With bedding a chassis system similar to the Mini Chassis and the AICS, everybody has their own opinion. My suggestions are based on facts that anybody with the correct tools can duplicate.
The problem: The rear tang of the action is not supported. Since the tang eventually comes to a point, and the rear action screw is in the middle of the tang, that is where the majority of the torque is applied. That happens to be the area of the action that has no V-block support. So what happens is as your torque the action down to 65 in lbs, the tang will actually bend down and fit into the V-block. Put dial indicators on the rear tang while you tighten it down if you don't believe me.
If you torque both screws down on just about any AICS or Mini Chassis and loosen the front action screw, the barrel will climb up anywhere from .025-.250" until its relatively stress free. So when you tighten down the front screw again, your putting a decent amount of stress on the action.
Now, what kind of custom rifle shop would we be if we knew there was stress in the system and did nothing about it? What if I told a customer that I found a problem, but "dont worry, it probably wont matter anyway"?
That is not how we do business. We report our honest findings to the customer, and let them make the decision. We will stand behind our experiences and never pass along second hand information as our own. We never try to "up sell" anything or any services.
If I'm going to take 30 minutes to dial a barrel in to less than .0002 TIR, and check it after every step during chambering, or go above and beyond the "industry standard" for action truing by creating new and innovative techniques, then I will remove the stress out of the action with proper epoxy bedding.
Some rifles will still shoot extremely well without bedding. But my job is not to gamble with your equipment. Its to do my best job on making sure you have the proper foundation for your shooting discipline.
This is where we stand."