How important is bedding an action?

[Dennis Sawyer]

I wanted to get some input from some experts. I recently purchased a HS Precision 7 STW. Upon inspection I was very surprised to see that the action wasn't bedded. Long story short the rifle has fallen far short of the accuracy I would expect from a $3800 rifle. Its very inconsistent. I have managed 2 x to shoot close to 1/2 inch with amax's and h1000 but its not consistent. I'm wondering how much improvement I might expect by bedding it. I love the way the rifle looks and feels but need to remedy this problem. Thanks, Dennis

 

[Dusty Stevens]

Since they sell their stocks with the assumption the alum block doesnt need to be bedded its not surprising they didnt bed it. Ive never seen one that didnt need to be bedded. Especially a 7stw!

 

[watercam]

+1, skim bed the action. Try bullets besides the A-Max as well. Your bench or bipod technique becomes more critical with magnum cartridges - expect more vertical dispersion.

 

[Dennis Sawyer]

I currently own 2 defensive edge builds which are both bedded and shoot incredibly well. One of them is a STW and I shoot the amax out of it and have no problem shooting under 1/2 inch. Usually closer to 1/4 inch. Actually every 7mm I've owned liked the 162 amax. Just hoping a bed job might settle this rifle down and be more consistent. I did try the 180 berger hybrid with no success. Also shot the 150 nosler with some success but I'm focused on long range and didn't think that particular bullet would perform as well at range.

 

[lawrence97]

With it being a factory rifle and mass produced, maybe you should inspect the barrel with a borescope. Is it a brand new rifle?
Work with a different powder, primer or bullet combo.

 

[Terry_M]

It would be worth your time to check the inch pounds of torque on your action screws as well.

 

[Dennis Sawyer]

Thanks for the replies guys. I did torque the action. Interestingly when I did that I discovered that the barrel was touching the stock. Had to remove a bit of material to remedy that. At that point I called HSP to ask wtf and then learned they don't lap their barrels. To be fair they said that they make one pass to knock off any burrs. I have tried different powders RL/25 and 22, and retumbo. The only acceptable combo so far has been the amax over H1000. I wouldn't have posted my question about bedding if I hadnt already spent several sessions at the range. I was hoping someone else had experienced a rifle gaining noticeable accuracy after bedding it. Thanks Dennis

 

[Preacher]

99% of all rifles will benefit from a solid bedding job, even with the Aluminum bedding blocks...

 

[Screamineagle]

99% of all rifles will benefit from a solid bedding job, even with the Aluminum bedding blocks...

This^^^

I'm no expert, but I've never gotten worse accuracy after a bed job.

 

['Freak]

Whilst you torque the action screws, unless the fit was already perfect then either the barreled action or the bedding block or both are being bent into conforming to the shapes of one the other, and so inducing stress.

 

[jsthntn247]

Thanks for the replies guys. I did torque the action. Interestingly when I did that I discovered that the barrel was touching the stock. Had to remove a bit of material to remedy that. At that point I called HSP to ask wtf and then learned they don't lap their barrels. To be fair they said that they make one pass to knock off any burrs. I have tried different powders RL/25 and 22, and retumbo. The only acceptable combo so far has been the amax over H1000. I wouldn't have posted my question about bedding if I hadnt already spent several sessions at the range. I was hoping someone else had experienced a rifle gaining noticeable accuracy after bedding it. Thanks Dennis

3800$ and they just knock the burs off. Awesome.

 

[ultraedge]

Dennis Sawyer, I have two 7STW rifles. One with a 3 groove Lilja, 1 in 9 twist and one with a Broughton 5c 1in 9 twist. Both shoot 150 SMK's, 162 Amax,and 180 Berger hybrids with .25 to .5 moa accuracy. They are both in HS Precision stocks that have been bedded with Devcon. I found that bullet seating depth was one of the most important factors. Try seating bullets close to the lands and then workout in steps until you achieve success. If the overall length is too long for the magazine, then install an extended length magazine. My rifles both have 4" long magazine boxes. The average oal loaded with 180 Berger hybrids is 3.840 . I use Retumbo in all of my 7 STW loads. If you try bedding and load work up and don't have any luck, then I would look seriously at the barrel. Gary

 

[Dennis Sawyer]

Dennis Sawyer, I have two 7STW rifles. One with a 3 groove Lilja, 1 in 9 twist and one with a Broughton 5c 1in 9 twist. Both shoot 150 SMK's, 162 Amax,and 180 Berger hybrids with .25 to .5 moa accuracy. They are both in HS Precision stocks that have been bedded with Devcon. I found that bullet seating depth was one of the most important factors. Try seating bullets close to the lands and then workout in steps until you achieve success. If the overall length is too long for the magazine, then install an extended length magazine. My rifles both have 4" long magazine boxes. The average oal loaded with 180 Berger hybrids is 3.840 . I use Retumbo in all of my 7 STW loads. If you try bedding and load work up and don't have any luck, then I would look seriously at the barrel. Gary

OK I am going to bite the bullet and bed it. If that doesn't resolve the problem I'll look at re barreling it.
Thanks, Dennis

 

[Dennis Sawyer]

Thanks for the replies guys. I did torque the action. Interestingly when I did that I discovered that the barrel was touching the stock. Had to remove a bit of material to remedy that. At that point I called HSP to ask wtf and then learned they don't lap their barrels. To be fair they said that they make one pass to knock off any burrs. I have tried different powders RL/25 and 22, and retumbo. The only acceptable combo so far has been the amax over H1000. I wouldn't have posted my question about bedding if I hadnt already spent several sessions at the range. I was hoping someone else had experienced a rifle gaining noticeable accuracy after bedding it. Thanks Dennis

3800$ and they just knock the burs off. Awesome.

Yes its just awesome. I wish I had done some homework before buying it. I had made the mistake of assuming HSP didn't leave any stone unturned when building their rifles. They were polite on the phone and offered to re verify accuracy for 150 bucks. Then I heard they have some bizarre way of testing their guns. I figured that'd be a waste of time and money. Live and learn.

 

[dakor]

If you take your action out of the stock look on the bottom of it and see if you see any rub marks starting just behind the recoil lug. Hs stocks need to be bedded and the ones I have seen lately have been to big in the action area so that could be the issue. H-1000 with fed 215 primer and a 180 berger VLD hunting either .007 off the lands or major jump. If that combo does not shoot after your bedding job things are not looking good. 162 amax in every 7mm STW I tried them in was finicky I do not think they like the speed.

 

[IdahoCTD]

The first 3 shot group out of my 7-300wm was just over 1/4" using H-1000 and 162 Amax's at 3280fps. My other 7-300wm shoots them 3260fps with a shorter barrel into the .3's. Most STW's don't shoot much faster than that so I doubt it's a speed issue.