Glass Bedding and voids in synthetic stock

[MobileBay]

Dad got sick of me pestering him for my deer rifle he had so graciously "passed down" to my brother, without my knowledge, so he bought me a new Browning A-Bolt III in .30-06 for christmas. Researching glass to put on it brought me here and now I can't stop reading about long range shooting. I know that this is not a very good platform to try and reach out to 1000 yds or anything, but i'm a fiddler and I like making my tools the best they can possibly be, whether that be adding new bearings to classic old fishing reels or taking 100 year old rusted up estate sale hand tools and turning them into clean usable tools.

I want to make this gun shoot as well as it possibly can. I'm not a buyer and a seller, my dad gave me this gun and hopefully one day I'll be lucky enough to watch my son shoot it. Like I said, not looking for a 1000 yd bench gun, but would like to make it as accurate as possible for shooting for 300 out to maybe 500 on targets (not anywhere close to the skill level required to shoot an animal at that distance). Simply from research I have determined that the first thing that needs to be done is to glass bed the action. I have included some pictures for reference. There are a lot of deep "voids" in what I have read ya'll call a "tupperware stock." I have done the research and no one makes an aftermarket stock for the ABIII yet. I would like to glass bed it myself, as i'm in CRNA school and funds are somewhat tight. I have done tons of fiberglass work (built a 22' boat from a stack of plywood) so i feel that I could do this job as I am familiar with working epoxy, drying times etc.

So do I need to fill all of these voids? It seems like that would take a large amount of epoxy? How do I go about removing material from the action seat to make room for the epoxy? What is the best epoxy to use that will stick to the plastic stock?

Sorry for the ramble...hope ya'll made it this far....





Looks like someone did a rather crappy job of trying to bed the recoil lug at the factory

 

[Rick Richard]

I don't want to discourage you, but I tried to bed one of these once before. In my opinion it was a waste of time and money.

I believe you would be better off purchasing a B&C Medalist stock and bed it if needed. They are not that expensive and are available from a few dealers.

Also, the most economical option with the 'best bang for the buck' is a Boyds laminated stock.

Good luck in what ever direction you take.

 

[Laelkhunter]

How does it shoot with the factory stock as is? Try shooting it with one or two different loads (bullet weights). Depending on those results should determine the next step.

 

[MobileBay]

I don't want to discourage you, but I tried to bed one of these once before. In my opinion it was a waste of time and money.

I believe you would be better off purchasing a B&C Medalist stock and bed it if needed. They are not that expensive and are available from a few dealers.

Also, the most economical option with the 'best bang for the buck' is a Boyds laminated stock.

Good luck in what ever direction you take.

Believe me, I would love to put a whole new stock on it, but the A-Bolt 3 is different than the AB 2 with andifferent trigger mechanism and magazine, and I can't find a single aftermarket stock for it. I have looked all over the place, but if anyone knows something I don't I'm certainly open to suggestions

 

[Black67]

If you are set on keeping this stock, I would also look into putting some aluminum pillars in it. These will stop the stock from "crushing" when you torque down the action screws. A couple of options for the epoxy is Devcon, Marine Tex, Pro 2000, or a lot of JB Weld.

I have used Devcon and Pro 2000, and they both work good. Marine Tex was also recommended to me, but had the other two on hand by then. Don't forget a good release compound.

As for filling the voids, I would not fill them all. That would be a lot of epoxy. I would fill the first 2" under the barrel. This would be the chamber area. You will need to make a **** of some sorts to keep the epoxy from going into the other portions of the stock.

As for removing material, a Dremel with various tips does wonders. Just be very careful and take your time.

As for the bedding in your current stock, its a "hot glue" that is not that good. It has been used by Browning and Winchester (owned by FN) for years. A Dremel will remove it easily with the correct tips.

I just did this with my Winchester Model 70 Featherweight, and it came out good. I just need to go and shoot it.

This link is to my question concerning similar questions. Hope it helps.
http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/f37/removing-bedding-material-stock-151133/

 

[Deleted member 46119]

Boyds will make/get you a stock starting ~$100 that will be far superior to your plastic. Easy to pillar, bed and float.

You can have it in laminate (very stable), several grades of Walnut, Maple.

There are all sorts of options now.

I have ~5 Boyds (maybe more, I loose track). Laminate and Walnut. I have several B&C as well. That is what is used on Weatherby Mark Vs now. As you found, not available for the AB-3.

I am just fiddling around a little to decide on which options for a Boyds for my "Ruger American Rimfire". Walnut, painted, laminate. Can't decide.

 

[Dosh]

Bay, Boyd's Stocks makes 4 models for the Browning AB-3. $99 + ship. Bedded it will outshoot the Tupperware easily. Of the epoxies mentioned the Marine Tex is great for the price. Good Luck

 

[MobileBay]

Well even though I'd really like to be able to find a synthetic stock for this thing, it doesn't look like it is going to happen. Guess I'll go with the Boyd's and have it bedded. Just talked to the local Smith and he said he would do it for around $60. Does anyone know if Boyd's makes stocks for guys who shoot right handed guns left handed??

 

[Dosh]

Well even though I'd really like to be able to find a synthetic stock for this thing, it doesn't look like it is going to happen. Guess I'll go with the Boyd's and have it bedded. Just talked to the local Smith and he said he would do it for around $60. Does anyone know if Boyd's makes stocks for guys who shoot right handed guns left handed??

Bay, yes Boyd's makes lefties for right hand actions specifically their thumb hole stocks. I bedded one for a Model 70 a few years ago. Same price as the righties. Check do-it-yourself on custom search or You-Tube on bedding jobs and save the $$$.
Good luck