Should I bed a Bell and Carlson stock?

[Slofr8]

Hey guys,
I have a Rem 700 AAC-SD in .308. I've managed to get this rifle to shoot quite well by reloading and only resting the stock just ahead of the mag well on the bag. I'm not hunting or competing with this rifle, just banging steel here behind the house. I shoot out to 650 yds. Realizing the Houge stock is the weak link (aside from me) I ordered (but have not yet received) a Bell and Carlson M40 stock.
Now the B&C has an aluminum bedding block but should I bed the recoil lug? Doesn't look like a whole lot of work to tighten up the system but is there a possibility that I make it worse. Using a release agent where needed, I was gonna put enough epoxy in there to fill the void ahead of the lug but try not to get any under the action. Good plan or should I leave it alone and shoot it first. Anyone have any experience with this set up?
Thanks, Dan.

 

[biffj]

Why would you fill the void ahead of the lug? That will have no effect since the lug will recoil back into the stock, not forward. Many will put some tape or other "spacer" on the front of the lug when bedding to insure the lug has some room to wiggle for removing the action from the stock.
In any case if you bed properly there should be no ill effects and could be a great help. I've known a number of smiths who've bedded stocks with bedding blocks in them and none have been unhappy about it. In a couple cases it was seen that the aluminum bedding blocks didn't sit square on the receiver and had to be bedded just to make them right. Once you have the stock in hand you can see how the action fits and choose at that time.

Frank

 

[fdkay]

Put it in the stock and shoot it first.
You will likely be pleased with the results, be mindful that it may need to settle into the stock for a few rounds.
If it needs tightened up, skim bed it.

 

[codemancode]

Def do everything you can to realize the potential of the new stock before you decide to bed. Try dropping the action in an tightening to different torque specs if you cant get it to shoot. Make sure you follow the instructions during installation as well. The order in which you tighten the action screws down and firmly seating the recoil lug are important. I would be surprised if you didn't see an accuracy/consistency improvement just by switching the stock as long as you installed it correctly.

 

[Slofr8]

O.K. all good advice. I'm gonna shoot it a while first and the tape on the front of the lug is how I saw it done on a youtube vid now that you mention it. I guess if I would bed it first then I would have nothing to compare results with. Might be a shooter as is. Actually it shots about .5" now but I"m very careful not to put any stress on the stock. Wouldn't even think about putting a bipod on it with this one.
Thanks. Dan.

 

[RRA_45]

I say shoot it for a while and see how she groups first.