Bell and Carlson Medalist

[RangerEd]

Hi everybody!

I was wondering about the stocks with the aluminum bedding (particularly the B&C Medalist). Would that mean no other type of bedding would be required? Is this type of bedding not as good as a Devcon type bedding?

I would also like to say that I have been lurking here for a month and WOW, what a great bunch of forums! I have learned so much soaking in ALL this information. It gets a little confusing at times. I do appreciate all the information and all those who share it

Thanks,
Ed

 

[Fitch]

I just skim bedded a Savage LRPV (the Devcon 10110 is curing as I type this) that came from the factory in an HS-Precision Kevlar stock with aluminum bedding block. In my opinion the aluminum bedding block is better than most factory rifles with wood stocks loose metal pillars, but it will still benefit from epoxy bedding to make it fit stress free.

Fitch

 

[RangerEd]

Fitch,
Could you post a couple of pictures? I would like to see how you did it.

Thanks
Ed

 

[MontanaRifleman]

Ed, I recently skim bedded a couple of Sendero HS stocks and will post the pics and story in about a week. I want to shoot them first. I might post you a couple of pics here in a day or so.

-Mark

 

[RangerEd]

Thank you Mark,
I'm just having trouble visualizing how it works not ever actually seeing aluminum bedding in a stock or even aluminum bedding with epoxy bedding. I'm trying to get mentally prepared before committing to buying a stock.

Thanks,
Ed

 

[Fitch]

This is what the bedding block in my Savage LRPV looked like from the factory:

This is what it looks like after I skim bedded it with Devcon 10110.

Fitch

 

[RangerEd]

Thanks Fitch!
I see now! I halfway expected to see a line of aluminum at the apex of the curve where the chamber would meet the aluminum . I guess the aluminum block doesn't touch. Wouldn't just aluminum pillars do just as good?

Ed

 

[Fitch]

Thanks Fitch!
I see now! I halfway expected to see a line of aluminum at the apex of the curve where the chamber would meet the aluminum . I guess the aluminum block doesn't touch. Wouldn't just aluminum pillars do just as good?

Ed

Good question. I don't really know the answer to that. My hypothesis is that properly done epoxy pillar bedding is just as good. I think the appeal of the aluminum bedding block is that it is supposed to be a production approach to achieving the results of a custom pillar bedding job. It would be great if it worked like that but my experience is that while they are better than unbedded factory pillar jobs, they still need bedding to get a stress free mate between the barreled action and the stock.

I can say that bedding the one in the pictures was really quick and easy compared to bedding a conventional wood stock, adding pillars, hogging it out to make room for the epoxy, etc. I just milled a couple of grooves in the aluminum bedding block to give the epoxy a place to be, prepped the receiver in the usual ways, put release agent where it was needed, dammed the places I didn't want epoxy with plumbers putty, and went for the epoxy. The receiver rocked around in the aluminum block before it was bedded. It doesn't now.

The bad news is the bedding blocks need bedding to eliminate possible bedding issues, the good news is that it's really easy to do it.

Fitch

 

[NW Hunter]

Ranger ED, I too recently skim coated my B&C Medalist. I followed a tutorial posted on erniethegunsmith.com. He has a system that pillar beds your Medalist and free-floats the action. Get onto his site, click on gunsmithing odds & ends and click on #6 Converting your aluminum V block to pillar bedding. It is an excellent tutorial and shows you exactly how to do it. When I completed mine, I shot a .819" 3 shot group @ 400 yards with a factory Remington barrel .

Randy

 

[RangerEd]

Randy,
Thanks so much for the link! Very interesting! It still makes me wonder if just a regular aluminum pillar bed and a bedding job would be just as good as the aluminum blocks in a stock like the Medalist. It seems like the pillars would be taking all the stress and the aluminum block wouldn't really be doing anything. I haven't seen this stock in person. Are the pillars and aluminum blocks one in the same?

Thanks,
Ed

 

[NW Hunter]

On my Medalist, the aluminum bedding block gives my stock stiffness. My kit from erniethegunsmithcom. came with stainless steel spacers of different thicknesses. These are in essence used as pillars to free float the action from the stock. My stock needed .050" of combined spacers between the stock and the action to get the action to free float (stock not touching the action at any point). It also took alot of grinding of the bedding block with a dremel tool to take down some high spots on the Bell and Carlson.
Once the action is free floated, it's just a matter of glass bedding your stock to your action. The spacers will now be glass embedded into the stock, acting like stock pillars. When tightening the stock down to action during glass bedding, Ernie told me to torque action screws to 35"/lbs. to keep action stress free.

I can't speak for all stocks with aluminum bedding blocks, but my Bell and Carlson block had very rough machining done to it and needed this work done to make it shoot well.
Ed, pillar bedding a stock would probably get you the same end result if the fore-end is stiff enough to keep the barrel free floated when pressure is applied on the fore-end, either by your rest or with a bipod.

Randy