Action bedding? Should I?

[rootacres]

Hey everyone,

Basically I am considering having an action bedded and want to hear everyones thoughts. This rifle will be solely used for western hunting trips with a max of 600 yds (that's the max distance I can practice). The rifle is a Christensen Arms Ridgeline 300 WSM barrel action dropped in a HS Precision Pro Sporter stock (aluminum chassis). The rifle currently shoots .75" all day long at 100 yds with my reloads (.38" and .488" are my best so far).

Given all the factors do you think I will see a return on spending ~$250 and 1 months time?

 

[OXN939]

Everyone is going to tell you to do it yourself, for good reason. Bedding is easy enough if you're mechanically inclined; Marine Tex grey as the bedding compound and kiwi boot polish as release agent have proven to be a very effective combo for me. This way will cost you ~ 1/10th as much as the figure you quote. If you have an old stock to practice on and a little time to spend on YouTube, it's a cinch. I've never had anything but an increase in accuracy from rifles I've bedded, even when I was starting out and not very experienced with it.

 

[30338]

Sporter rifle with those kind of groups, no I would not. Buy $250 in components and keep shooting. Or bed lug yourself for $10. But if shooting that good, why mess with it?

 

[TxxAgg]

Everyone is going to tell you to do it yourself, for good reason. Bedding is easy enough if you're mechanically inclined; Marine Tex grey as the bedding compound and kiwi boot polish as release agent have proven to be a very effective combo for me. This way will cost you ~ 1/10th as much as the figure you quote. If you have an old stock to practice on and a little time to spend on YouTube, it's a cinch. I've never had anything but an increase in accuracy from rifles I've bedded, even when I was starting out and not very experienced with it.

This

 

[DoubleBroomedMountainRifles]

No way would I touch it if you are getting that good of groups. Ive bedded close to a 1K actions and yes you can screw things up being inexperienced at this no matter how much instructions you've been given, read or watched. Mostly on an ascetics deal with bedding compound ending up in places you don't want etc. In some fixes I have done on self taught bedding gone wrong the customer introduced undue stress in the action as well.

Bottom line with your rifle there is not a chance I would touch it.

 

[Wrench]

What's a 5 or 10 shot group do?

Lots of guns are magical for a few and then suddenly become average after a few......if this is you, bed it. If you're holding that group size.....I'd not mess with it.

It won't necessarily make it shoot "better", it just helps keep it from shooting worse.

 

[Finn16]

Two old sayings come to mind. 1) If it ain't broke, don't fix it and 2) leave well enough alone.

 

[Rob5589]

250 bucks to bed? Based on what you're describing, I would leave well enough alone. If you are inclined to bed it, watch a bunch of videos on it then diy.

 

[LaHunter]

$250 for a bedding job seems pretty steep.

 

[rootacres]

$250 for a bedding job seems pretty steep.

Yeah, I live in metro Chicago. Everything is priced outrageous here. The sportsmen’s club I’m a member at is $500 a year. You don’t want to know what my property tax is. So it goes. . .

 

[Dhbwa]

Ryan - leave it alone!!! BTDT

 

[TauPhi111]

I have bedded several rifles myself and have had one or two bedded professionally. With the performance you are describing, you might not notice any difference between before and after bedding.

Wrench's advice is solid. If you are getting stellar 3 shot groups, look to your 5 or 10 shot to see if it really needs improvement.

Consistent accuracy in a rifle comes from shot to shot repeatability, and that comes from stiffness and tight tolerances in general. A bedding job tightens those tolerances and takes out the action "wiggling" in the stock. However, in modern stocks, bedding blocks like yours are also supposed to keep those tight tolerances. The most important area to bed is going to be the recoil lug. If you are getting consistent 5-10 shot groups, I'd leave it. If you are curious, i'd check the recoil lug contact to see if it is getting solid even contact. If you find it isn't, bed the lug yourself for a few bucks and be done with it.

 

[JohnyRingo]

I'm in the same boat. I have a Browning XBolt 300 H&H Mag that had the cheap plastic stock on it. I replaced it with a McMillan Game Scout. The new stock fits good, but there is just a little bit of slop in the recoil lug area. After tapping the recoil pad on the floor and tightening the action screws through the aluminum pillars, everything is tight. The rifle shoots just a hair under 1" at 100 yards, but I am trying to get a little more out of it. Glass bedding is my next step, but like the OP, do I want to spend $175 to get just a little more out of it? Should I just leave it a lone or should I try glass bedding myself, for the first time?

 

[N2TRKYS]

Bedding is not needed.

 

[Rob5589]

I'm in the same boat. I have a Browning XBolt 300 H&H Mag that had the cheap plastic stock on it. I replaced it with a McMillan Game Scout. The new stock fits good, but there is just a little bit of slop in the recoil lug area. After tapping the recoil pad on the floor and tightening the action screws through the aluminum pillars, everything is tight. The rifle shoots just a hair under 1" at 100 yards, but I am trying to get a little more out of it. Glass bedding is my next step, but like the OP, do I want to spend $175 to get just a little more out of it? Should I just leave it a lone or should I try glass bedding myself, for the first time?

I would bed that stock if it were mine. Skim bed the action contact points, bed the lug. You could use the old stock to practice on.

 

[TxxAgg]

I'm in the same boat. I have a Browning XBolt 300 H&H Mag that had the cheap plastic stock on it. I replaced it with a McMillan Game Scout. The new stock fits good, but there is just a little bit of slop in the recoil lug area. After tapping the recoil pad on the floor and tightening the action screws through the aluminum pillars, everything is tight. The rifle shoots just a hair under 1" at 100 yards, but I am trying to get a little more out of it. Glass bedding is my next step, but like the OP, do I want to spend $175 to get just a little more out of it? Should I just leave it a lone or should I try glass bedding myself, for the first time?

youtube GunBlue490

he has a couple bedding videos that are as good as you'll find. It isn't too tough to do yourself. Some JB Weld, Shoe Polish or Wax, and some Q-tips.

 

[Newtosavage]

Everyone is going to tell you to do it yourself, for good reason. Bedding is easy enough if you're mechanically inclined; Marine Tex grey as the bedding compound and kiwi boot polish as release agent have proven to be a very effective combo for me. This way will cost you ~ 1/10th as much as the figure you quote. If you have an old stock to practice on and a little time to spend on YouTube, it's a cinch. I've never had anything but an increase in accuracy from rifles I've bedded, even when I was starting out and not very experienced with it.

This.

Silly putty for dams, JB weld, shoe polish (with a light coat of One-shot case lube), masking tape, Q-tips and a little patience are all you need.

I've done 6 myself with zero prior experience and they all turned out fine and the guns shot as good or (usually) a little better afterward. The satisfaction of doing it yourself is worth something too.

 

[wgood]

If your happy with those groups, I’d leave it. It’s not hard to do, but that’s shooting good. I bedded a Remington 7 Predator this summer that was shooting occasional sub MOA groups but mostly 1.5-2 And it helped a bunch, brought my groups down to around 3/4” at a hundred. But if it’s already shooting that good id leave it alone


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