New Rifle and Bedding job!

Jud96

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Joined
Jun 30, 2013
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Location
Michigan
My Remington 700 Long Range has finally come in and first impressions are great! I really like the feel and the cheek weld I get with the B&C stock and it is a very rigid and stout platform. The barrel contour is a great happy medium between a sporter and bull barrel, I really like the Sendero/Varmint contour from Remington. I was planning on installing an old school Model 700 trigger or a Timney, but I was able to get the X-Mark Pro down to about 2.5-3lbs and it is extremely crisp with zero over travel. Maybe I got lucky with the trigger but I like it.

As most of you know, the B&C stock has an aluminum bedding block in it and the barrel comes free floated from the factory. I liked the aluminum pillars and everything felt solid, but the recoil lug area was very oversized in the stock and there was no bedding in the throat of the barrel. I was expecting this, so I wasn't disappointed or anything, I had planned to add bedding from the get-go.

I posted some pictures below to show my progress and procedures to bedding the rifle. I used Devcon plactic steel epoxy to do the bedding. We have always used this and it is extremely stable and strong as an ox soon as it sets up. I have always helped my Dad bed rifles, but this time I took the reins and did the work myself with his help and supervision. It was a very interesting and fun project that I am happy with and I look forward to doing more bedding jobs in the future to improve my skills and techniques.

I began by free floating the action sides with a piece of 80 grit sandpaper wrapped around a socket that matched the inside contour of the stock. I would take a little at a time, then check it with a piece of heavy paper until the paper slid from the action ring to the tang with no contact. This is seen below.
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After free floating the action sides, I began to prepare the action and stock for the bedding. I applied three layers of masking tape onto the recoil lug to ensure a precise and clean fit inside the stock. Below you can see the tape after it has been trimmed and properly fit to the lug.
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Next I began to build dams and fill the action screw holes with clay to make sure bedding stayed out of the threads, action, and trigger group. The first pictures show the dam I built inside the action and the front screw hole plugged off with clay. In the second picture you can see the dam behind the trigger and plugged rear action screw threads.
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I set the barreled action aside for now and moved onto the stock. I measured off 2" and marked it with a couple pieces of masking tape to show where my bedding in the barrel channel would end. Then I proceeded to scratch up the inside of the stock and the bedding block with a little dremel tool to ensure the bedding had a rough place to grab and stick too. This is done to make sure the bedding will hold and has places to flow other than on a smooth surface, which the bedding may or may not bond good too. I wanted to make sure the aluminum block was level and even, so I decided to put bedding in the front action ring and a small bit in the tang to make everything level and solid. This may or may not have been necessary, but it is better to be safe than sorry, this is my first B&C stock so I want to make sure it is solid inside. I also built a dam in the stock so bedding couldn't flow into the mag well. A picture is below showing this step.
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After all of the initial prep work, I moved on to the most crucial part, applying the release agent. We have been using a single big tub of old car wax that has never failed and is easy to apply. Simply roll a Q-Tip around in it, then lightly apply it all over the sides, bottom, and edges of the action, barrel, recoil lug, tang, and writing on the side of the action. I also filled the action screw threads full of wax.

Next came the mixing of the bedding. I used the plastic steel version of Devcon and mixed it correctly via the instructions on the box, 2.5:1. I mixed it thoroughly on a smooth and clean sheet of plexy glass until the recommended two minutes of mixing time was up and the two parts were blended. I then applied the bedding generously into the stock but only a small bit in the tang. Pictures below show this.
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After filling the stock with bedding, I lowered the barreled action into the stock and torqued the action screws to 60 inch pounds. I had a small amount of Devcon left that I kept aside to examine how fast the bedding was hardening. I put the rifle together at 6PM and at 11PM I broke the screws loose then retorqued them and waited for the next day. The bedding had completely set up and was solid by early morning and I took the barreled action out of the stock once I got home from work and school.

I slowly wobbled the barreled action out of the stock by lifting up on the bolt handle and barrel at the same time while teetering it to lift it up and out. I was happy with what I found and everything came out perfect except one small void, but it is not a problem. I trimmed up any excess, removed the dams and release and wiped the whole barreled action down to clean it. When I put the barreled action into the stock, it snapped in and fit like a glove to the stock. Below is the finished bed job.
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It was a job well done and turned out good. I torqued the action screws down and the rifle is ready for a base, rings, and my Vortex HS-T 4-16x44! Hope you enjoyed my post about how I did my bedding and about my new rifle. Sorry if it is is long, just wanted to get all of the details and information covered.
 
Good job!!!
Did you happen to shoot the rifle prior? To break it in and shoot groups. It would be interesting to see how the long range is out of the box, and if it improved after bedding.
 
Thank you very much! And honestly I did not shoot it yet, I never shoot any rifles "out of the box" simply because I want to avoid any frustration or issues that can be avoided by bedding haha. I will break the barrel in after the scope is mounted. I have heard that they shoot under MOA out of the box but I cant attest to this. I will hopefully have some range reports to share with you all in the next upcoming weeks once I get my scope mounted and a good load going.
 
Since I have never bedded an action or barrel, I was wondering if you should torque the bedding screws when you put the action into the "wet" bedding compound? It seems that if you torqued them to spec, that would allow the bedding compound to maybe shrink away from the action??? When it does dry, it might not still be in contact with the action, leaving a space and not have the action fully seated.. Should you only "fingertighten" the screws, then when the compound dries, and you torque the screws to specs (60 in lbs), it will be in full contact?? OR am I way off?
 
That's a solid bedding job. Looking forward to hearing your results. If you get good results, I'll probably order me one. Still torn between 7mmRM or .25-06... I would love to have another .25-06 AI, because that caliber has really really grown on me since I built mine a year ago. But the 7mmRM has always been my favorite deer caliber, and would make a great hunting rifle. Plus, I have TONS of 7mmRM brass sitting around. If I had the cash, I'd just order both and eliminate the tough decision. :D
 
I used to torque my action screws when bedding since the only contact point was the two pillars. I now just finger tight and it shoots much better. I also switched to devcon steel from accra glas.
 
Since I have never bedded an action or barrel, I was wondering if you should torque the bedding screws when you put the action into the "wet" bedding compound? It seems that if you torqued them to spec, that would allow the bedding compound to maybe shrink away from the action??? When it does dry, it might not still be in contact with the action, leaving a space and not have the action fully seated.. Should you only "fingertighten" the screws, then when the compound dries, and you torque the screws to specs (60 in lbs), it will be in full contact?? OR am I way off?
Devcon steel bedding won't shrink and you can't crush it by torquing the action and stock together. I do this so I can guarantee the bedding will be perfectly contoured to the barreled action and fits like a glove when I am done. I apply a generous amount of bedding into the stock and a little bit squeezes up between the stock and action. I wipe away the excess when it just starts to set up and becomes stiff and it breaks away easy. The action has no choice but to sit on the bedding. If the tang is bedded and the front action ring is bedded, where is the action going to sit? The bedding can't lose contact with the action, it isn't supported by anything else besides the stock where the bedding is. Other bedding compounds that are not as strong as Devcon may shrink over time, but they still won't lose contact with action. If you just finger tighten the screws, then the bedding will not be perfectly fit to the contour of the barrel and action. The procedures I used, have been repeated over 25+ years to bed Remingtons and the results are excellent everytime. My Dad has bedded at least 20 Model 700s using the same steps that I demonstrated and they all were shooters. So I believe we have quite the track record and success to prove this method works, and is superb.

That's a solid bedding job. Looking forward to hearing your results. If you get good results, I'll probably order me one. Still torn between 7mmRM or .25-06... I would love to have another .25-06 AI, because that caliber has really really grown on me since I built mine a year ago. But the 7mmRM has always been my favorite deer caliber, and would make a great hunting rifle. Plus, I have TONS of 7mmRM brass sitting around. If I had the cash, I'd just order both and eliminate the tough decision. :D
Thanks Mud! I was happy with the job and I am looking forward to testing the rifle out. If you order one, I say get a 7mmRM. It's a do all cartridge and is perfectly suited for this rifle. Like you said, you have a lot of components for the 7 and you like them, so it's a win win. Then you can buy a 26" Sendero contour barrel, have it threaded and chambered in .25-06 AI and have a spare barrel for youR 700 LR! :D lightbulb
 
Since I have never bedded an action or barrel, I was wondering if you should torque the bedding screws when you put the action into the "wet" bedding compound?

No. In fact, many/most don't use the action screws at all when bedding.

The idea behind bedding is to have the epoxy fit the action when it's at rest. If you're torquing down the action then it's not at rest and you're actually bending it a bit. Not only have I read this in studying it but I've seen it happen on my own rifles.

Many use blind screws (bolts with heads cut off) to align the action into the stock and just float the action in the epoxy. It works quite well.

Here is an example:

Stress-Free Pillar Bedding

The only time you may consider torquing an action in place is if you have pillars installed that properly fit the action. However, you still don't "have" to.

Google "stress free bedding" for more tips and tricks on the web.
 
The way we have been bedding works excellent, do what works for you, but I won't be changing anything anytime soon.
 
No. In fact, many/most don't use the action screws at all when bedding.

The idea behind bedding is to have the epoxy fit the action when it's at rest. If you're torquing down the action then it's not at rest and you're actually bending it a bit. Not only have I read this in studying it but I've seen it happen on my own rifles.

Many use blind screws (bolts with heads cut off) to align the action into the stock and just float the action in the epoxy. It works quite well.

Here is an example:

Stress-Free Pillar Bedding

The only time you may consider torquing an action in place is if you have pillars installed that properly fit the action. However, you still don't "have" to.

Google "stress free bedding" for more tips and tricks on the web.

Im with Dr.!!! I use rubber tubing and zip ties to hold the action tight against the stock. If you torque the screws down you could possibly bend the action over a high spot or pull it into a low spot. The bedding will harden to match the profile of the "bent" action and will not provide a stress free bedding job. [ame]http://youtu.be/_TwczrQoLek[/ame]
 

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Nice bedding job. I just got my Rem 700 Long Range 7mm and did a bedding job and muzzle brake.
I have not done load development yet... Still looking for H1000
 

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