Weird bedding job

[RugerFan]

I just bought a used m77 ruger from my neighbor. I have actually bought about half a dozen rifles from him over the years. He had previously had taken most of the rifles to his favorite gunsmith to have them bedded. The guy always beds the fore end of the stock channel. I can't figure out the benefits? I usually end up sanding the end to free float it. I haven't shot this rifle yet but I'm debating on whether to sand it out before I shoot it first

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[dangerranger60]

That was called pressure bedding back in the day . it was mostly used on skinny sport weight barrels. I would shoot it first to see if the POI changes as the barrel warms. if not, I would leave it alone. This fell out of favor as barrels got thicker. DR

 

[RugerFan]

That was called pressure bedding back in the day . it was mostly used on skinny sport weight barrels. I would shoot it first to see if the POI changes as the barrel warms. if not, I would leave it alone. This fell out of favor as barrels got thicker. DR

I appreciate the reply!! It's a bull barrel 22-250. Does it mainly affect it when it's hot? Does affect accuracy? I will shoot tomorrow and see how it does. My neighbor claims it's about a minute of angle shooter

 

[po18guy]

Is it a 77V? No need for barrel bedding, but shoot it first - there's always the exception.

 

[RugerFan]

Is it a 77V? No need for barrel bedding, but shoot it first - there's always the exception.

I think it is a 77v. I just sanded it out. I probably should have waited to shoot it first but I couldn't stop myself. My neighbor said he shot 1" groups with it before. I copied his load and will see if it goes better than 1" tomorrow at the range.

 

[Xmark1]

IMHO, Bedding the fore end defeats the purpose of bedding.
It would change the barrel harmonics.

 

[Koda]

I appreciate the reply!! It's a bull barrel 22-250. Does it mainly affect it when it's hot? Does affect accuracy? I will shoot tomorrow and see how it does. My neighbor claims it's about a minute of angle shooter

While you shouldn't be shooting a hot barrel, It affects it at all temperatures, and it does affect accuracy...
But Ive only heard it done on skinny factory barrels so my guess is it wont affect the bull barrels accuracy or wasn't needed. Hard to say, Ive heard it was done back in the day to control barrel vibrations controlling accuracy on factory rifles to save cost on not action bedding rifles with wood stocks. I doubt it was needed with a bull barrel, and if the action is bedded Id say its not needed.... but my guess is it could have been added to control the group of a handload (instead of fine tuning the handload). Since you removed it, if the handload doesn't meet your accuracy needs, fine tune the handload. Im not a big fan of pressure bedding....

I have an old Remington rifle that had it from the factory. It shot poorly IMO, I sanded out the pressure bedding and the group tightened up by half.

 

[RugerFan]

IMHO, Bedding the fore end defeats the purpose of bedding.
It would change the barrel harmonics.

Yeah it's weird. I think 4 rifles have had it. I free floated a Remington 221 fireball that he sold me and it definitely seemed to tighten the groups after prolonged firing. I did it because it was shooting inconsistent before. I think the bedding was messing with it

 

[Xmark1]

Yeah it's weird. I think 4 rifles have had it. I free floated a Remington 221 fireball that he sold me and it definitely seemed to tighten the groups after prolonged firing. I did it because it was shooting inconsistent before. I think the bedding was messing with it

I have seen many people benchrest using a front bag and they rest the barrel on the bag instead of the stock.
I know first-hand this will dramatically change the rifles POI.

 

[po18guy]

I think it is a 77v. I just sanded it out. I probably should have waited to shoot it first but I couldn't stop myself. My neighbor said he shot 1" groups with it before. I copied his load and will see if it goes better than 1" tomorrow at the range.

My 77V shoots 1" groups stock. As long as the action screws are evenly tightened, it should not need front bedding.

 

[Mark W.]

In the 60's my dad built a Savage 110L using a left hand barrel action and a very straight grained Fajen stock blank. He glass bedded the full length of the forestock with Acraglass. The bedding just past the receiver was about the thickness of a sheet of notebook paper in clearance. He would show guys how a sheet of paper would just barely slide all the way up to the last bit where the barrel flared to meet the receiver.

In the mid 90's I sold that rifle for him and before I did I took it and some of the 150gr ammo he had loaded for it in the late 60's to Four Corners and on the bench I was shooting nickle sized 5 round groups (Leopold 3x-9x scope). That straight grained stock and the Acraglass stiffening the fore stock kept that rifle straight and true for 30 years of deer hunting and bench shooting.

 

[joken]

Shoot it

 

[Pepe-lepew]

Rifles, like the 1903a3, with long slender barrels benefit with a little pressure on the end of the barrel from the stock. That method has a disadvantage if the stock warps or you have inconsistent pressure on the stock while shooting. For most hunting rifle barrels and barrel lengths it is not necessary and/or detrimental.

 

[orygun]

The OP is concerned about accuracy and modified it before shooting when told it was a very good shooter?

Well, there goes the baseline he "had".

Being a heavy barreled Ruger, it will probably shoot well enough, but making changes without knowing what it does to start with doesn't make any sense. Cosmetic changes are one thing. Mechanical changes are another.
FYI, the very best group I ever shot at 100 yards was with a Ruger 77MKII in the factory wood stock. That stock had a pressure pad at the tip of the forend. I put it in a Hogue stock, which free floated it and it still shot well, but it was a dramatic change in the opposite direction of what was intended.

 

[Koda]

The OP is concerned about accuracy and modified it before shooting when told it was a very good shooter?

Well, there goes the baseline he "had".

while I agree he lost the baseline he had, I cant think of any reason a custom built heavy barrel rifle would ever need a pressure bed on the barrel?

 

[orygun]

while I agree he lost the baseline he had, I cant think of any reason a custom built heavy barrel rifle would ever need a pressure bed on the barrel?

Maybe, but now he's never going to know. But it's much easier to remove the pressure pad than to put it back. Cart before the horse.
Anyone who plays with firearms knows each gun is it's own entity. I don't see where anyone said it was a custom built gun, just overly bedded. Maybe the gunsmith was an Acraglass dealer.

 

[Koda]

Maybe, but now he's never going to know. But it's much easier to remove the pressure pad than to put it back. Cart before the horse.
Anyone who plays with firearms knows each gun is it's own entity. I don't see where anyone said it was a custom built gun, just overly bedded. Maybe the gunsmith was an Acraglass dealer.

I dont fully understand the need for a pressure bed on the barrel... Ive heard it was done on high volume production rifles to get away with not bedding the action on wood stocks. Ive never heard of it needed once a wood stocks action is properly bedded.
I dunno, hopefully it shoots very precise for him.

 

[orygun]

I dont fully understand the need for a pressure bed on the barrel...

We may not understand, but when you let the rifle talk, it will tell you. The OP erased that chance and while it may not be a mistake, I think the mistake was assuming it was the right thing to do without having the info the gun would have told him.
Right or wrong, now it's now just a guess.
THAT is my point.

 

[orygun]

IMHO, Bedding the fore end defeats the purpose of bedding.
It would change the barrel harmonics.

Change the harmonics? Hell, yes it does.
But pressure bedding the barrel is independent of bedding the action.
The old guys (I'm 60 and those guys are 20+ years my elder) always said, "If it doesn't shoot, clear the channel. If it still doesn't shoot, add a pressure bed."
Getting the harmonics consistent is the reason for all of this.

 

[Velzey]

I have found that 95% of the time a rifle will shoot better with the barrel floated. And that action bedded. With bedding material going forward of the recoil lug and at least halfway supporting the chamber area.