Should I bed my action?

[TheBrk]

Hello, I picked up a barreled action, hunter bdm, and stock for a new rifle and I’m wondering if I should bed the action myself or have a gunsmith do it. I’m a pretty handy guy when it comes to construction and I have worked in a couple machine shops, but I haven’t really worked on firearms besides building a couple AR’s in the past. Is bedding an action something I can do myself or should I be sending it to a gunsmith? This is a pretty high dollar rifle (to me at least) and I don’t want to ruin it. Thanks guys and gals.

 

[khuber84]

You can surely do it yourself, lota of DIY videos out there. Will it be as good a quality job as a competent smith? Likely not.......will your job be good enough? Likely. Smith always clean up everything with a mill, and it looks a lot better.

 

[TheBrk]

You can surely do it yourself, lota of DIY videos out there. Will it be as good a quality job as a competent smith? Likely not.......will your job be good enough? Likely. Smith always clean up everything with a mill, and it looks a lot better.

Thanks. I’ll make sure not to induce any stress into the action.

 

[khuber84]

Thanks. I’ll make sure not to induce any stress into the action.

Make sure you use plenty of release agent, and get all the inlets and holes in the action filled with modeling clay. Getting some long shanked bolts, cut the heads off, add painters tape till the just fit into your pillars, use these as posts to keep everything square. Put release agent on these as well. Use some electrical tape and wrap the barrel where it's at the end of the stock forend. Put enough tap on there it centers the barrel in the channel and keeps the barrel as ways up off the inlet. Buy some surgical rubber tubing, and use this to wrap around the action/stock with light tension while letting the bedding cure. Devcon or Marine-tex are prob the two best bedding compounds out there.

 

[sndmn11]

Store | Score High Gunsmithing

scorehi.com

This https://scorehi.com/store-3/#!/Pillar-Bedding-Kits/c/149328779
and the included instructions are all you need. If you don't want the pillars, just order the epoxy kit and the action screws.

Store | Score High Gunsmithing

scorehi.com

Store | Score High Gunsmithing

scorehi.com

 

[TaperPin]

It sounds like you’re detail oriented enough to get it to work. There is a steep learning curve to working with epoxy bedding compounds, but once you’ve done it once or twice things are much less frustrating.

Not every gunsmith does it in one go - one guy known for great bedding, often does a light coat mostly to fill the big gaps and areas below the visible line and makes judging the amount needed to finish much easier. It is extra work to clean up and prepare the surface of the first coat/reapply release to the action, but I can appreciate how it would take a lot of pressure off getting it right in one step. The recoil lug area and barrel tenon are easy to not add enough, or it’s too much and you end up chipping out big globs.

 

[Mag_7s]

You absolutely can! The quality of the job is all done in the prep work. Watch as many videos as you can. There are a lot out there, some are good, some are not so good. You can pick up different techniques and methods and tools to use. As mentioned above, a kit is a great starting point. You will defently want bedding studs at a minimum.
This article probably helped me the most. https://www.6mmbr.com/pillarbedding.html
I studied bedding for about 6 months before I finally felt confident enough to start bedding my own. The learning curve for me was the barrel dam. I struggled with this the part the most. It took 3 rifles for me to finally get what I felt was a good method.

 

[Johnboy041586]

just my opinion, but I'd put it together and shoot it. Then based on how well it shoots decide if it needs to be bedded or not

 

[SloppyJ]

I would bed it yourself 100%. I've done a few at this point and it's not hard, just detail oriented.

My tips: use marine tex, skip the clay - cleanup sucks majorly. Instead, I heard a tip about trying silly putty and i will be trying that next. Clear shoe polish as a release agent and tape off everything else. Get some 1/4" all thread, washers, and nuts to use as your "action bolts" which allow you to thread it in the action and drop the action in the stock when the epoxy is applied.

Other than that, let it setup overnight and say a couple prayers before popping the action out. I've yet to get one stuck and most have turned out fantastic. The more prep work and cleanup you do prior to letting it sit, the better the overall outcome.

 

[Jason Snyder]

I used the article @Mag_7s linked. I also did what @khuber84 referenced with bolt stop and to center the action.

If you are meticulous in the prep work it isn’t hard. If you don’t add enough bedding compound you can do a second coat or leave it as is if it’s completely functional.

I use Devcon for most of my jobs and have had good results.

 

[TheBrk]

You absolutely can! The quality of the job is all done in the prep work. Watch as many videos as you can. There are a lot out there, some are good, some are not so good. You can pick up different techniques and methods and tools to use. As mentioned above, a kit is a great starting point. You will defently want bedding studs at a minimum.
This article probably helped me the most. https://www.6mmbr.com/pillarbedding.html
I studied bedding for about 6 months before I finally felt confident enough to start bedding my own. The learning curve for me was the barrel dam. I struggled with this the part the most. It took 3 rifles for me to finally get what I felt was a good method.

Nice bedding job! Very clean. I like that clay dam you made and the tape is a solid idea to minimize cleanup. I’m glad to hear everyone suggests doing it myself.

 

[Marbles]

Bed it yourself, it is pretty easy. The only thing worse then mucking up a job yourself is paying someone else to muck it up, and I have heard of more than a few gunsmiths mucking up bedding.

 

[TheBrk]

I used the article @Mag_7s linked. I also did what @khuber84 referenced with bolt stop and to center the action.

If you are meticulous in the prep work it isn’t hard. If you don’t add enough bedding compound you can do a second coat or leave it as is if it’s completely functional.

I use Devcon for most of my jobs and have had good results.

Thank you! I’ll check out those links

 

[Wapiti1]

Which stock did you get? Some need to be bedded, others don't. Depends on the quality of the inletting and if the recoil lug is tight to the back of the recess. Some are designed not to need it, others are designed so they require it.

It's a myth that epoxy bedding is needed for the best results. A stress free platform is needed, and that can be done without epoxy compound.

Jeremy

 

[TheBrk]

Thank you, everyone. I really appreciate all the tips and encouragement. I will definitely be doing this myself.

Which stock did you get? Some need to be bedded, others don't. Depends on the quality of the inletting and if the recoil lug is tight to the back of the recess. Some are designed not to need it, others are designed so they require it.

It's a myth that epoxy bedding is needed for the best results. A stress free platform is needed, and that can be done without epoxy compound.

Jeremy

It a Pure Precision Altitude stock, Skltn action and proof research barrel in 7PRC. I have never owned a hunting rifle this nice and I’m trying to make sure I do everything right.

 

[TheBrk]

Bed it yourself, it is pretty easy. The only thing worse then mucking up a job yourself is paying someone else to muck it up, and I have heard of more than a few gunsmiths mucking up bedding.

yeah I don’t feel super comfortable finding a gunsmith in my neck of the woods. I think it’s mostly gun shops who play as gunsmiths.

You absolutely can! The quality of the job is all done in the prep work. Watch as many videos as you can. There are a lot out there, some are good, some are not so good. You can pick up different techniques and methods and tools to use. As mentioned above, a kit is a great starting point. You will defently want bedding studs at a minimum.
This article probably helped me the most. https://www.6mmbr.com/pillarbedding.html
I studied bedding for about 6 months before I finally felt confident enough to start bedding my own. The learning curve for me was the barrel dam. I struggled with this the part the most. It took 3 rifles for me to finally get what I felt was a good method.

Great advice and an excellent article. Thank you.

 

[wapitibob]

I bedded my old alpine several times. Me EH1 is bedded as well. Go buy a dremel, some marine tex grey, and some Johnson hard shoe polish.

 

[HiMtnHntr]

I bedded a Stevens 200 with JB weld about 15 years ago. It ain’t purdy at all but that rifle shoots as good or better than any I have. I’d use marine Tex if I did it again.

 

[308Baer]

Most smiths don’t charge that much for a full bedding job. At least relative to what you already have invested. I agree that if it shoots, no need to bed. Sounds like you are 100% capable though. Not as hard as many YouTube vids make it out to be.

 

[Mag_7s]

Bed it yourself, it is pretty easy. The only thing worse then mucking up a job yourself is paying someone else to muck it up, and I have heard of more than a few gunsmiths mucking up bedding.

TRUTH! Apparently this is what MOA rifles thinks a bed job is supposed to look like.