Free floating m70 stock.

[theEMP]

Hello everyone, I'm just getting into longer range shooting and some minor gun smithing. So this is my question for everyone, I shoot a Winchester model 70 300 win mag. I'm needed to float the barrel so i took it apart and sanded it down to where it will pass a dollar bill underneath it. The problem that I have run in to is that with the synthetic stock when I use my bipod or sandbag the stock bends up into the barrel. Has anyone hit this problem and found a good way to fix it. I would like to keep the stock i have because I am on a budget. If anyone has some advise it would be great to hear. Thanks!

 

[Joe King]

Has this rifle been bedded yet? If not try this kill 2 birds with 1 stone
Stress-Free Pillar Bedding within AccurateShooter.com

 

[pmh-usa]

Running into same problem with an MPI stock blank that I'm building up for a Mod 70 (coincidence, not a M70 issue). AFTER I made sure that I had relieved enough to re-float the barrel by hogging out the forearm, this is what I did:

I got some small aluminum "H" channel - cut a "trench" with a dremel in the bottom of the forearm all the way from the recoil lug trench forward to within and inch of the for end . Made it really rough and jagged, just made sure that the aluminum would be below the 'flush' line. Mixed up fiberglass resin, with some added chopped fiberglass filler to thicken slightly, and poured it in - once it was set up (fiberglass is very hard and stiff), I carefully applied 5 layers of 10mil tape to the barrel and finished glass-bedding the forearm. When that was set up, removed the action, peeled the tape off and now my forearm was rigid and free-floated.

Note: if you still have a few touch points, buy some 3/4, 7/8, and 1 inch dowel - staple some 60 grit sandpaper to pieces of dowel and use to sand down the high points - if in doubt use 6 or 7 layers of tape.

Good luck

PM me if you like

 

[angus-5024]

pmh-usa has good advise. I used aluminum arrow shafts, because I had some bent/broken ones kickin around, instead of the H channel. I thin kthat the h channel probably would work better.

If you have an INJECTION MOULDED stock, thats the cheap sythetic that comes on most factory guns (m70 shadow), you will want alot more than the dollar bill worth of free float. i have several injection moulded stocks and they all shoot well, but I have removed enough to have a 3/16" gap on both sides. It aint pretty but it is the only way to garantee a free float when you hit extrem temp changes.

I actually got to see the drastic change when I had uniformly done 3/16" either side with my remmy, and when it got to about 35*celcius it was almost touching.

 

[pmh-usa]

Amazing differences among acraglass, pro-bed, marine-tex (white and gray), and devcon derivatives - the one thing that I found that will migrate the least during extreme swings in temp, is plain old fiberglass resin - curies quickly (make sure that you double the hardener with temps below 76F) and cures **** hard! You can add fillers or use with fiberglass cloth but if you fill all voids thoroughly you'll be assured that nothing will give and nothing will move .

 

[WildRose]

Hello everyone, I'm just getting into longer range shooting and some minor gun smithing. So this is my question for everyone, I shoot a Winchester model 70 300 win mag. I'm needed to float the barrel so i took it apart and sanded it down to where it will pass a dollar bill underneath it. The problem that I have run in to is that with the synthetic stock when I use my bipod or sandbag the stock bends up into the barrel. Has anyone hit this problem and found a good way to fix it. I would like to keep the stock i have because I am on a budget. If anyone has some advise it would be great to hear. Thanks!

Is this a plastic factory stock or a fiberglass/resin synthetic?

 

[angus-5024]

"Amazing differences among acraglass, pro-bed, marine-tex (white and gray), and devcon derivatives"

Sooo true. I used marine tex for my first two, then switched to fiberglass (short and long hair, not mat and cloth), and the fiberglass is much stiffer.

 

[WildRose]

Running into same problem with an MPI stock blank that I'm building up for a Mod 70 (coincidence, not a M70 issue). AFTER I made sure that I had relieved enough to re-float the barrel by hogging out the forearm, this is what I did:

I got some small aluminum "H" channel - cut a "trench" with a dremel in the bottom of the forearm all the way from the recoil lug trench forward to within and inch of the for end . Made it really rough and jagged, just made sure that the aluminum would be below the 'flush' line. Mixed up fiberglass resin, with some added chopped fiberglass filler to thicken slightly, and poured it in - once it was set up (fiberglass is very hard and stiff), I carefully applied 5 layers of 10mil tape to the barrel and finished glass-bedding the forearm. When that was set up, removed the action, peeled the tape off and now my forearm was rigid and free-floated.

Note: if you still have a few touch points, buy some 3/4, 7/8, and 1 inch dowel - staple some 60 grit sandpaper to pieces of dowel and use to sand down the high points - if in doubt use 6 or 7 layers of tape.

Good luck

PM me if you like

This will work fine and is very similar to how I've done several stocks, both Rem and Winchester plastic factory stocks.

In the channel you can use the H metal, angle, or even cut pieces of brass or steel (stainless is my favorite) in the trench.

I epoxy mine in place with Devcon and if you want to add some additional weight to the fore end you can mix some lead shot, or steel filings (easy to come by at your neighborhood welding shop that has a chop saw set up) which not only adds weight but even more rigidity.

I'm in fact in the process of doing this with an M70 Extreme Weather H-S precision laminate with an aluminum bedding block.

To add the weight it's best to make that center channel wide and deep, just be careful not to eat a hole all the way through.

I will do this stiffening and weight adding first and then follow up in a second phase bedding it full length using a similar spacing method. I just use one thickness of Gorilla Tape (Gorilla duct tape) along the bottom of the barrel and once I've filled my bedding channel with the Devcon I lay one thin sheet of Saran Wrap or similar plastic wrap over the channel before dropping in the barreled action.

I've been able doing this to make some really cheap wobbly stocks into something you can have confidence in.

On these cheap plastic stocks I will also rout out from the lug back to the rear of the space inlet for the action along the bottom and edges enough of a channel to insert a piece of 1/8" steel rod (all thread works out fantastic) and epoxy it in place which will really add a lot of rigidity through that critical area as well.

 

[pmh-usa]

Wildrose, great minds think alike - even if you jumped out of perfectly good airplanes

 

[WildRose]

This will work fine and is very similar to how I've done several stocks, both Rem and Winchester plastic factory stocks.

In the channel you can use the H metal, angle, or even cut pieces of brass or steel (stainless is my favorite) in the trench.

I epoxy mine in place with Devcon and if you want to add some additional weight to the fore end you can mix some lead shot, or steel filings (easy to come by at your neighborhood welding shop that has a chop saw set up) which not only adds weight but even more rigidity.

I'm in fact in the process of doing this with an M70 Extreme Weather H-S precision laminate with an aluminum bedding block.

To add the weight it's best to make that center channel wide and deep, just be careful not to eat a hole all the way through.

I will do this stiffening and weight adding first and then follow up in a second phase bedding it full length using a similar spacing method. I just use one thickness of Gorilla Tape (Gorilla duct tape) along the bottom of the barrel and once I've filled my bedding channel with the Devcon I lay one thin sheet of Saran Wrap or similar plastic wrap over the channel before dropping in the barreled action.

I've been able doing this to make some really cheap wobbly stocks into something you can have confidence in.

On these cheap plastic stocks I will also rout out from the lug back to the rear of the space inlet for the action along the bottom and edges enough of a channel to insert a piece of 1/8" steel rod (all thread works out fantastic) and epoxy it in place which will really add a lot of rigidity through that critical area as well.

Yes, yes I did, and my sphincter factor was always about 10.9 on the 10 scale every time I stepped into the door or off of the ramp.

Anyone that jumps out of a perfectly good airplane for fun is NUTS!

 

[pmh-usa]

When did you punch out or are you still in?

 

[WildRose]

When did you punch out or are you still in?

Right after Somalia.

 

[pmh-usa]

pm coming