recoil lug

J

jaybic

Guest
Hello,

I am having my Rem 700VS in 22-250 rebarreled into a .308. I have a new Kreiger 1:10 tube on the way and am having the action "trued" up and lugs and boltface lapped. It is intended to be my long range coyote swatter.

I am wondering how critical it is to replace the recoil lug with a larger one. I have had one smith tell me not to worry about it, and another one told me I really should change that out do to the caliber upsize and increased torque.
He said after all that money invested, why not just not skip this piece.

I thought a recoil lug was just a big washer until he explained what it does.
I am afraid that putting in a new lug we be cause to have to re-bed and lead me into even more money.

What do you do in my case? BTW, the stock is HS precision with alum block bedding if it makes a difference.

Thanks for any advise fellas.

Jaybic
 
Aaahhhh, go ahead and do it.

Uuuuhhh, I ain't the brightest bulb in the pack but the recoil lug on a 700 is a washer with a hunk of metal hanging down on one side. A smith with an IQ equal to his hat size could change it out. Hell, I could do it. If needed, dimeral some bedding out of the slot in the stock and dob in some new bedding to fit the new recoil lug and you're done.
While you're having that other work done, you might as well do that. As it is, since it's on your mind, it'd worry you if you didn't do it. :D
 
Coyote Swatter

.308 OMG

Man I hope you are not wanting to sell those hides to a fur dealer :)
 
Jay,

I promise you the factory lug on your rifle is not anywhere near flat! I gournd one a few years ago, and it had to take almost .005" to get the tapper out. Imagine what kind of stress that puts on the barrel when you wrench it down. Ended up throwing it away and buying a good one.

The good replacements like from Holand are ground to be flat and parallel.

It makes no since to go thru the work of truing the action and then use a stamped out piece of metal between the action and barrel shoulder.

For my money, if you are not willing to change the lug, don't waste yuur time trueing the action.

Regarding the smith that says don't change it, find another smith, he obviously does not understand what it takes to make these things shot to our expectations.

Regarding Bedding, if you dremial out the recoil lug to do a patch job, that is exactly what you will get, a patch job. Will it work, prob. Will it work to the full potential of the rifle, I wouldn't take the chance. Rebedding the rifle is not that big of a deal.

Remember, an accurite rifle is a system. It is not a bunch of high dollar parts put together to shoot. Leave out a step or two, and you suffer.

JMHO

Randy
 
Old Timer,

A 308 makes a great Yot rig, knocks their pecker in the dirt in a heart beat , LOL
 
A Gunsmith will tell you to use a custom lug.
A Blacksmith will tell you the factory lug is just fine.
 
jaybic said:
I am wondering how critical it is to replace the recoil lug with a larger one. I have had one smith tell me not to worry about it, and another one told me I really should change that out do to the caliber upsize and increased torque.
Click to expand...

After market lugs are about $28.00, ground flat and are parallel on both sides. Money well spent. A smith worth his salt wouldn’t re-use the factory lug for a long range live varmint rifle, ditch the smith that said to use it. I've been using the Tubb Lug with very good results but, any of the quality after market lugs will work great. Good luck.
 
I just took a run upstairs to take a look at my ..223 40X that I had Hart Barrels rebarrel a couple of years ago. It has the factory recoil lug and it groups 50 Noslers over VV N-133 into nice little groups.

Tom
 
tlo said:
I just took a run upstairs to take a look at my ..223 40X that I had Hart Barrels rebarrel a couple of years ago. It has the factory recoil lug and it groups 50 Noslers over VV N-133 into nice little groups.

Tom
Click to expand...

Did they surface grind it??
 
Whether you bed a rifle all at once or in stages, if it's done right, you end up with the same thing.
If it's a DIY, it's best to do it in stages.
 
I am going to go ahead and change the lug out after reading this.

As far as the .308 for a coyote gun goes, I already have a 22-250 and a pair of .223s and a .243 that are my calling rifles. Usually, calling is a 75-200yard shot deal.

Here is where the .308 comes in. I hunt out in North Dakota quite a bit and its not unusual to see a coyote laying on a hay bale 600 yards away or catch him running a fence line way out there while I am wondering down a section line road, windy days or simply a mouthy one that hangs up way out and thinks he is safe.( Considering how well I shoot, he probably is:D).

I hope to use a 110 grain V-max and some Varget ideally, but what ever load I find that shoots well(168/175 smks?), I would rather hit him too hard and lose the hide, than hit him too soft with CF .22 and lose the entire coyote to suffer and die off in a hole.

Otherwise, I do skin and sell the hides.

Thanks for the help guys. I appreciate it.

Jaybic
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Tio,

tlo said:
I just took a run upstairs to take a look at my ..223 40X that I had Hart Barrels rebarrel a couple of years ago. It has the factory recoil lug and it groups 50 Noslers over VV N-133 into nice little groups.

Tom
Click to expand...

We aren't saying the factory lug will not work, of course it can. And you may luck out and get a flat one.

But in factory rifles today, the odds are against you.

When building a rifle, a less than $30.00 part seems like a pretty cheap insurance policy.

Randy
 
For what its worth, even the fancy after-market lugs may be out of square and need a good surface grind job. I bought a Badger lug for my last custom barrel and the smith said he HAD to surface grind it.
 
Hey Tyler,

tylerw02 said:
For what its worth, even the fancy after-market lugs may be out of square and need a good surface grind job. I bought a Badger lug for my last custom barrel and the smith said he HAD to surface grind it.
Click to expand...

That is why I use the Holand, they just make good products.

But I have also learn the hard way, take nothing for granted!

If you get a bad one, just kissing it on the surface grinder is not a big deal, trying to make a factory stamping flat and square is another story.

One other thing to mention here, most of the aftermarket lugs are bigger than the standard. I don't think that is of any advantage, it is just the way they make them. If you a lug any bigger than the factory, you have other problems you need to deal with.

JMHO

Randy
 
Being too big also posed me a problem with the H-S stock. I had a heckuva time relieving stock material so that it would fit. It wasn't a fun endeavor.
 
Thats kinda what I am worried about. The lug is cheap but fitting it will generate other stock relief/bedding issues that will end up costing another several hundred dollars. The same smith said being that it was an HS Precision stock with the alum bedding block, that I shuld not have to bed it but we could always do that later in the process. If he has to carve up the stock to get the new lug in, isnt rebedding nearly automatic?

Thanks,

Jaybic
 
Bedding isn't a big deal. You can get a lug that fits the H-S stock, nearly the same size as the factory lug. But anytime you install a barrel, it really needs rebedded.
 
I like and use Holland lugs because they are the same size as the receiver and they look good...:)

That being said, in my opinion it is a toss up if it will shoot any better than with the factory lug...

Has anyone actually tested the difference in accuracy between a factory lug that may be out 1/2 thou and a lug that is dead true?... with all other things equal... not an anecdotal case, but an actual test...? Show the results please ...
 
jaybic said:
The same smith said being that it was an HS Precision stock with the alum bedding block, that I shuld not have to bed it but we could always do that later in the process.
Click to expand...

Bed it, it's just a matter of time before it moves.

jaybic said:
If he has to carve up the stock to get the new lug in, isnt rebedding nearly automatic?
Click to expand...

Yes but, bedding is a simple job that all shooters should learn to do. Devcon 10110 with a good release agent is about as simple as it gets.
 
Why don't you just have your original factory lug surface ground and reuse it?
Probably won't take more than a couple of thousanths per side to get it right and it will still be plenty thick to handle a wimpy little 308.
 
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