do you always bed every gun?

R

ric

New member
is it written in stone that you should always free float every barrel?
just do it, no questions asked?
even if the rifle shoots good?
 
No-no-no........absolutely no!

If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Some rifles shoot better with forearm pressure. No need to glass bed a rifle that is properly bedded and sealed either. If you're having problems with stock movement, group stringing etc., then fix what needs fixing.
 
Take'em, shoot'em and if they don't perform but should, do the simple easy things first. Check screws, look for action binding or something simple like the bolt hitting the stock in the closed position, make sure the scope is correct. A whole bunch of trouble can be taken care of by taking care of the simple issues. And remember, a factory gun probably won't shoot as well as a highly modified rifle will. But they will get the job done because a 1.25" (this applies to most 3" guns as well) gun will kill coyotes just fine at the distances 99% of all coyotes will be killed at. Simply stated, you don't need a 0.5" gun for a calling gun.
 
I free float the barrel and either glass (or pillar) bed (almost) e-v-e-r-y rifle I ever own before firing a shot. This also includes either a new trigger or existing one lightened and depending on my mood of the day the action trued. Sometimes a muzzle brake is added, most times not.

The only exception to this is on my synthetic stock especialy if any work has been done on the action from the maker.

Once a rifle is sighted in it will STAY sighted in with a free floated barrel much longer. Also they are more times more accurate than not. I could be wrong on this, but believe competition rifles are all free floated barrels.

I have hunted the Colorado & Utah Rockies, the Idaho Sawtooths & Calif Sierra's in deep snow and very foul weather. I've seen more than one friends rifle not even on target when tested after the hunt. Mine are ALWAYS dead on afterwards.

Approx 20 years ago a friend missed an honest potential world record contender mulie buck on a Colorado hunt under the above conditions. His rifle could not hit any part of the paper at 100 yards afterwards. To this day I do not believe he understands why.

Some barrels do need a little support at the forend of the stock. Especially single shot rifles. I've never needed it.

Just my experience is all
 
YoteAssassin, did you see that deer? The typical mule deer world record comes from SW Colorado, Dolores county I think. I saw one in Nevada at night years back that would have ranked real high, had the cross hairs right on it...Just Looking .... lol. I often wonder how many of those big deer in the B&C book were shot at night....Hummm, none I'm sure. You know how bad the weather can get in those Sierras, outside of Alaska it snows the deepest in the Sierras on the average. Back to the rifles lol...Most rifles nowadays shoot a minute an angle and as Michael said, that's good enough for the average predator hunter. Come to think of it, some of them come already tricked out and can shoot 1/2" groups with no work.... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif
 
Every new gun I get ,I bed it for a day or 2.
Then my wife gets mad!!!!!! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif LOL /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
I had too say it!
Any way I shoot first, fix second, if needed.
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif Tim
 
Free floating prevents problems with stock warpage affecting POI in changing weather, as previously explained.

I understand that bull barrels typically shoot better when free floated and do not need a pressure pad up front near the muzzle. However, many pencil barrels will shoot better with a front pressure pad. It has something to do with barrel harmonics, thin barrels vs thick barrels.

You can always free float, then add a pressure pad up front if you need to. But I'd try shooting it out of the box first and see how she does.
 
Yeah Danny I did see it. Actually there were 4 of us watching the whole thing. It was colder than Alaska, laying in a foot of snow at 9,500 feet in Nov.

Anyway, my friend shot twice, and that buck just cool, calm and collected, dropped his head and
s-l-o-w-l-y walked towards us towards the timber. He did not panick like a younger buck would and he could not tell where the shots were coming from. He was approx 400 yards away.

All of us had a GREAT look at him with spotting scope and Binocs at that moment as he was heading towards us. He was a true Blue Print monster. Won't bore all with what we think were his dimensions, but they rival the world record WITHOUT any cheater points.

Anyway, my friend told me to go ahead and shoot after his 2 misses, but by the time I set up he was gone. We jumped approx 8 other HUGE bucks in that draw than morning. They all got away. LOL
 
For a hunting rifle, bedding may not be needed. How good a group can you shoot offhand? If you are better than most, maybe 6 minutes. A 1/4 or 1/2" reduction in that will not be noticeable.

That said, a good bedding job will never reduce accuracy, and 98% of the time improve it.

A free floated barrel is more important because unless using a very good synthetic stock, a free floated barrel will hold zero much better.

Except for some fun guns like old lever actions, and various antiques, I have not fired a rifle before bedding it in 25 years.

Jack
 
I have two bolt guns that I can shoot under a half minute of angle and they are both free floated BBL's. My 22-250 is an AICS stock that has an aluminum bedding block and my .308 is in a H&S precision PSS stock without bedding. I am with the group that says if it needs some help with accuracy bedding is a fairly easy way to tighten a group. As far as pencil versus bull barrels needing more or less support I have to think that the more a barrel whips the more likley it is to be affected by stock interaction.
 
A confession:
I have a rifle (22-250) that shoots better than 1/2 MOA. It always has since I worked up a load for it. It has never changed point of impact or strung shot strings either. One day while bored out of my mind I noticed I had a box of Marine-Tex on my bench. Just to my left was my gun safe. One thing led to another and I was floating the barrel and bedding the action of my 22-250. Why in the world I would do such a thing to a rifle that shot great is beyond me, but I did it. Well, now it still shoots groups the same size, no stringing, everything as it was before the floating and bedding except one thing. Now, I have to adjust my scope as high as I possibly can just to get the group to hit point of aim at 100 yards. Before, I sighted it in 1-1/2 to 2" high at 100 yards. I can no longer do that unless I shim the scope or ??? All I accomplished was staving off boredom and I learned a new lesson. If it ain't broke, don't fix it!
 
I pillar bed the custom rifles I build because no one will buy them for that price if I dont. Last year I had a guy bring me an old 788 in 22-250 to have bedded. It had the pressure point and thin factory barrel. It had a poor trigger that not only was heavy it was also 30 years filthy. Somehow this rifle shot 1" groups at 100 yds. with factory ammo which I witnessed before we started. I tried to talk him out of it but he insisted. When finished it would only do about an inch and a half at best and we didnt get it back to the 1" groups until a load was worked up over a period of time. The trigger work alone should have improved something????? Again I have to agree with weasel..."if it aint broke dont fix it!!!!" Good luck.
 
HArpy and Weasel - I agree completely. I have beded several rifles and believe that I do a good job at it, but I have this old M700 BDL 7mm mag. that is scarry accurate the way it came from the factory. It has never changed POI no matter what the weather, heck I even fell hard on it, beleive me that should have changed something but it never moved. If it ain't broke ......... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
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