Bedding question?

[Toby Bradshaw]

How many times have you competed at the super shoot?

None, but I know quite a few who have, and they were all shooting glue-ins.

Tony Boyer has more HOF points than anyone (by a wide margin), and he shoots glue-ins.

So was I when I shot this (with a Borden LV 6PPC) in registered competition.

 

[gunnermhr]

Clearly 99%

 

[Dusty Stevens]

Clearly 99%

Actually id bet its more than 99% in reality. I dont know of a winning br rifle builder that doesnt glue them in. I know in my 20+ yrs in registered short range br shooting ive never seen anybody i run with screw one in. Its just an automatic thing to do and has been for at least 25yrs.

 

[gunnermhr]

We are talking about two different disciplines. I am not a point blank guy, I do think most of the short range BR guns are glued.

I shoot mid and long range matches and in this area I believe most of those rifles are pillar bedded.

I have nothing bad to say about either method, both are proven. If you want to stick to your original claim that 99% of ALL winning benchrest rifles are glued then I know a lot of one percenters in the long range game.

Mike Redin

 

[Dusty Stevens]

I think more and more of the long range br rifles are being glued in now that people have been testing more. Still nowhere near a majority, but folks are coming around. Its about like the bra- they may claim to shoot it but may not be at the actual matches. Its a simple test to see if it should be glued in or not- just set up a dial indicator and see if your action moves side to side. The most beautiful bedding jobs you see sometimes move the most!

 

[gunnermhr]

Mine are pretty solid, I like the test that Alex demonstrated on here. A few guys here were doing barrel blocks and glueing barrels in them, then bedding the block. I made a clamp barrel block, it's much easier to switch barrels out when the time comes. I can see why they did it though, the barrel sets in the block with o rings at either end, then pumped full of epoxy. Everything else is free floated. That's probably gotta be the most stress free bedding job possible. Still a PIA, only thing I use my heavy gun for anymore is hunting.

 

[TrxR]

Mine are pretty solid, I like the test that Alex demonstrated on here. A few guys here were doing barrel blocks and glueing barrels in them, then bedding the block. I made a clamp barrel block, it's much easier to switch barrels out when the time comes. I can see why they did it though, the barrel sets in the block with o rings at either end, then pumped full of epoxy. Everything else is free floated. That's probably gotta be the most stress free bedding job possible. Still a PIA, only thing I use my heavy gun for anymore is hunting.

Whats the test Alex Wheeler demonstrated ?

 

[gunnermhr]

I think it's on his website, put your barrel in a vice, set an indicator on the forearm of the stock and loosen the front action screw

 

[Alex Wheeler]

I dont remember the last LR BR rifle that I bedded, and Im building them every day. Maybe 1 out of 20 if that customer really insists. More F-class shooters insist on bedding, but they are coming around as well. I have built rifles that set world records on both, but theres no doubt in my mind which way produces a more accurate rifle. The dial indicator test will show a bind, but it wont show where there are gaps or inconsistent contact.

 

[gunsandgunsmithing]

I dont remember the last LR BR rifle that I bedded, and Im building them every day. Maybe 1 out of 20 if that customer really insists. More F-class shooters insist on bedding, but they are coming around as well. I have built rifles that set world records on both, but theres no doubt in my mind which way produces a more accurate rifle. The dial indicator test will show a bind, but it wont show where there are gaps or inconsistent contact.

And it won't show how the gun handles harmonics either. There IS movement at any joint that isn't welded or otherwise made one piece. That's why bolts can work loose after torquing them tight. Stuff moves at high frequencies.

 

[Alex Wheeler]

Its like barrels or cartridges, ext. As a competitor I had a pretty small data sample to go with. I would get a few barrels a year, maybe a new rifle every couple. All I could go on was my testing and buddies testing. Now I have hundreds of samples and get the feedback on them from shooter all over the country. So its actually very easy for me to see a trend in something like gluing, ignition weakness, or a different case for example.

I see a lot of resistance to trying something new in all aspects of shooting or building rifles. People can either become too brand loyal or not want to change. Very often something is the best just because thats what that guy owns or thats the method he uses. You have got to be willing to experiment if you ever expect to get better results than you got yesterday.

 

[hpshooter]

"You have got to be willing to experiment if you ever expect to get better results than you got yesterday."

Often overlooked and applies to most any endeavor. Use to drive me crazy to hear "that's the way we have done it for years" when trying to solve problems in castings and maintenance of equipment in my 30 years of foundry work.