looking to replace the factory stock on a RUGER AMERICAN PREDATOR rifle for deer hunting under a 100yds, should I get the pillar bedding?
thanks
thanks
PILLAR BEDDING on a hunting rifle
- Thread starter hillbillydruggist
- Start date
looks very nice!
Which stock did you go with?
I've currently got a Boyd's that just the
V-blocks are bedded into the stock,
I'm switching to another Boyd's and I'm going to be installing pillars this time around.
I was looking at the spike model. I think the pillars are $57? Extra
I think you'll benefit from the pillars when tourqing action screws, less likely to compress stock.
Be sure to upgrade to metal trigger guard or full bottom metal for use of AICS mags and ditch the stock rotary.
Any factory rifle should be accurate enough for deer at 100 yrds. You don't need to put money into it.
Agree with Webster but let me expound on it.
If the rifle can consistently group shots within the vital zone of a deer at the ranges you intend to shoot then that's all that is needed relative to accuracy.
For most white tails, the vital zone is about 8 to 10 inches. On small deer it might be as small as 6". So unless there is a major defect in the rifle, factory rifles are well within that capability especially at 100 yards.
A more important consideration in my humble opinion is the hunter's ability to make vital zone shots under field shooting conditions. Spending time at practical range practice will make you a more confident and better field shot. By practical range practice I mean shooting in the manner in which you intend to hunt.
But to your question, most rifles are improved with bedding if done properly but the amount of gain relative to your purposes is not worth the effort or money in my opinion.
If the rifle can consistently group shots within the vital zone of a deer at the ranges you intend to shoot then that's all that is needed relative to accuracy.
For most white tails, the vital zone is about 8 to 10 inches. On small deer it might be as small as 6". So unless there is a major defect in the rifle, factory rifles are well within that capability especially at 100 yards.
A more important consideration in my humble opinion is the hunter's ability to make vital zone shots under field shooting conditions. Spending time at practical range practice will make you a more confident and better field shot. By practical range practice I mean shooting in the manner in which you intend to hunt.
But to your question, most rifles are improved with bedding if done properly but the amount of gain relative to your purposes is not worth the effort or money in my opinion.
rjtfroggy
Gold $$ Contributor
I took my hunting rifles out of the plastic molded factory stocks and put them in laminate with pillars. Reason being I want them to be as accurate as I can possibly get them. Even though they have sporter contour barrels I want the first 2-3 shots on center at 100 yards, if I need more than that I should not be using that gun or hunting for that matter.
The animals deserve one shot kills.
The animals deserve one shot kills.
MikeT49
Gold $$ Contributor
Boyd's now has the option for pillars, $57. However, they still use the same POS plastic escutcheon for the front pillar. It needs to be replaced.
I certainly understand that all of us want the most accurate rifle / load combo possible - I didn't mean to imply that you shouldn't pursue a pillar bedding job just that it might not be necessary given your hunting requirements. But then there's always the "good feeling" and confidence that a tight shooting rifle gives a hunter. A pillar job is probably one of the easiest and cheapest rifle upgrades.
Most economy rifles produced today that I've seen at the range (i.e. Savage Axis, Ruger American, T&C Compass) shoot in the area of about 1 1/2 to 2" at 100 yards off the bench with factory ammo which is adequate for most deer hunting situations. I've even seen a few Savage Axis's shoot in the 1 to sub 1 moa range w/ tailored reloads.
A lot depends on where you hunt and the shot opportunities you anticipate having. My father shot 18 bucks with an open sighted 30-30 Model 94 lever action carbine but he hunted in the "big" woods of north central PA where shots beyond 150 yards were rare.
I've hunted deer for almost 50 years now and never shot one beyond 185 yards but all my hunting has been for the most part in heavily wooded areas.
How does it shoot now? If good, it will probably shoot well in the replacement stock. If not, pillar bedding will probably not help it.
If you and sending the rifle off to have the new stock fitted, I would go ahead and have them pillar bed it, even though it will probably not matter.
jackson1
Silver $$ Contributor
Use pillar bedding along with glass bedding. Depending on what you have for tooling the drilling of the stock could be problematic. Have done many pillar/glass bedding jobs and never had a rifle shoot worse. There is plenty of good information out there to do the job correctly. My hunting rifles that see the range only once or twice a year seem to hold their zeros better after the process.
MikeT49
Gold $$ Contributor
For 3/8 lamp tube I use a 5/16" drill bit and a 3/8-27 tap. For 1/2" I use a 7/16" drill bit and a 1/2-18 tap. On a Boyds stock screw a lag bolt into the crappy plastic escutcheon/bushing. Clamp the lag bolt into a vice and smack the stock with the base of your hand. That will pop the bushing out with no damage to the stock. I use old school ferrule cement that you melt with a flame. Heat the threaded pillar up, melt some cement, apply a dab of melted cement and screw that puppy in. If you want to remove or adjust, heat the pillar and remove or adjust. For escutcheons/bushings I've been using a stack of 1/4-20 stainless washers with a dress washer on top. I just picked up some 1/4" ID X 1/2" OD X 5/8" LG aluminum spacers that with a little shaping and counter sink for stock screw head, should work better for the escutcheon/bushing. We'll see how that works out. I'm still experimenting. YMMV. FYI: I only own and shoot hunting rifles. They are tools and all are interesting. Mike
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I pillar bed all of my wood stocked rifles if not done at the factory.
I prefer to use either 3/8” thick solid aluminium pillars or the adjustable type you get from Brownell’s. With the 3/8” jobs, you need to turn locking rings into the sides if
I also pillar first, then bed the rest of the action in separate steps, pillars, front/recoil lug then tang and rest of action if getting a full bedding job.
Cheers.
I prefer to use either 3/8” thick solid aluminium pillars or the adjustable type you get from Brownell’s. With the 3/8” jobs, you need to turn locking rings into the sides if
I also pillar first, then bed the rest of the action in separate steps, pillars, front/recoil lug then tang and rest of action if getting a full bedding job.
Cheers.
I am not gonna say don't pillar bed. But I will say that pillar bedding, by and of itself does zero for accuracy, period, end of story. What pillar bedding does is prevent the action and trigger guard from compressing the stock and getting loose. Simply epoxying in pillars alone wont hurt, but it will not make the rifle shoot better.
I replaced that ridiculous rubber, soft Tupperware stock {among just about everything else...} on my Ruger American with a Boyd's laminate and glass bedded only. That was about five or six years ago and it is still driving tacks. Laminate is resin impregnated and much harder to "compress" than solid natural wood. If, on the other hand, you feel like you will be taking the action out of the stock frequently then pillars are a good addition. It's the loosening and re-torqueing of the action screws causing the stock to compress that make pillars a good idea.
All that said, so many shooters in general are so misinformed and don't understand the reasoning behind pillars that they really are a fantastic selling point, so you might want to do it just so you can say, "my stock is pillar bedded".......
Edit: I had to look at the old POS stock to remember. The aluminum Vee blocks in the factory stock are, in effect, pillars of sorts. Without them you would not get the action screws tight because they would "tighten" right on thru the rubber stock. I guess I should add that in 6 years I have not removed the action from the stock one time.
I replaced that ridiculous rubber, soft Tupperware stock {among just about everything else...} on my Ruger American with a Boyd's laminate and glass bedded only. That was about five or six years ago and it is still driving tacks. Laminate is resin impregnated and much harder to "compress" than solid natural wood. If, on the other hand, you feel like you will be taking the action out of the stock frequently then pillars are a good addition. It's the loosening and re-torqueing of the action screws causing the stock to compress that make pillars a good idea.
All that said, so many shooters in general are so misinformed and don't understand the reasoning behind pillars that they really are a fantastic selling point, so you might want to do it just so you can say, "my stock is pillar bedded".......
Edit: I had to look at the old POS stock to remember. The aluminum Vee blocks in the factory stock are, in effect, pillars of sorts. Without them you would not get the action screws tight because they would "tighten" right on thru the rubber stock. I guess I should add that in 6 years I have not removed the action from the stock one time.
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