Rifle Bedding

[njshooter]

I had my Weatherby Vanguard rebedded by an accomplished gunsmith and I noticed that when I took it apart the bedding went about an 1.5 inches past the recoil lug. I thought the bedding should end at the recoil lug. Accuracy is good but will it be better if I free float the barrel right to the recoil lug?

 

[Dosh]

nj, some bed just the lug and some bed to the length of the chamber or some where in between. Personal preference of the person doing the bedding. I've read removing small increments back toward the lug can tune the barrel harmonics for more accuracy. Never tried it, but the answer to your question it up to endless debate. The only exception is the material the stock is made of, the black plastic "Tupperware" stocks don't allow epoxy to stick well resulting in loose or cracked bedding. Shoot it and see if you're happy with the accuracy.

 

[Edd]

I had my Weatherby Vanguard rebedded by an accomplished gunsmith and I noticed that when I took it apart the bedding went about an 1.5 inches past the recoil lug. I thought the bedding should end at the recoil lug. Accuracy is good but will it be better if I free float the barrel right to the recoil lug?

Does the bedding in front of the lug touch the barrel? Some people will put a piece of tape around the barrel when bedding so there will be some clearance.

 

[njshooter]

It must touch the barrel because when I slide a dollar bill down the barrel it stops where the bedding starts. It is also a wood stock.

 

[Canadian Bushman]

Some guys like to bed the barrels chamber, and if they dont get the results they were expecting they remove it back to the lug.

Ivd done it both ways. I honestly cant say one is better than the other.

 

[Greyfox]

It is very unlikely that bedding first few inches in front of the lug will make a difference in accuracy. This practice has been very common, particularly with wood stocks where the extra bedding provides added strength in the highly stressed, recoil lug area, particularly with heavy recoiling calibers.