3 replies to this topic

[oz_fox_hunter]

Hi all, many of you shoot bench rest or shoot 1000 yard comp and build up rifles so thought this might be the place to ask.Had an idea to make a complete rifle stock as a winter project, the idea being aluminuim skeleton wrapped in carbon/kevlar composite to give it form, but that's a story for another time when I have pics to show for it. Today I started to draw up some ideas and realized that by cutting off the butt and forend then chopping some material away the result was an almost complete bedding block..so figured modifying an existing stock might be a good intermediate step to learn some stuff before making one from scratch.I cut too much off the sketch so there's no room to machine a slot for the recoil lug.. easy fix in software, but you get the idea. Thing is I've never bedded an action using expoxy or a bedding block and wondering what is the common method of fixing a bedding block in the stock? I've got a spare Remington SPS $2.95 plastic stock doing nothing at the moment and thinking of experimenting with that, but heard that no epoxies or resins will bond reliably to the plastic used in SPS stocks? Other question is, I've read that aluminuim bedding blocks can put uneven force on the action because the action is heat treated at the factory and warps a little, so isn't a perfect cyclindrical shape on the exterior surface which isn't machined. Is that fact or fiction? Wouldn't it mean that after market stocks that use alloy bedding blocks would still need to be matched to a particular rifles action to achieve perfect bedding?This is all new ground for me so any tips or thoughts greatly appreciated.

[Desert Fox]

Oz, Your idea is nothing new. HS Precision and Bell and Carlson already make stock similar to what you have in mind. HS Precision guarantied 1/2" or better when using their stock and no bedding required. That's not good enough for a lot of very anal shooters since the dimensional tolerance varied between the action and the stock... it's not a glove fit. So the stock had to be skim bedded using epoxy and yeah it adhere to anything including aluminum.

Other question is, I've read that aluminuim bedding blocks can put uneven force on the action because the action is heat treated at the factory and warps a little, so isn't a perfect cyclindrical shape on the exterior surface which isn't machined. Is that fact or fiction? Wouldn't it mean that after market stocks that use alloy bedding blocks would still need to be matched to a particular rifles action to achieve perfect bedding?

To best address this issue is to design it as a Vee Block rather than a cylindrical shape block for a round action like the Remington or Savage. Accuracy International and Choate stock has this type of set up and they're much superior than the HS or B&C stock. I have the AI on my Remmy 308 and I didn't have to bed the action.

[Frank]

Wouldn't it mean that after market stocks that use alloy bedding blocks would still need to be matched to a particular rifles action to achieve perfect bedding?

I think so.... & is why both of my H.S. precision stocked rifles (with aluminum block) are glass bedded (& barrel free floating). Now without double checking my targets, my groups tightened up considerably after I had also glass bedded my H.S. stocks. I had tested loads before & after I had the stocks glass bedded. OH, & unless 5 shots is stated, it seems when most folks talk about "groups", they are referring to 3 shot groups, which can be meaningless sometimes. TRUST ME on this, if nothing else. LOL At some point, 5 shots needs to be used (for too many reasons to mention right now). lolI also agree with Desert Fox, IF we are talking about 3 shot groups, 1/2" is nothing special at 100 yards for an "ACCURATE" rifle. With my predator rifles, I can put most 3 shots in one hole or at least touching each other, which is well under 1/2" in other words.Good Luck with your projectFrank

[oz_fox_hunter]

Thanks for the feed back guys. The V block idea sounds logical and probably less complicated to make. Frank, I totally agree 3 shots isn't enough to show how tight a rifle really shoots. When testing hand loads, if I think I've found the right formula an 8-10 shot group is shot to to confirm the results were not just a fluke.