Guns, Bows, Shooting Sports, and Hunting Newbie Question

[flyby night]

I am pretty new to the hunting and shooting sports. I have a question about accuracy of a rifle. It is better to have the barrel free floated, or better to have it glass bedded?

 

[kenny61]

Understanding Barrel Bedding

 

[JCyrbok]

barrel should be free floating (if you can run a dollar bill between the barrel and the stock you are good to go). If you are going to bed anything it is the action.



best of both worlds would be a bedded action and free float barrel.



J-

 

[GHarman]

I second that comment with three exceptions that are NOT set in cement! Mausers, M-70 Winchesters and M-77 Rugers have demonstrated a need to be pressure bedded at the forend. This does not mean the entire forend is bedded. The receiver is bedded first, then, with that process properly completed. You experiment with pressure between the forend and the barrel by using temporary shims that actually cause the forend to spring against the barrel. Once that is located, you form a pad out of bedding compound, or leave a little more material in the forend while making the stock ( this is the pre planned method). Then you clamp the stock in a padded vise. Install your pad in the forend, Assemble the barreled action into the stock, with one difference, you hang a weight off the front sling swivel stud or use sacrifical spacers in the forend at the point of the bedding pad. A wood stock will need regular maintainence because it expands and shrinks several times during a typical year due to humidity. A synthetic stock will work best, however they are not immune from relaxing the pressure over time.

Bedding is merely allowing the barreled action to fit perfectly in a stock. The whole unit is a sinusoidal periodic wave. ( a little basic Physics, here). In other words, a tuning fork. What you are trying to accomplish by bedding AND and trying different loads (including hand loads) is to tune your tuning fork to allow the NODE to be right at the muzzle of the rifle barrel so that, the muzzle is at the same point in space, each time the bullet leaves the barrel. This is what bench rest shooters do to a science and, to a lesser degree, every rifle shooter, no matter what their discipline. Please feel free to ask questions. This may be a little overwhelming for a first timer, but it is not as complicated as you thinkOo. GregH

 

[GHarman]

Understanding Barrel Bedding

Kenny, Excellent link! GregH

 

[flyby night]

Thanks, I know I have alot of work to do, but I think I found the right place to ask the questions! Great link and great advice.