building a heavy 338-bedding a barrel bedding block

[wildcat westerner]

Hello,
we have gathered the materials and are in the process of creating a barrel bedding block for a 338 Winchester magnum. The 33" barrel is fluted, 1 1/2" full length and will have a muzzle brake for prone shooting and a 9" barrel bedding block will fit into a recess in the barrel, with a large recoil lug underneath the HD tube. The barrel weighs 13 pounds. The barreled action will be fit into a prone stock that was very stiff to begin with and fiberglass reinforcement has been added to the bottom and sides so there will be ample material after the huge barrel channel is completed.
Since shortrange benchrest rifles are often "glued into" their stocks, I am thinking this very large and heavy weapon would benefit from that same bedding principle. The barreled action could be removed from the stock by removing the screws in the barrel bedding block. In terms of rigidity this way seems simple and effective to me.

Is there anyone out here who has glued in heavy recoiling weapons?

WW

 

[Coyote Shadow Tracker]

Hello,
we have gathered the materials and are in the process of creating a barrel bedding block for a 338 Winchester magnum. The 33" barrel is fluted, 1 1/2" full length and will have a muzzle brake for prone shooting and a 9" barrel bedding block will fit into a recess in the barrel, with a large recoil lug underneath the HD tube. The barrel weighs 13 pounds. The barreled action will be fit into a prone stock that was very stiff to begin with and fiberglass reinforcement has been added to the bottom and sides so there will be ample material after the huge barrel channel is completed.
Since shortrange benchrest rifles are often "glued into" their stocks, I am thinking this very large and heavy weapon would benefit from that same bedding principle. The barreled action could be removed from the stock by removing the screws in the barrel bedding block. In terms of rigidity this way seems simple and effective to me.

Is there anyone out here who has glued in heavy recoiling weapons?

WW

Sounds very interesting. Will follow along.
Thanks

 

[BillLarson]

I have built one long barreled target rifle,with barrel block.I also have another block 90% done for next project.
I have saw lite short range barrel blocked rifles.Also a few F class guns blocked.
I feel it is a true method of holding a gun at it,s true center of balance point.with no worries about bedding or stressed action screws ( which are not used with b.b.equipment.)
I will enclose a couple of pics to let you know the way I did it...The one in yellow stock is bolted in.#2 the lower half will be glued in.
Good Luck...

 

[wildcat westerner]

Thank goodness for this site and its opportunities for exchanging information. I felt in my gut the two piece bedding block screwed together was superior to the one piece, labor intensive ones made for me decades ago which were so expensive. , your added insight as to point of balance is a gem of information. Since we are relieving that barrel to accept the barrel bedding block, the point of balance can be critical. I am so glad I extended the forend of that stock 5 inches because that 33 ( actually 35 1/2 with the muzzle brake added) length is an area I have never dealt with, like nearly everybody else.

WW

 

[BillLarson]

Thank goodness for this site and its opportunities for exchanging information. I felt in my gut the two piece bedding block screwed together was superior to the one piece, labor intensive ones made for me decades ago which were so expensive. , your added insight as to point of balance is a gem of information. Since we are relieving that barrel to accept the barrel bedding block, the point of balance can be critical. I am so glad I extended the forend of that stock 5 inches because that 33 ( actually 35 1/2 with the muzzle brake added) length is an area I have never dealt with, like nearly everybody else.

WW

I have done them both ways..... labor wise near the same..... BUT....
the 2 piece offers more maintenance ease....
Why would you turn down barrel to fit b.block...????... make block to fit barrel.....
it dont take much torque on 2 piece block bolts to hold barrel good.... use some baseball resin on block to barrel fit.....
Mark bottom of barrel..... dead center with c.drill to align....

 

[wildcat westerner]

OK. The turning down of the barrel, logically is a "No-No" for most applications EXCEPT this one. The barrel is already 1 1/2" in diameter. To make a 9 inch bedding block that surrounds this big of a barrel, exterior dimensions would have to be huge. The forend of the stock to contain this whole barreled action and barrel bedding block that size would have to be huger.! The barrel alone weighs 13 pounds, and it was fluted by Skip Otto.

So, since the barrel will still be a full one inch thick at the relief site, the relief will only be 1/4" deep ,and thus the barrel bedding blocks exterior dimension will only be 1/8" larger than the barrel itself. Thus, at 1 5/8" overall width it will fit into the forestock of this already stiff prone stock that I have added fibreglass to, which, in turn, more stiffens this stock to handle this huge. bulky barreled action. The gunsmith has of yet, to cut that "Suez Canal" of a barrel channel, but there is now sufficient , stiff, material to cut it from, when I got done adding the width and depth with fibreglass.

WW

 

[BillLarson]

Memories...... Skip Otto was my mentor...... many happy times at the super shoot and up in Mich.
I wonder if you made your block in the shape of a recoil lug,that it would reduce the area needed in the stock cutout....
None of my blocks required weakening the stock... which is reinforced even more when you bed the bottom of the block with j-b.

 

[FEENIX]

I have built one long barreled target rifle,with barrel block.I also have another block 90% done for next project.
I have saw lite short range barrel blocked rifles.Also a few F class guns blocked.
I feel it is a true method of holding a gun at it,s true center of balance point.with no worries about bedding or stressed action screws ( which are not used with b.b.equipment.)
I will enclose a couple of pics to let you know the way I did it...The one in yellow stock is bolted in.#2 the lower half will be glued in.
Good Luck...

I have always wanted my GS's barrel block system for some time now, maybe after my current build-in progress.

 

[wildcat westerner]

You build nice rifles! The last one is what I visualize our bedding block looking like, What size screws did you use and what was the exterior dimension of the width of this block?? A side view of the bedding block would be a heavy wall tube cut in half lengthwise after it is drilled and tapped for the screws. The kerf of the cut would provide the spacing necessary to really tighten the block on the barrel. Beneath the tube is 1/2" thick recoil lug 8 3/4" long to be heliarced to the tube. Since my stock has added depth now we can relieve it safely. The block will be glued in for rigidity.

WW

 

[BillLarson]

I have always wanted my GS's barrel block system for some time now, maybe after my current build-in progress.

View attachment 391319
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View attachment 391321

Do you use action screws with your b.blocks,....???.... or recoil lug...???..
or glue them in and use block for lug and action retention...???

 

[FEENIX]

Do you use action screws with your b.blocks,....???.... or recoil lug...???..
or glue them in and use block for lug and action retention...???

Frankly, I am not sure. I do not currently have one; just sharing pix of some of my GS's works.

I have always wanted my GS's barrel block system for some time now, maybe after my current build-in progress.

 

[wildcat westerner]

Hello,
The bedding block becomes a huge recoil lug, Our rifle will have a magazine. The action itself will be free floated, Tapped bushings will be placed in the stocks. This will allow the lower bottom metal to be attached for the magazine with shorter screws so the action will remain floating.

 

[BillLarson]

Hello,
The bedding block becomes a huge recoil lug, Our rifle will have a magazine. The action itself will be free floated, Tapped bushings will be placed in the stocks. This will allow the lower bottom metal to be attached for the magazine with shorter screws so the action will remain floating.

what do your hunting guns weigh...???

 

[wildcat westerner]

This weapon will weigh what it weighs. The barrel itself is 13 pounds. The weapon when completed will be used for informal target practice on our 800 yard range, the potential competition at Whittington which reaches 2,200 yards, and I also will be using it for really long distance hunting from the prone or off my sturdy tripod, for early morning and late evening hunting. We will be getting it into position using a custom "biathalon" dual shoulder system, heavily padded, that I will design and fabricate. Before retirement I used to create custom braces for my patients.
WW