??? about barrels

[TMU]

Hey fellas, does anyone have any opinions whether a rifle with a free-floating barrel will be more accurate than one with a barrel that is solidly "bedded" into the stock? I'd just like to hear what some of you think. Thanks in advance for any feedback.

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Do all you can . . . then do one more!

[Sharky]

You should go buy a book about accurizing rifles. You are talking about two different things. Almost all accurized rifle barrels are free floating. When you talk about bedding you are talking about the action, not the barrel. Barrels are not bedded, actions can be pillar bedded or fiberglassed or a combination of the two. Hope this helps.

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F.I.D.O.

[TAZ]

I assume by bedde barrel, you are reffering to having the barrel itself snugly bedded into the stock. This is a NO-NO if you want accuracy. Every time you fire a rifle the barrel will vibrate, simple physics and there are no ifs ands or buts to this. Given a consistent loading this vibration will also be consistent. This is why people are so meticulous in their reloading and lot sortings. When you have something making contact with the barrel this vibration will be disturbed and more than likely will not be consistent. So the accuracy of the gun will diminish. Theoretically, if you could be 100% sure that the bedding will be 100% consistent from shot to shot you could have an accurate rifle with a bedded barrel. But what is easier to guarantee, air between the barrel and the stock or an absolutely perfect beeding job that will neve ever change its consistency, shape, contact pressure, contact surface area... This is ofcourse not taking into consideration the effects of temprature variations in the barrel during shooting. Hope that helps.

[RifleMaster]

TMU,

Sharky is right-on. Actions are bedded in stocks and barrels are free-floated. However, some people do place or leave bedding material two or three inches in front of the receiver and under the barrel. Most top Gunsmiths don't.

Carl/RifleMaster

[medicjim]

There is an article in this month's Precison Shooter on bedding the fore-end of rifles.

Sounds like benchrest voodoo to me, and I haven't yet gotten time to read the article, just thought I'd mention it.

[TMU]

Thanks for the responses, guys. I was just trying to get some info. I was the other day to a friend of mine that does some benchrest shooting, and he was telling me that he uses a fiberglass bedding kit to solidly seat the barrel and action of his rifle into the stock. He swears by it, and he's a hell of a shot.

The reason I even asked is because I have a hunting rifle (Rem mod 700, 7mm-08), that I recently began having problems with. I'm using the same ammo I've always used, but I can't seem to get the consistent groups I've gotten in the past. My friend suggested the fiberglass bedding kit. I thought I'd get a little feedback before I did it. Thanks again for the info. Any other thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

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Do all you can . . . then do one more!

[Sharky]

Try cleaning the hell out of it. Bedding the action will almost always improve accuracy but I wouldn't advise you to try it yourself. Stocks can get expensive and if you don't know EXACTLY what you are doing you will wind up with a busted stock and a wasted bedding kit. If cleaning it doesn't do the trick, take the rifle to a COMPETENT gunsmith with a good reputation and explain the problems you are having. It could be something as simple as a crown job or you might need to re-barrel. JB compound can do wonders sometimes, but, follow the directions closely if you use it because it can do permanent damage to the barrel if not used properly. Personally, I would just clean the hell out of it and if that doesn't do it, take it to a gunsmith. If you have to do a re-barrel, my opinion is go with a Douglas tube. They have great barrels at a very decent price. Since you are only using the rifle for hunting purposes, you don't need to spend the money for a Hart, Shillen etc....

Good luck and good hunting.

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F.I.D.O.

[RifleMaster]

TMU,

Sharky has again given you the straight dope!

It is common for benchrest rifles to be bedded/glued solidly into the stock. NOT something most would want to do to a hunting rifle.

After a good cleaning. You may also want to re-evaluate your ammunition. Your ammunition can significantly influence your accuracy!

Keep Holding'em Hard!

Carl/RifleMaster