Pillars for Bell and Carlson Medalist stock

[james2562]

The holes for the guard screws are way larger than the screws. I thought that I would go ahead and bed a couple of pillars. Problem is that I can not find any Pillars specifically for a B&C Medalist stock. I have ran across pillars for a Rem 700 but I am not sure that Pillars for the original stock will fit the new stock. Bed Heads Aluminum pillar Bedding Kit Rem. M-700 BDL

Does anyone know if the guard screw holes are the same on both stocks? Does anyone know of a place with a good selection of pillars?

Thanks in advance.

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[deadshot2]

I believe this stock has an aluminum "bedding block" for the action. This block is essentially the "pillar system" as it's supposed to keep the stock from being compressed when the action screws are tightened. The block also, in theory, provides the same support as bedding would do.

If your stock does have the aluminum bedding block for the action, check this "article/tip" out:

NO 6. All stocks need pillars, even stocks with bedding blocks

Rather than rely totally on the block to provide 100% contact with the action (it won't due to machining tolerances) this person suggests using risers at the action hole points so the action is held above the aluminum block and then the action can be given a 100%, full support, bedding job.

I did this to my Rem 700SS 5-R Milspec which had an H-S Precision stock that is fairly similar to the B&C product. I made my own shims from material I had on hand and used Devcon 10110 for the bedding. This rifle now shoots like a dream. It did great before but had developed a horizontal stringing problem. It now is back to "bug holes" at 100 yards and quarter sized groups without much effort at 300 yards.

If I am thinking this is the wrong stock and it has no aluminum bedding block, just use the adjustable pillars that are available from Midway and Brownell's. Once they're bedded in Devcon, they are as good as any solid pillar.

Don't close up the guard screw holes, they need clearance. If you're concerned about the action rotating in the stock under recoil (darn round bottom Rem's), just bed tightly at the sides of the recoil lug. Leave space at the front and bottom of the lug and the remainder should be totally engaged with the lug. On mine I put three layers of Pipe Tape (.010" per layer) on the front and bottom then bedded. When I parted the stock from the action I took a 1/16" Dremel bit and cut a small relief where the sides joined the bottom of the recoil lug recess so there was no chance the lug would cause the action to rise when it expanded from heat.

 

[james2562]

As always I am indebted to you Deadshot.

I believe this stock has an aluminum "bedding block" for the action. This block is essentially the "pillar system" as it's supposed to keep the stock from being compressed when the action screws are tightened. The block also, in theory, provides the same support as bedding would do.

If your stock does have the aluminum bedding block for the action, check this "article/tip" out:

NO 6. All stocks need pillars, even stocks with bedding blocks

Rather than rely totally on the block to provide 100% contact with the action (it won't due to machining tolerances) this person suggests using risers at the action hole points so the action is held above the aluminum block and then the action can be given a 100%, full support, bedding job.

I did this to my Rem 700SS 5-R Milspec which had an H-S Precision stock that is fairly similar to the B&C product. I made my own shims from material I had on hand and used Devcon 10110 for the bedding. This rifle now shoots like a dream. It did great before but had developed a horizontal stringing problem. It now is back to "bug holes" at 100 yards and quarter sized groups without much effort at 300 yards.

If I am thinking this is the wrong stock and it has no aluminum bedding block, just use the adjustable pillars that are available from Midway and Brownell's. Once they're bedded in Devcon, they are as good as any solid pillar.

Don't close up the guard screw holes, they need clearance. If you're concerned about the action rotating in the stock under recoil (darn round bottom Rem's), just bed tightly at the sides of the recoil lug. Leave space at the front and bottom of the lug and the remainder should be totally engaged with the lug. On mine I put three layers of Pipe Tape (.010" per layer) on the front and bottom then bedded. When I parted the stock from the action I took a 1/16" Dremel bit and cut a small relief where the sides joined the bottom of the recoil lug recess so there was no chance the lug would cause the action to rise when it expanded from heat.

 

[deadshot2]

As always I am indebted to you Deadshot.

No debt incurred. I'm just "repaying" for all those that helped me out over the last 60 + years.

 

[JGRuby]

I always cut my own pillars out of brass - they seem to work ok.

James Ruby

 

[deadshot2]

I always cut my own pillars out of brass - they seem to work ok.

James Ruby

And they will, in an all wood stock. When the stock comes with a large block of aluminum already installed to support the action there's no need for a pillar. Just shims to hold the action high enough for a skim bedding.

 

[OregonJohn]

I read the article link. I liked it. Sound advice. What I do on the aluminum block rifles is to use the block as the pillar. Mark a 1/8 inch ring around each guard hole. Use a Dremel to remove a little aluminum from the rest of the bedding block so the only contact is at the guard holes(your new pillars). Remove aluminum from, the back of the recoil lug, bottom and sides of the recoil lug. You need the back of the recoil lug to be beded, but free from contact on the bottom and sides. Free float barrel. Wrap blue tape around barrel about mid stream so that the tang screw, recoil screw and barrel are sitting even, when the barreled action is put in the stock. It should just sit there even, with no wiggle. I don't use the guard screw method listed. I have some headless bolts that are the larger diameter of the stock holes. That way I can mount them on the action and slide them through the stock and bedding compound. The larger sized bolts self center the action into the stock. No right/left or front back movement. I then use blue tape to hold the action into the stock to dry. After you take the action out of the stock make sure to remove any bedding compound from the screw holes. You don't want the screws to contact the stock in any way. If you need to, just run a drill bit through the holes.

 

[deadshot2]

What I do on the aluminum block rifles is to use the block as the pillar. Mark a 1/8 inch ring around each guard hole. Use a Dremel to remove a little aluminum from the rest of the bedding block so the only contact is at the guard holes(your new pillars).

This will only work on blocks where the action screw holes haven't been counter-bored. An example would be H-S Precision. They counter-bore the screw holes for some reason, just about the same amount as you retain for a pillar. That's why the need for the "shim/risers" shown in the link.

As an added note, the rifle I did this too is still performing like a champ. A factory rifle that shoots like some Bench Rest rifles.

 

[OregonJohn]

Sorry, no. The 1/8 inch ring does not count the sunk in part. It is the outer part of that. The counter-bored part of the hole fills with bedding compound and just makes the pillar more solid. My Long Range 300 RUM has a Bell and Carlson A3 with the hook. The bedding job looks/works perfect. As I stated before. I like the shim idea. But I like to rough up the bedding block and cut the recoil lug. In my way, I just take out a little more material and I don't have to spend any money on shims. If I were to use the shims, I would be in there with the Dremel anyway to rough up the block and cut back the recoil lug area.

 

[deadshot2]

Sorry, no. The 1/8 inch ring does not count the sunk in part. It is the outer part of that. The counter-bored part of the hole fills with bedding compound and just makes the pillar more solid. My Long Range 300 RUM has a Bell and Carlson A3 with the hook. The bedding job looks/works perfect. As I stated before. I like the shim idea. But I like to rough up the bedding block and cut the recoil lug. In my way, I just take out a little more material and I don't have to spend any money on shims. If I were to use the shims, I would be in there with the Dremel anyway to rough up the block and cut back the recoil lug area.

I made my own "shims" out of hardened washers. Put them on a 1/4" bolt, locked them in place with a couple of nuts and then turned them so they just slipped into the counter-bore. I think the total cost was about $0.50. This reduced the amount of epoxy that migrated into the action screw hole. When cured I just ran a drill through the action screw holes to clear all the excess out. We both reached the same destination, just used different routes.

I too like to "rough up" the aluminum block to get some "tooth" for the skim bedding. I bedded my barrel 2" forward of the recoil lug and for that area drilled some 1/8" holes in the stick about 3/16 or so deep to give some mechanical grip to this pad of epoxy.

I think the next rifle I build, I'll buy a Whidden's Remington 700 V-Block, attach it to my action, and then just bed the whole mess in a stock I've cut out a huge recess for the block. He claims that it will allow one to use any Remington action, or clone, on the finished stock. Just think, a Remington 700 that one can change "uppers" on, just like an AR-15.