When bedding a rim-fire .22 BR rifle should the rifle be bedded under the first 1 inch or so of the barrel? I see conflicting opinions on this online and elsewhere.I always thought that the barrel should be fully floated,but as usual some are telling me I am wrong.Your input appreciated.
Rimfire Bedding Question
- Thread starter mrh1958
- Start date
Rarely will you see a top flight smith bed anything past the action. The leading purveyor of BS on RFC has theories unique to himself. Also no metal recoil lug is needed, most custom actions have either a cutout or thick tang for the job.
That said, unless you've got lots of experience, there are a lot of ways to go wrong, better left to the pros.
That said, unless you've got lots of experience, there are a lot of ways to go wrong, better left to the pros.
There are many ways to bed, but I only bed the front and back 1 to 1.5 inches and leave the center part unsupported. I use masking tape to create my gap. I also have slots on the bottom of all my actions and tape the forward facing and top surfaces of them. I only want the front surface touching. I put pillars in separately and make sure the screws never touch the hole id. I seem to spend an inordinate amount of time doing one. I will bet I have at least 3 or 4 hours in it with the milling of the wood first. There are lots of YouTube videos. The proof is when you can loosen each screw independently and not have the barrel move compared to the stock at the front of the stock more than a few thousands.
For what it's worth all my stuff is done by Tom Metedith. He does great work , prices fair, and has good turn around time.
Ive had guns done by him 30 years ago when he did all the work for Fred Sinclair and have stocks painted by him as well. Nobody better IMHO. His TMBR stocks work very well for rimfire as well.
Pete Wass
Well-known member
The interesting thing about beding:
I, occasionally one sees a rifle that shoots pretty darn well without any, to peak of. Early in the summer of this year I brought home a used RF rifle I was considering buying. I got to looking it over and noticed the barrel was hitting the barrel channel hard on it's left side. Took the rifle out of the stock and saw that the bedding in the stock did not match the action.
I shimmed the front of the "bedding" until the barrel was free in the channel. I could then pass a dollar bill freely from the front of the bedding to the tang. I applied light force in tightening the actions screws front to tang and shot the rifle. it shot as well as either of my three RF rifles do and I was easily able to find a tune for it.
I didn't buy the rifle because of the lack of a good bedding and a couple of other issues but that rifle was shot in our matches off and on all summer, competitively. This lead me to conclude that we may be overdosing on bedding. Having shot a lot of CF for a number of years, I have seen bedding issues with them but after this experience with this RF rifle, I question our needing to bed to the same degree we do with CF rifles.
Pete
I, occasionally one sees a rifle that shoots pretty darn well without any, to peak of. Early in the summer of this year I brought home a used RF rifle I was considering buying. I got to looking it over and noticed the barrel was hitting the barrel channel hard on it's left side. Took the rifle out of the stock and saw that the bedding in the stock did not match the action.
I shimmed the front of the "bedding" until the barrel was free in the channel. I could then pass a dollar bill freely from the front of the bedding to the tang. I applied light force in tightening the actions screws front to tang and shot the rifle. it shot as well as either of my three RF rifles do and I was easily able to find a tune for it.
I didn't buy the rifle because of the lack of a good bedding and a couple of other issues but that rifle was shot in our matches off and on all summer, competitively. This lead me to conclude that we may be overdosing on bedding. Having shot a lot of CF for a number of years, I have seen bedding issues with them but after this experience with this RF rifle, I question our needing to bed to the same degree we do with CF rifles.
Pete
bob finger
New member
Just to keep us honest here for the OP. I do not agree with what Pete said. bob
I have seen many centerfire guns have bedding problems that seem pretty minor cause flyer issues and sloppy grouping. I have seen the same in rimfire. IF you are building a squirrel gun or are happy with middle of the pack, don't worry about bedding. Otherwise, get it as good as it can.
Pete Wass
Well-known member
Pete Wass
Well-known member
I don't blame ya Bob
I was simply reporting what I had observed, which made me wonder is all.
Pete
I was simply reporting what I had observed, which made me wonder is all.
Pete
So let's see Pete, we're overdoing bedding, we're overdoing actions, we're in the middle of the global ammo conspiracy. Do you actually keep a history of some of the pure unadulterated Bulls..t you post.
What about a barrel with a really large diameter right in front of the action like on a 40X? Would you bed that or leave it floating as well?
The short answer is probably. The real answer is you don't want a barrel mounted like that to begin with, you want to take a hard look at somebody competent to use a fitted bushing without that abrupt step down allowing you to use a 3/4" tenon. They can work but the odds are not with you.
Pete Wass
Well-known member
No Tim,
I just write what I think based on observation. What harm does it do to think about something that is opposed to what everyone else believes to be the only way? Nobody has to believe what I write and most don't I am guessing. Some folks do agree with me sometimes though. Life isn't simple and there are exceptions to many "rules".
Pete
I just write what I think based on observation. What harm does it do to think about something that is opposed to what everyone else believes to be the only way? Nobody has to believe what I write and most don't I am guessing. Some folks do agree with me sometimes though. Life isn't simple and there are exceptions to many "rules".
Pete
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Well that's one way to think about it. The other way is to realize that whatever tends to be discussed, you bring to the table the counterpoint, the exception to the rule, that somehow is relevant . While nothing is an "always" type of situation, you must bring to the table the 1% possibility designed, probably, to confuse the initial question and its attempt for help.
I have a vision of you sitting there with your Vader helmet on while typing for the cyberspace minority opinion crowd devoted to folksy homespun observance as opposed to generally proven techniques and materials.
"Bedding is overrated" compared to.....say the 15-20 great gunsmiths that use it as a foundation.
"Custom actions, and ignition are overrated", see point above.
I have a vision of you sitting there with your Vader helmet on while typing for the cyberspace minority opinion crowd devoted to folksy homespun observance as opposed to generally proven techniques and materials.
"Bedding is overrated" compared to.....say the 15-20 great gunsmiths that use it as a foundation.
"Custom actions, and ignition are overrated", see point above.
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If and when I rebarrel, that's absolutely the direction I will go. When I bought this 40X, it was barreled this way. I had the larger area of the barrel bedded and it does shoot very well right now, but it's always been in the back of my mind that the majority of rimfire BR rifles I've seen do have the barrel entirely floating.