Bedding for a bull barrel?

[daved20319]

So I've got a new Criterion barrel coming for my Savage 12 FV. It's a 28" bull barrel, and I'm wondering if I need to add or alter the regular process of bedding the action to address the extra weight/length. The rifle currently has a stock 26" Savage Varmint contour barrel, straight taper and about .800" at the muzzle. The new barrel is 1" at the muzzle, so pretty close to a cylinder. It's currently in a Boyd's Pro Varmint stock that I've already pillared and bedded, but I'll need to redo at least some of the bedding to account for the NSS recoil lug, and I expect I'll also need to open up the barrel channel. I guess my real question is, do I keep the barrel free floated, and just extend the bedding forward a bit to help take some of the stress off the action? Or do I bed the barrel most/all of the length of the forearm? I've never worked with a barrel this heavy or long before, so any suggestions will be much appreciate, thanks!

Dave

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[Marine Airedale]

If it were mine I would keep it free floated. All of my bolt action rifles are free floated.

 

[daved20319]

If it were mine I would keep it free floated. All of my bolt action rifles are free floated.

As are mine, but none have barrels this long or heavy. My concern is stressing the action with 6 pounds of steel hanging off it if the barrel is fully free floated. As this is something new to me, I'm looking for input from folks that have been there, done that, and can offer something a little more substantive than "all mine are free floated" . Later.

Dave

 

[Spitpatch]

Regardless of how fat and long the barrel is, if you have done your action bedding correctly, and the bedding compound extends ahead of the recoil lug the length of the chamber, you should be good to go!

Done right, there should be little or no stress of a "pivot point" type that I think is your concern. The tang guard screw arrangement (bedded and/or pillared) combined with the lug (forward) guard screw arrangement (bedded as noted above) would take all the stress off the action.

Edit: no contact to the recoil lug with bedding compound except to the rear. Bottom of lug should take no weight/tension. Weight and tension should be on the bottom of the action and bottom of the chamber.

Stress of the weight of the barrel itself is contained in the barrel itself. (Fat ones sure can't "droop" much!)

I would never offer free-floating as a blanket suggestion for barrel bedding questions. A larger number of guns than most think are benefited by full contact.
Free-floating IS a good starting point (because you can go the other way a lot easier that you can go back).

Good shooting!

 

[P7M13]

Concrete.

 

[daved20319]

Thanks, guys. Spitpatch, you nailed it, "pivot point" is exactly what I'm concerned about. I did pillar this stock when I first put the rifle together, it was a .223 originally. Worked well, but then I had to tweak things a bit when I put the first OEM 6.5 Creedmoor barrel on it. That was the same length and profile, so I didn't give it much thought. But this new barrel is going to weigh a third more, and that bare action just doesn't look all that beefy with the barrel removed. Started working on the stock last night and discovered some flaws in my original bedding, so I'll be hogging out a lot of it and starting over. Will go with your suggestion of bedding under the chamber, that seems to be the consensus opinion of the other research I've been doing. Another advantage, I think, I have this rifle set up as a single shot, and will be permanently attaching the SS sled and filling the hole where the blind mag was, that'll allow bedding nearly the full length of the action, which can only help. Will post more once it's done, might even remember to snap a few pics for a change .

P7, I use Devcon for my bedding, so even stronger than concrete ! Later.

Dave

 

[Spitpatch]

Superb. I was gonna include admonitions regarding magazine walls (frequently when modifications/bedding are done, the action ends up riding on the sheet metal of the magazine walls: results in some pretty screwy results on target).

You are killing that rat.

 

[Steel Head]

Normally I'd just bed the action and lug but some BR types bed a few inches of the barrel as well

 

[Xmark1]

I have bedded many of my bull barreled rifles. I extend the bedding compound about an inch forward of the recoil lug. I also make sure the barrel remains free floated - this is a must for accuracy. If its not free floated, you mess up the harmonic nodes. I sometimes have to remove a bit of the recess in the fore stock.

I bought a new Remington .223 with a stainless heavy barrel and action. Out of the box - I was shooting about 3 MOA. After bedding, free floating, and load development, it now shoots 1/2 MOA. I have also bedded my .308 & .300WM that have heavy barrels.

 

[daved20319]

Thanks again, people. After more research, I decided to change gears and bought a different stock, a B&C Varmint/Tactical with full length bedding block. I kept seeing comments about the soft laminates used in the Boyd's stock, especially the painted ones like mine. The B&C stock looks quite similar to the Pro Varmint that I like, so hopefully that will address some of the potential downfalls of the Boyd's, and I can still do some bedding if I think it's necessary. Will keep ya'll posted, and thanks again.

Dave

 

[Spitpatch]

Thanks again, people. After more research, I decided to change gears and bought a different stock, a B&C Varmint/Tactical with full length bedding block. I kept seeing comments about the soft laminates used in the Boyd's stock, especially the painted ones like mine. The B&C stock looks quite similar to the Pro Varmint that I like, so hopefully that will address some of the potential downfalls of the Boyd's, and I can still do some bedding if I think it's necessary. Will keep ya'll posted, and thanks again.

Dave

Large change. bedding blocks are generic.

My input here has been rendered irrelevant. It remains as my default.

 

[daved20319]

Large change. bedding blocks are generic.

My input here has been rendered irrelevant. It remains as my default.

Not at all and for 2 reasons. First, I still intend to refit my existing stock, I'll have time before the new one arrives, I already have everything I need on hand, and I already know this works for me, so will be a good backup if the new stock doesn't. And second, I realize bedding blocks are generic, but I can/will bed it if needed, plus I have my own machine tools and can make minor mods if needed. I appreciate your input, and don't feel that my change of course has made it at all irrelevant. So thanks again!

Dave

 

[daved20319]

Just wanted to say thanks again to all that helped guide me on this project, and show the results for those that are interested. Still have some minor tweaks to do, but she's ready to rock for the most part, now I just need a break in the weather to get her to the range, hopefully next week sometime. In the meantime, a little gun porn for your enjoyment . Later!

 

[Spitpatch]

It's not awesome. Everything is not awesome. If everything were awesome, we'd be in awe of nothing.

And so, since that word has become to irritate me regularly of late, I will respond with two exclamatory words from my younger days:

That is TUFF!
That is SWIFT!

 

[rdb8847]

How did this barrel work out for you? Thinking of going this route for my Savage Model 12 in 223

 

[daved20319]

How did this barrel work out for you? Thinking of going this route for my Savage Model 12 in 223

Savage 12 FV in .223 is how mine started. Kind of hard to answer how it worked out, I was still in load workup mode with less than 100 rounds through it, when I finally recognized the reality that I'm likely never going to get the chance to use this for what I built it for, long range shooting. My local range maxes out at 400 yards, my secondary at 200. So I went backwards and built a shorter range rifle around the 6.5 Grendel and the AR platform. Haven't had a chance to do any work with the Grendel yet, weather has closed in, and trying to shoot when the temps are in the teens and single digits is a pretty good description of misery.

Anyway, the Savage is currently up for sale, but has generated so little interest that I'm planning on breaking it up and selling it for parts. It shot well, and with all the extra weight (15 lbs. with scope), recoil was very mild, something important to me as I'm fairly recoil sensitive. Most anything was sub-MOA, but I was still looking for the "magic bullet" . But it was slow, between Covid and my wife's health, range time was very limited. Hope that was some help, if you have any specific questions, feel free to PM me. Later.

Dave