I bed every rifle I buy now, before I ever fire a shot. I always use Brownells steel bedding which they say is the best, and that's good enough for me. As a note for Varmint Hunter, or any other Model 7 shooters out there, I bedded a Model 7, .223 in its synthetic stock. First group (3 shot)out of the barrel was 3/8". Most run about 1/2" but very few ever run more than 3/4". Don't know how it would hold up to a heavier caliber. Would also add that I now fire lap all my factory barrels using NECO kit, also from Brownells. Makes them a lot smoother and alot easier to clean. I don't have any way of knowing what it does to throat life. Anyway, I would definitely bed the rifle at least under the recoil lug and rear tang. I would always free float the barrel except maybe the first inch or so, and I would make sure there was about a 1/16" of free float. On light barrels I definitely don't think the old 1 dollar bill thickness is enough. If you have a wood stock, be sure to seal the inside of the barrel channel really good. Actually, I usually grind it all out and fill it with a good layer of bedding compound, then resand the barrel channel out to again get it free floated. But, mutiple coats of lindseed oil followed with a couple of good layers of urathane (sp?)seems to work fine. Just be sure to leave room for the coating so you still have plenty of freefloat.