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If you
have access to some simple tools one can safely relieve the wood under
the barrel on a sporter to free float the barrel, there by gaining an edge
on accuracythis is one half of the project towards tightening groups up
This is done by taking the wood in the barrel channel down so that theyre is a gap between barrel and wood to the reciever.it should be done very carefully i might add too as a slip of the rasp or inletting tool can trash a nice stocks channel edge (inletting tool: a screwdriver like device with sharp round washers used for scraping out the channel from brownells.com),some use a gouge chisel carefully scraping away followed by sanding in the channel.
As a rule i go enough so that a section of heavy paper can slip and slide underneath the barrel freely to the reciever.some rifles like a bit of contact tho at the front of the stock about 1/2 inch or so at the forearms tip,what i find is if you see some shiny galling theyre lower it some more.that is called barrel slap.its not our friend when it comes to paper targets and small groups.
BEDDING THE ACTION
When the action is bedded afterwards properly groups will shrink more,some just do the area of the reciever at the front and rear tangs,recoil lug area and magazine box proper,also do an inch or two in the barrel channel using acraglass bedding compound or epoxy mixed with fiberglass from home insulation for a stronger compound.
PILLAR BEDDING
Also some use steel or aluminum tubing to cover the mounting post screws in the stock as a support and to aid in removing the action from the stock later on if need be.these are just rods with a hole drilled down the center for the screws to attach the reciever with set in the stock after the stock has been drilled out to accept the rods.when done right the action will have a solid bed to sit on and the stock screws cannot tighten the reciever into the stock more than these allow.pillar bedding is a must if you plan on driving tacks.
MAGAZINE BOX BEDDING
also the
care should be taken when bedding the magazine box to make some beds, that
is lower the area around a 1\2" x 1/2"inch sqaure area so that theyre is
contact with wood to box and also so the epoxy compound has somewhere to
grab other than a smooth surface to adhere to.theyre should be a land like
this at all four points of the magazine well in the stock
,front
rear,and both sides of it.this way the box will be set in right with no
way to move after bedding is completed to shift upon firing possibly changing
the groups pattern on target.
if the bedding is done right,the barrel free floated correctly and the muzzle crown is in good shape and the rifling is great i see no reason why a scoped sporter cant shoot at least 1 inch groups at 200 yards also take a couple swipes of tung oil down the channel when done so moisture doesnt enter the wood and crack it.accraglas bedding kits and instructions can also be had from http://www.brownells.com i have used both accraglass and epoxy and have the same results with both,excellent,your decision theyre.
on the finishing of the job while the accraglass is just put in and the stripped reciever and box is installed and tightened down hard make sure to wipe off all excess thats squeezed out between the cracks and gaps.also if you do decide to bed the barrel channel now do so for 1 to 2 inches up from the reciever no more!!!, if you cut the steel or aluminum tube to slip over the forward and rear mounting post make sure its flush with the wood,this keeps it from traveling too deep or too high when you crank down on the screws .
it does
not take much to bed the action at all,your main concern is the recoil
lugs to the back and front of the reciever only,another hint is to tape
off the wood so the stuff doesnt get on the wood when the initial and final
tightening is done and before the box magazine goes in make sure that theyre
is no drip thru in the trigger cut out as well, go lightly because a little
goes a long way and too much goes all over hell which can be ok but remember
to clean it up of excess epoxies.
p.s.
a bedding job can be done on a g.i. stock as well.
