How to make recoil lug recess deeper?

[LDHunter]

I have picked up a Remington Model 7KS Custom Shop rifle in 7-08 and it has one of the older but very nice Brown Precision stocks that are tough as granite.

I have almost managed to finally get enough material removed from the barrel channel to free float the barrel and to my dismay I've found that the recoil lug recess seems to be too shallow and now that the barrel channel is opened up, I can feel the barreled action slightly rocking in the stock like a seesaw when I put it back in the stock and before I put the action screws back in.

What I'm looking for is advice on how to root out the recoil recess (make it deeper only) without disturbing the front and back bedding material that's there. I'm not savvy enough to add to the bedding to raise the barreled action either. *sigh*

I believe that the bedding job was done professionally and NOT by the Custom Shop as I've seen quite a few of their bedding jobs and they all looked the same but different from this one. I'm loathe to pay someone to completely rebed it as this rifle shoots just fine already and I feel that if I can deepen the recess it will shoot even better.

Anyway. Ideas? Maybe theres a specialty tool that can make this easy? This stock is hell for tough and makes my McMillan stocks look like soft butter by comparison. (gross exaggeration alert) LOL

Maybe I should just be anal about torquing the stock back in and cross torque very carefully? I can't imagine that this is the best method but I don't claim to be a gunsmith either.

Bob

 

[Dr. Vette]

You need to rebed the whole action.

I worked on one of these a couple of years ago, and you can't just float it like you are and hope for the best. You may have already removed too much material from the barrel channel. I would suggest that now is the time to bring it to a professional for assistance.

 

[LDHunter]

Well... You might very well be right but I've removed front pads and front bedding on a whole lot of rifles in my time and have improved accuracy almost every time.

When you say that I "may have already removed too much material from the barrel channel", what exactly did you mean?

Bob

 

[shortgrass]

You need to use marking compound, of some sort, to be sure the lug is bottoming out before proceeding any further. Otherwise, you're just chasing your tail.

 

[LDHunter]

Yes... I wondered how to verify that it was for sure bottoming out. What is marking compound and where do I get it?

I ask you this but I have a PHD in tail chasing so maybe that would work after all.... LOL

PHD = Piled Higher and Deeper

Bob

 

[Dr. Vette]

Well... You might very well be right but I've removed front pads and front bedding on a whole lot of rifles in my time and have improved accuracy almost every time.

When you say that I "may have already removed too much material from the barrel channel", what exactly did you mean?

Bob

You state that you've removed so much that the recoil lug is now hitting. I assume (?) that means this is a new problem. If so, then one thought is that you removed so much material that the barrel is too deep in the channel and the action is lower than it needs to be.

Frankly, if you don't center the barrel in the channel and go ahead and rebed it you're going for your second PhD in Tail Chasing.

A bit of PlayDoh or similar can work well under the recoil lug to see if it's really hitting. I'd be more concerned if you center the barrel with tape, get ready to bed it and it's still hitting.

 

[LDHunter]

I'm not sure that it wasn't hitting before. No way to tell when there was "excess" material at the front of the stock and that might very well have been holding the barreled up higher or maybe I just didn't notice.

The "Playdoh" sounds like a good idea. I've been reading up on marking compound and that seems like more than I need.

By the way what does "center the barrel with tape" mean? I'm not familiar with what that is.

If I get a double PHD will my rifles shoot better?

Bob

 

[LDHunter]

By the way.... The only bedding/stock material I removed was from the front 6-8" of the barrel channel (muzzle end).

 

[shortgrass]

Sounds to me like you already have double PHDs!

 

[LDHunter]

I'll take that as a compliment although I has me doubts...

I'm taking this rifle as my "big rifle" on a groundhog hunting trip in a couple of weeks and I'm hoping I get some good results in the morning when the sun peeks above the trees at my local range.

There's nothing like shooting a rifle to figure out if everything is set up right.

I've ordered some more Speer 110 gr TNT bullets for it because I shot up the last of the ones I had. They're devastating on varmints and before I started doubting my stock's bedding they shot better than anything else I had tried in it.

I had another 7-08 that liked those bullets too once and I actually bought them the first time by mistake. I'd rather be lucky than good....

I'll try to pick up some Playdoh on the way home but I'm betting my buddy that's going to the range gives me at ration of crap about using Playdoh on my rifles...

He's been insufferable since last week when his 270 was stacking them in the same hole.

Hopefully tomorrow this 7-08 shoots better. It seemed that it would do great and then get funky on me and then great again. The stock was "supposed to be right" according to the guy I got it from but I began to doubt that as the periodic wierdness sharted showing up.

Bob

 

[Dr. Vette]

I'm not sure that it wasn't hitting before. No way to tell when there was "excess" material at the front of the stock and that might very well have been holding the barreled up higher or maybe I just didn't notice.

The "Playdoh" sounds like a good idea. I've been reading up on marking compound and that seems like more than I need.

By the way what does "center the barrel with tape" mean? I'm not familiar with what that is.

If I get a double PHD will my rifles shoot better?

Bob

Take a look here:

Stress-Free Pillar Bedding

Nice photo of bedding at the top of the page.
Near the bottom of the page he shows how tape is used to center the barrel when bedding the rifle.

Even if you don't pillar bed the rifle, the bedding job should look moderately similar.

 

[shortgrass]

I'm not sure that it wasn't hitting before. No way to tell when there was "excess" material at the front of the stock and that might very well have been holding the barreled up higher or maybe I just didn't notice.



Bob

That's where the marking compound or "inletting black/gold" is usefull. You're just working 'blind'. There's quit a difference between removing those "front pads", as you put it, and properly bedding metal to stock. Inletting 'gold' is yellow colored. It's "painted" on with a tinning brush or artists paint brush in the areas you think are touching. It leaves a nice mark, so you know where to remove material.

 

[shortgrass]

oops! double post

 

[LDHunter]

That's where the marking compound or "inletting black/gold" is usefull. You're just working 'blind'. There's quit a difference between removing those "front pads", as you put it, and properly bedding metal to stock. Inletting 'gold' is yellow colored. It's "painted" on with a tinning brush or artists paint brush in the areas you think are touching. It leaves a nice mark, so you know where to remove material.

OK... Shot it at the range this morning and although the groups have improved, they're still not to my satisfaction. I'll get some marking compound as soon as I can figure out where.

Can this stuff be left on in the bottom of my recoil lug recess? I don't want to spend a bunch of time trying to remove it in this tough to get at spot.

Bob