To Bed or Not to Bed, that is the question.

[TheCZKid]

I have a Remington 700 in 30-06, ADL made 1989, with its original wood stock. It's the first rifle I reloaded for in 2013, and then re-visited load development about 5 years ago when I was going to use it for elk hunting. Back in 2013 I was pretty clueless about reloading, and also about such things as glass bedding rifles, or making sure the barrel was free-floating, etc. Since then I have become a pretty good reloader and have bedded 5 or 6 rifles.

In my reloading for this rifle I would have a good group, then when testing the same load next time, have a terrible group, and I never figured out what might be causing that. Tried various powders, bullets, seating depths, etc.

This years elk hunt is over, and I was just cleaning the rifle to put it away, and it occurred to me I might be able to get this rifle to shoot better. Realized I didn't even know what the action screws should be tightened to. Looking online I decided on 25 for the front screw and 20 for the rear and middle screws.

And the barrel is in contact with the stock on the bottom about 3" from the front, and it touches the left side at the front too. Hmmm. Seems Remington's were designed with the idea the barrel touches the stock toward the front, but I figured I'd ask you guys what you might do.

Should I free-float the barrel up front, get some clearance there, and do a glass bedding on the action? It shoots about 1 moa now, and probably that's fine for a hunting rifle. However, it might just shoot better if I did some work on it. Your thoughts.

 

[nakneker]

Neat old rifle, I’ve always liked those older Remingtons. My first thought was the action screws which you mentioned, I usually torque a bit more but that’s just me. Sounds like the rifle has potential, Moa works but I’d venture to guess with a free floated barrel and a good bedding job it will do better. If it’s done cleanly I don’t think it will hurt the value or esthetics, that may be a non issue if you’re hanging on to it regardless. My vote would be to bed it, relieve the barrel and check your action screws when you’re done.

I’ve had a few older Remingtons, lone action, standard calibers and the majority would do better than moa with some effort. Nice rifle!

Let us know how it goes if you decide to proceed.

 

[brokeasajoke]

Now that is a rifle and what many of us I'm going to guess first cut our teeth on. Wood stock hunting rifle. I would love to learn bedding I have never done even a skim bed. I worked on a friend's rifle trying to get it to shoot worth a darn and would have been happy with moa. It was a Remington 700 in 30-06 and I was working with 180gr soft points to use in black bears as that was his primary use for that gun. It like them seated all the way out to the lands. Never could crimp them on the cannelure and that ammo had to only be used in that rifle but that's where it shot those particular bullets. That was core-lokt bullets and we were running low so couldn't do as many groups to honestly tell the whole story. I bought some 180 pro hunters to try when those bullets run out as it seems availability on core-lokt has dried up.

 

[Coyotefurharvester]

Borrow a HS precision stock, if it shoots better (more consistent) you will know if the wood stock needs work.

 

[LHSmith]

Even with Remingtons RKW factory applied finish the wood could be absorbing moisture and cause it to move. I'd leave it as is or try a synthetic. My first deer rifle was a 1966 model 700 ADL in 30/06 that I wish I had back.

 

[gunsandgunsmithing]

To me, free floating the bbl and pillar bedding the action is virtually always the answer.

 

[Coyotefurharvester]

To me, free floating the bbl and pillar bedding the action is virtually always the answer.

At minimum.

 

[brokeasajoke]

Borrow a HS precision stock, if it shoots better (more consistent) you will know if the wood stock needs work.

That troublesome 700 30-06 had a cheapo plastic stock. Not that they are anything special but I have two 700's they shoot really good, one that has never shot worse than .8. they are in an B&C and HS.

 

[DumpHollow]

To me, free floating the bbl and pillar bedding the action is virtually always the answer.

THIS!!! Spend the money to have it professionally done. That is a very nice Remington and well worth it.

 

[10XSHOOTER]

40 in lbs in a wood non bedded stock. 50 in lbs in a skim bedded stock . 60-65 in lbs in a fully pillar bedded stock. free float everything in front of the recoil lug.

 

[DGP4]

Free floating the barrel and playing with torque values up to about 35 would be free and easy test to see if the accuracy improves. That might make this rifle shoot consistently and accurate enough for your intended purpose. Beyond that, I have a Remington 700 that I dropped into a Magpul Hunter stock with aluminum bedding block that went from 1.5 MOA to .75 MOA.

 

[BoydAllen]

Every rifle that I have floated and bedded shot better. These days that bedding would be of the pillar variety. One thing that I have learned it the method of checking bedding with a dial indicator. Just because bedding looks good does not mean that it it correct. Previously everyone has just rigged up ways to use a dial indicator for this, but a few months ago a friend (who I have no financial connection with) has started offering this tool, at a price that is more than fair.
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=barrel+lapping

A few decades back, a friend complained that his rifles that had been conventionally bedded, were mysteriously inconsistent as to accuracy. I gave him some photo copied pages of a Precision Shooting article about how to do cast in place pillar bedding. Being the fearless type, he immediately did that to one of his rifles, and was quite pleased with the result, after which he redid the bedding of all of his bolt action rifles, with similar results.

 

[TaperPin]

Buying and selling hunting rifles, looking for ones that shot extra good, a quick and easy way to eliminate bedding and forend pressure as issues is to use shims cut from a cereal box under the rear and front action screws to raise the barrel off the forend to temporarily free float it. Using that method, its very close to how the rifle would shoot with a full “proper” bedding job.

Some (many? most?) Remingtons of older vintage had chambers that were pretty loosey goosey. Saami maximum clearances might have been thought of as good “average” numbers. 1 moa was quite good in the days when Weatherby was a ground breaker with 1-1/2 moa guarantees. I would have done a happy dance had any large hunting calibers in a 700 shot better than moa, but I never found one.

 

[LHSmith]

FWIW the most accurate factory rifle I ever owned was a .300 WM 700 ss bdl in a tupperware stock. I restocked it in a Boyds laminated and bedded it in marine-tex ( I had done several previously so it was done correctly)- it did not improve the accuracy on that one.

 

[ScottVA]

40 ftlbs in a wood non bedded stock. 50 ftlbs in a skim bedded stock . 60-65 ft lbs in a fully pillar bedded stock. free float everything in front of the recoil lug.

Did you mean inch pounds?

 

[BoydAllen]

FWIW the most accurate factory rifle I ever owned was a .300 WM 700 ss bdl in a tupperware stock. I restocked it in a Boyds laminated and bedded it in marine-tex ( I had done several previously so it was done correctly)- it did not improve the accuracy on that one.

The bedding in Tupperware stocks is a lot more precise than the old wood stocks. Also, how did you do the bedding in the Boyds stock and did you check it? Years ago the best three shot group that I ever saw was shot with a sporter barreled 700 in one of the tupperware stocks. You could literally cover three shots with a dime, and it was factory ammo, BUT I would not say that one case makes a rule. BTW the caliber was .300 UM.

 

[TheCZKid]

Thanks for the replies! didn't want to take this rifle and mess it up, as it's the first rifle I purchased, used off Gun Broker back in 2005.

It came with a 3-9x40 Leupold on it, and was bone stock. Until many years later, when I was re-starting to make a good load, I realized the scope was WAY TOO FAR FORWARD, I was craning my neck to see through it. I was amazed I was able to shoot it at all before. The scope could not move back further with the original bases and rings, so I put on 20 MOA Warne scope base. Then installed a Burris you see in the above photo, and then wanted more eye relief, and put on the scope below, Vortex 4-16x42 Diamondback HD. Fit a Limbsaver butt pad on, and that was about 4 years ago, last time I did anything.

One HUGE thing I figured out with load testing is the bullet needed to be a lot further out. I think that was part of the variance in my groups earlier. My best load to date is Speer 180 grain BTSP 2052, and IMR 4350 56.5 grains, Fed GMM primer, OAL 3.39" 2750 fps. The last two groups with that load were .56" and .62", figured that was good enough for the upcoming elk season.

Based on what you guys have said, I think I'll first just relieve the front barrel from touching, free-float it and go test fire it again with my current load. I'll test different torque amounts also, see what does best. If I do have it bedded, I should probably have my gunsmith do the bedding, just to make sure it's done right.

Here's the current state of the rifle

 

[46and2]

I have a Remington 700 in 30-06, ADL made 1989, with its original wood stock. It's the first rifle I reloaded for in 2013, and then re-visited load development about 5 years ago when I was going to use it for elk hunting. Back in 2013 I was pretty clueless about reloading, and also about such things as glass bedding rifles, or making sure the barrel was free-floating, etc. Since then I have become a pretty good reloader and have bedded 5 or 6 rifles.

In my reloading for this rifle I would have a good group, then when testing the same load next time, have a terrible group, and I never figured out what might be causing that. Tried various powders, bullets, seating depths, etc.

This years elk hunt is over, and I was just cleaning the rifle to put it away, and it occurred to me I might be able to get this rifle to shoot better. Realized I didn't even know what the action screws should be tightened to. Looking online I decided on 25 for the front screw and 20 for the rear and middle screws.

And the barrel is in contact with the stock on the bottom about 3" from the front, and it touches the left side at the front too. Hmmm. Seems Remington's were designed with the idea the barrel touches the stock toward the front, but I figured I'd ask you guys what you might do.

Should I free-float the barrel up front, get some clearance there, and do a glass bedding on the action? It shoots about 1 moa now, and probably that's fine for a hunting rifle. However, it might just shoot better if I did some work on it. Your thoughts.

View attachment 1494505

Post in thread 'Remington alpha 1 308' https://forum.accurateshooter.com/threads/remington-alpha-1-308.4108529/post-38795401

I installed 3/8 stainless tubing for pilars and bedded with MarineTex, tightened to 50 in lb. The barrel is floated.

 

[10XSHOOTER]

Did you mean inch pounds?

Yes, sorry. brain fog on a Sunday morning!

 

[JEFFPPC]

I have had a lot of 700s in my life. Most were free floated and the action bedded, rear of recoil lug also, before I ever shot them. I never had one that did not shoot well. Never pillar bedded then, never saw a need, still don't. Never used a torque wrench until I got involved with airguns but now that I have I would guess my long educated wrists were doing them at 35 front 25 rear.