CoupleKimbers
Active Member
Is your 270 wsm a Montana as well?
Finally here.
- Thread starter Carlos88
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It's a classic select.
CoupleKimbers
Active Member
Wow. Looks like you shaved a few ounces in the bedding process too! Very nice indeed. Can I ask what type of epoxy you used? So the idea is to expose the the pillars and give the epoxy a fresh surface area to bond with.. I like it. The Roberts looks fantastic!!
Marine Tex Gray. Do not buy the white. Yes, you want to expose the pillars so there is no metal to metal contact. Bed the lug tightly. The bedding process is neutral, similar to the bedding on a NULA except the bedding only extends to the end of the barrel's full cylinder diameter. 99% of the rifles I own retain the same POI year after year, even the wood stocked ones.
A buddy of mine has a 7mmRem Mag that he asked me to bed into a McMillan stock. Rifle shot beautifully after bedding. The stock was an older model which he wasn't really fond of. He sold it and bought a much trimmer McMillan with the edge fill. The exact models escape me at the moment. In any event, I again bedded the rifle in the new stock. It shot within 1/2" of the POI in the old stock. True story. If you don't believe me I can provide his phone number so you can text him.
A buddy of mine has a 7mmRem Mag that he asked me to bed into a McMillan stock. Rifle shot beautifully after bedding. The stock was an older model which he wasn't really fond of. He sold it and bought a much trimmer McMillan with the edge fill. The exact models escape me at the moment. In any event, I again bedded the rifle in the new stock. It shot within 1/2" of the POI in the old stock. True story. If you don't believe me I can provide his phone number so you can text him.
WildRose
Well-Known Member
This is self contradictory and makes no sense. The whole point of the pillars is go give you solid contact between the stock and pillars so you get proper torque each time eliminating any stresses on the action from being torqued into the stock.
If you don't have a full length bedding block it also makes complete sense then to bed the action recess into the stock but smooth with the top of the pillars makes more sense than having them epoxied over.
I just don't understand this and it's contrary to everything I've learned about pillar bedding in the last decade or so.
Pillars were not designed for bedding. The were designed to stop wood and the newly designed synthetics from being "crushed" when torque was applied to the action screws. It only takes about 15in/lbs of torque to stress an action. Now just think about a pillar not being perfectly even nor have 100% contact with the tang and receiver. Ask a benchrest shooter why they glue stocks in without pillars. BTW, I'm talking about bedding 8lb or less hunting rifles. Rifles that have 1" diameter to the muzzle I do not shoot nor own.
If I remember correctly it was Kelly McMillan that introduced pillar bedding back in the mid to early 80's. You can google it to find the info.
Another no-no is to have action screws touching the pillars. The reasoning behind that is the same reasoning behind not having metal to metal contact between the receiver and the pillars.
If I remember correctly it was Kelly McMillan that introduced pillar bedding back in the mid to early 80's. You can google it to find the info.
Another no-no is to have action screws touching the pillars. The reasoning behind that is the same reasoning behind not having metal to metal contact between the receiver and the pillars.
WildRose
Well-Known Member
I don't know of any BR guys that are "gluing" their stocks to the action but if they are they don't need pillars or screws at all since they'll be permanently bonded until the stock is chiseled or cut off from the action.
Pillars work great even with no bedding at all as they can be used to completely free float the action and barrel together.
There are two schools of thought on bedding, either full contact or no contact other than the lug and chamber area.
The reason you don't want contact between the screws and pillars is to avoid inducing any uneven/unequal force on the action.
Now when installed properly You already have contact between the action, actions screws and pillar because the action screws join the bottom metal to the pillar when done properly. If they don't, then installing the pillars can do little good because you're still going to get some crushing of the stock when you torque it down.
I'm sure what you're doing works for you, but the explanation really doesn't make a lot of sense.
Take your rifle apart, put it back together. Same torque, etc. Does it shoot to the same place? Groups change? Overly sensitive to torque values/amounts? Fliers? Of the mind you don't dare change anything for fear the rifle ju-ju might be lost? Ever shoot one of your rigs with only the front action screw tightened to your preferred torque value? I have and not so unsurprisingly the rifle shot within the previous groups but were just a bit larger. The omission of the rear screw was unintentional but it proved to me the method works.
It's worked for me and every other rifle I've bedded for friends and acquaintances.
BTW, ever hear of the Kimber roulette? The steps I take eliminate it along with a couple of other minor items such as overly long base screws, magazine depth being incorrect,etc. I have bedded floorplates and magazine boxes but doing so never seemed to make a difference in group size, repeatability, etc.
You'll never agree with my method and that's OK. I'm simply eliminating variables on hunting rifles which in the end is what this is all about.
I'll post pics of group sizes, take the rifle apart with pics, put it back together and shoot again (with this 280AI), post pics etc and we'll see if I'm anywhere close to being right.
It's worked for me and every other rifle I've bedded for friends and acquaintances.
BTW, ever hear of the Kimber roulette? The steps I take eliminate it along with a couple of other minor items such as overly long base screws, magazine depth being incorrect,etc. I have bedded floorplates and magazine boxes but doing so never seemed to make a difference in group size, repeatability, etc.
You'll never agree with my method and that's OK. I'm simply eliminating variables on hunting rifles which in the end is what this is all about.
I'll post pics of group sizes, take the rifle apart with pics, put it back together and shoot again (with this 280AI), post pics etc and we'll see if I'm anywhere close to being right.
WildRose
Well-Known Member
IF you don't have metal to metal contact between the stock and pillars and then between the head of the screws and the pillar or bottom metal and pillar you're introducing more variables and inconsistency because you're still leaving some room for "crush."
No "crush" with 45-50 in/lbs of torque, Marine Tex and pressure distributed under the tang, receiver and barrel cylinder. That's why the rifle can be taken apart and it shoot to the same POI, groups don't change year over year, frequently shoot different bullets at the same POI.
Let me look for some pics of the groups with my other 280AI which is a Kimber Classic Select and I'll post them.
Let me look for some pics of the groups with my other 280AI which is a Kimber Classic Select and I'll post them.
WildRose
Well-Known Member
If that is the case why bother with pillars at all?
Here are a couple. Also a pic of the unevenness of the pillar to action fit of the Classic Select. All the groups including the 7mm Weatherby and 7x57 are bedded the same way. Oh and I'm shooting 145 LRX's in the wood stocked AI not the the GMX or Accubonds.
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To keep from crushing wood fibers, cracking stocks, etc.
