First bedding project, need advice

[ukenout]

Hello everyone, in the short span of my membership on this forum, i've decided to go ahead and jump on my first "long range hunting" rifle project. What I have is a brand new Rem 700 ADL, in 7mm rem mag. with plastic remington stock ( it was on clearance at Wally world for $250). I know I could just throw money at a high dollar stock but as i've read on many of the posts here, many factory stocks are suitable stocks for long range hunting. So with that in mind I will use the original stock for this project. I'm planning on using two evenly cut pieces of old aluminum shaft arrows to place in the void (hollow)area of the forend.
Question 1 is what type of bonding product should I use in the forend area where the aluminim arrow shafts will sit (to stiffin the front end up)?
Question 2, how much of the area would be the optimum place to place the bedding compound, without overdoing it? I was told by a local gunsmith here that since I have only a small area to bed, that I could use JB Weld. Is that a suitable bedding agent?

 

[James Jones]

JB Weld will work but it does have more shrinkage and expansion than other better products like Marine Tex and Devcon Plastic steel putty , or the materials made for bedding like accra glass gel and Steel bed.

1) the crap that Remington has their cheap synthetic stocks made from is a polymer base so not a whole lot sticks to it realy well so first thing to do it remove the little plastic damns that are monded in their and rough it up inside realy well with like 36-40 grit sand paper then clean it out realy well with acetone and dry.

2) Use some sort of fast set epoxy to hold the shafts down in the forend just a little at the ends to hold them in place , after it has dried fill the bottom of the forend enough to cover the shafts.

3) just like in the forend you have to rough up and degrease the area thats gonna get bedded around the action. I like to fill the mag well and trigger housing areas with playdough so they don't get filled with bedding compound. Its a good idea to remover a bit of material in the bedding area and form some mechanical locks so that the bedding will be at least 1/8" thick this will allow it to be alot stronger and stay bonded to the stock.

4) !! Very important !! make sure you use pleanty of release agent on the barreled action put it everywhere that the bedding material might get close to.. I personaly like to remove the trigger group from the action that way theirs not any chance ofr getting bedding compound in it. Also make sure that you use pleanty of release on your bottom metal and screws.


I like to use the Devcon Plastic Steel Putty because it stays where you put it and doesen't run ,it works just as well as Marine Tex and Steel Bed , you can get a 1lb kit from Brownells for about $25 that will do a few bedding jobs maybe 2 of the kind your doing with the forend bedding.

I'm sure I'm forgetting somthing cause I'm tired and hungry

 

[Shawn Carlock]

Save yourself numorous headaches and get a different stock. Quite simply the factory stock is not up to the task. You don't have to break the bank or anything but the injection molded polymer just is not good enough.

 

[Dead Beat]

Shawn makes a ton of sense i have a corner full of cheap stock's

JIM

 

[lerch]

If you are looking for a cheaper after market stock you might check out Bells and Carlson stocks. They are reasonably priced and come in a several diff styles and camo patterns. I am not sure the material they are made out of but Shawn or Kirby could prolly tell you if they will work. You can get them with a finish on them that is similar dura touch finish on some browning rifles. This stuff really helps you get a grip on the gun but I know kirby had some problems getting bedding compound to stick to it so you might wait and see what kirby or shawn has to say about it. If you decide to get one check out midway shooters supply cause they keep several in stock and ordering one straight from Bells take quite a while

steve

 

[7mmSendaro]

Boyd's

Check out Boyd's website also. They have a list of factory seconds that can be great deals on laminate stocks. I picked up a laminate Encore buttstock to cut down for my son for under $40. They constantly update the list.

 

[J E Custom]

+2 for a Boyd,s laminate like 7mm said .

I just bought a laminate varminter from Boyd,s for
just over a Hundred dollars and it has enough wood
to shape any way you want for fit.

You will spend that much on the TUPPER WARE stock
and still wont have much.

J E CUSTOM

 

[Dead Beat]

i have a couple of Boyd's one on a encore one on my son' savage for the money there hard to beat

JIM

 

[blackco]

Here is another option. Somebody here mentioned this site (microfit rifle stocks) so I looked into it. I liked what I saw. I don't know anything about quality, supply, nothing, but worth a look.

Richards Microfit Gunstocks

 

[DONTSTROKEME]

Either Boyds or a HS Precision stock....HS can be found on ebay for about $200 and are well worth the upgrade. And just bed the action and you will have plenty of free float since most of them are made for heavy barrels.

Joe Oakes