Barrel Lug

Flex ing lug

Jim:

This morning I was going to send you a picture of a bent lug that I removed from an action a few years ago but I ran out of time. The picture is on my old computer that is not hooked up to the internet and the pictures are too big to down load ont a floppy disc. I am not saying the lug bends between the barrel and action, I am saying it bends below the action barrel juncture. I also say that a rigid lug with the weight of a heavy barrel can bend or flex and action especially one with a cut out for a magazine.

Nat Lambeth
 
That I can and have agreed with. My understanding of your post was that the lug flexed at the receiver/barrel juncture, not below it. Apparently I read it wrong.

I apologize if I offended you.

Jim
 
Recoil lug

Rustystud said:
Jim:

I respect your fine work on hunting rifles. I have followed your post for years on other sites. I choose to not reply before, but you want to make this a personal attack. I can tell you from personal experience and I feel confident others will agree with me that with heavy 28-32 inch free floated barrels on Remington 700s and Savages without proper support it can and will flex both the action and/or lug. I have seen heavy caliber guns shot in F-Class and 1000 yard BR guns that have bent recoil lugs when they were brought in to me for rebarreling. You are certainly entitled to your opinion.
Nat Lambeth
Click to expand...

Hello Nat.
I'm having a 29" light varmint Kreiger fitted to a Rem. 700 action. I bought a thicker lug with holes for pinning to the receiver. I'll err on the side of caution rather than use the original surface ground lug. My question is that if there is that much flex to contend with associated with a heavy barrel, wouldn't it make sense to bed the chamber area of the barrel to provide more support? I want to use this as a switch barrel rig and bedding the chamber would be prohibited. Will the thick recoil lug be adequate for the extra weight?
Chino69
 
Glassing lug

I like pillar bedded rifles and glassed in lugs. !.5 inches in front and belind the lug. I like a tight fit lug with the action bottoming out on the pillars. Yes, I feel this provides some support but the rest of the barrel is free floated.

Nat
 
Bedding, continued

Rustystud said:
I like pillar bedded rifles and glassed in lugs. !.5 inches in front and belind the lug. I like a tight fit lug with the action bottoming out on the pillars. Yes, I feel this provides some support but the rest of the barrel is free floated.

Nat
Click to expand...

Nat,
Thank you for your reply. My rifle is going to be a switch barrel rig with a pinned .250 surface ground lug. Obviously, bedding in front of the recoil lug will not be possible due to it being a switch barrel. Will this be adequate support, with respect to barrel droop, for a Kreiger #18 contour light varmint (1.200 X .875 x 29" long)? The action will be pillar bedded.
Thanx in advance,
Chino69
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Chino69 -

I've used #17 & #18 contour barrels up to 30" long on Savage & Rem 700s, and do believe that, for a barrel of that length & weight on one of these actions, you'd be better off with a bit of bedding support just ahead of the lug. I believe Savage's indexed lug works better for swapping barrels than a pinned lug on a 700 - mainly because I won't pin a lug on a 700 that I've chased/recut the threads on. Building a switch barrel rifle is an attractive concept in theory, and it can be accomplished with good results. But, the devil's in the details, and your gunsmith should explain the ramifications of those details to you before you commit to the project.

As an aside - one of the premier highpower stockmaker/bedding specialists in the U.S. says that barrels with Palma contour generally don't respond well to being bedded under the shank. My experience with that issue with a #15 contour bbl. in 6x47 Lapua agrees with his opinion.
 
Bedding, continued

flatlander said:
I've used #17 & #18 contour barrels up to 30" long on Savage & Rem 700s, and do believe that, for a barrel of that length & weight on one of these actions, you'd be better off with a bit of bedding support just ahead of the lug. I believe Savage's indexed lug works better for swapping barrels than a pinned lug on a 700 - mainly because I won't pin a lug on a 700 that I've chased/recut the threads on. Building a switch barrel rifle is an attractive concept in theory, and it can be accomplished with good results. But, the devil's in the details, and your gunsmith should explain the ramifications of those details to you before you commit to the project.

As an aside - one of the premier highpower stockmaker/bedding specialists in the U.S. says that barrels with Palma contour generally don't respond well to being bedded under the shank. My experience with that issue with a #15 contour bbl. in 6x47 Lapua agrees with his opinion.
Click to expand...

I really appreciate your response. The gunsmith performing this work is a well known smith who would have brought this up if he thought it was a concern. He may bring it up once he actually starts the work, however. At any rate, I'll be seeing him soon and can discuss this further. Thanx for the input.
Chino69
 
Bedding under the chamber can and often does create problems. If the barrel temperature rises, its outer diameter increases. This increase in diameter creates stress in the bedding/barrel and receiver. The degree of stress would depend on the temperature rise or change in barrel diameter.

Also under consideration is the barrel length since length will change with temperature increase. If the barrel diameter varies due to machining and it then grows in length you can have increases in point of impact.

Naturally both occur at the same time.

All bedding compounds shrink which adds/deducts from the effect.

By not contacting the bedding, you avoid these issues entirely.
 
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