Semisane

In a comment on Hillbillyhunter's post about loss of accuracy in an Omega, Spaniel wrote "Torque of action screws. My omega was volatile before I intalled pillars and the accuracy changed depending how I tightened the action screws".

How about a little more on this? Any info on action screw torque and/or how to pillar the action would be helpful.

spaniel

Oh Semisane, now you did it. Now I need to find time for a long-winded and pic-laden post. I need to store it in a Word document this time, I think I've typed this one out in a dozen different PMs and a couple message boards over the years.

The process is straightforward for anyone who has ever bedded a rifle before, and not that hard to learn for a novice (I managed not to screw it up and I knew nothing when I launched into it).

Sometime in the next night or two when I get time I will post it.

Once I do, you will see why I favor the Omega action or a bolt action over the now-popular break actions when constructing an accurized, long distance gun.

Semisane

I appreciate that Spaniel.

I was sure I had seen something on it by you about a year ago (before I got my X7, so I didn't pay attention), but I did a search here and on Modern Muzzleloader and could not find it.

spaniel

Yeah, I've never got around to membership on that one.

Well, here goes....

THE PROBLEM

When I got my thumbhole Omega, it shot great groups the first time out of the box. I shot it about 30 times, then took it in and did a thorough cleaning -- including pulling the action from the stock. When I shot it the next day, the 200yd POI had shifted over a foot and the groups were double the size. What the....played with everything, went through $50 of bullets, no fix. Cleaned it again, shot the next day, and the POI shifted back and groups were better. HUH??? Well, I read online about what bedding and action screw torque can do and got to wondering. So I tightened the screws tighter and sure enough, the POI started to shift! Bingo.

THE SOLUTION

You have to do two things to create consistency when you reassemble a rifle:
1) Pillar bed -- install metal sleeves through which the action screws pass so that they tighted metal-on-metal tightly each time. Unlike any stock material, metal will not compress so you'll get consistency you could never get by screwing the screws to the stock itself.

2) Epoxy/glass bed -- create a form-fitting bed so that the receiver is hugged by a form-fitting glove of epoxy in the stock and returns to the exact same position each time you install it. A properly bedded receiver will fit tightly and need to be worked out of the bed to remove from the stock.

In addition to this, you want the barrel floated from the front action lug forward.

THE PROCESS

-- Take a dollar bill and wrap it on your barrel and slide rearwards. If it does not freely slide down to the front recoil lug, you have floating issues. Note where the bill catches, and use sandpaper (for wood) or a dremel (for plastic) to remove material until the barrel cannot touch the stock. If it is wood, use linseed oil or something to re-seal the wood when you are done.

-- Read up on the internet about how to bed a bolt action rifle like the Remington 700. Your process will have variations, but the basics are the same.

-- Get aluminum pillars. Any tubes you can find at a hardware store will work, but I bought Remington 700 pillars from Brownell's and cut them down to size.

-- Get pillar bedding material. I used a Pro Bed 2000 kit from Brownell's, but Devcon is also used a lot. Never tried it.

-- Once your barrel is floated, wrap masking tape around the barrel an inch or so in front of the front recoil lug just until it supports the barrel in the position it naturally rests when the action is screwed into the stock.

-- Get a drill bit the same diameter as the pillars. Carefully drill out the stock to make room for the pillars to slip in. Cut the pillar material to the right length. When it is firm against the bottom of the lug, it should come out far enough that the head of the screw will be about where it was when it was against the woods stock from factory.

-- Use epoxy that bonds metal and wood/plastic to glue the pillars into place. Do NOT get any epoxy on the lug or where the screw head will touch it. Lash the action in tight with masking tape. Insert action screws and screw tight, let everything dry.

If you are lucky, it'll end up like this or prettier:



-- Identify every surface where the action from the front of the front lug back to the front of the hole where the trigger guard goes through touches the stock. Using a dremel or similar, remove a thin layer of material (1/16" to 1/8") along all these surfaces. This is especially important around all surfaces of the lugs, especially in back. Also around the top of the pillars you just installed. Since the action is tubular, you'll basically have a 180 degree bed around it. Keep the layer pretty thin along the top of the stock where it will be visible.

-- Remove everything from the action that you can -- if possible remove the pins from the drop action and take it off.

-- Put modeling clay in every place you don't want bedding to get. If you screw this up you could permanently glue the action into the stock! Fill the ramrod channel to within 1/8" of the bottom of the action. The tape around the barrel from earlier will create a dam in front.

-- Apply release agent LIBERALLY to all surfaces that will contact the bedding. You can buy this or I used PAM cooking spray.

-- Mix and apply the bedding. You want enough to do the job, but not much excess. If you miss a spot, you can always go through the process from here forward again to fix it.

--When the bedding material is in, screw the action into the stock and torque to the correct specifications (Frankly anything consistent is fine, and I don't even own a torque wrench). Put the gun in a vise or otherwise keep it horizontal during drying.

-- After the specified drying time, down a couple beers to prepare you in case you screwed up.

-- Unscrew the action, try to work the action back and forth loose. You may have to lightly tap the barrel with a rubber hammer to pop it loose. If it won't come loose, put it in the freezer for 3 hours and try again.

-- If you can't get it loose, finish the 6-pack and call it a night.

-- Assuming it comes loose, congrats! Inspect your job and see if you need to add more bedding anywhere. If not, removed the clay and reassemble. Getting the ramrod channel clean can be tricky, I don't recall how I dug it out.

The finished job should look something like this. I got it a little thin between the ramrod channel and action and broke through in one spot, but that spot is not vital:



The benefits are straightforward -- the action is consistently and tightly held into the action the same each time you take it out and between shots (unaffected by recoil), and the barrel is isolated from the stock by floating.

If you have a plastic stock, the process will be more difficult. If it is hollow, you'll have a job filling all that extra space with bedding but it CAN be done.

Again, review online resources on how to bed. You'll see the similarities between them and my directions, and can fill in any gaps I left behind. Then use my pics as a model for where you need bedding.

You can see why I don't like break actions as long distance shooters -- they MAY be good, but it's hard to get the consistency you can with a stiff, fixed action. Same reason you see bolt actions only in precision rifle competitions.

Good luck...

Semisane

Thank you sir!

Years ago I full-length glass bedded a full stock octagon barrel with good results, but that simple straight barrel offered no complications. Been too chicken to tackle anything with lugs and a trigger group. For one thing, I did not realize the pillars go completely through the stock. I thought they were more like shims/washers inside the channel.

Well, the wife and I are heading for her sister's house North of Atlanta tomorrow for a week long visit. So this project is a few weeks away. Warning Spaniel, if I end up permanently gluing the barrel in the stock you will have a lawsuit on your hands.

spaniel

Don't forget copious amounts of release agent, and it's YOUR eyes making sure there's clay anywhere the bedding could get and form a permanent lock!!!

And don't forget the beer, just in case!

MTA -- I forget, remember to put clay in both lugs where the ramrod goes through.

MLKeith

My Omega has decided to become one of the ones that will not return to the original settings every time the stock is removed. It is a synthetic one. I have considered pillar bedding but have thought about threading a solid aluminum rod and then drilling the center. It would allow drilling and tapping the plastic stock which would make the installation much more solid with little chance that the pillar glue would break loose. Anybody done this?? I found that even using a torque screwdriver does not totally fix the problem with drifting groups. Personally I would not recommend a plastic stock on the Omega since having this experience.

spaniel

I have heard of people doing similar (threaded pillars) with Ruger 10/22s. It should work fine, though I'd still coat the threads in epoxy when you install to make sure they stay put. In plastic, it seems like it would be easier to install that way.

Just make sure you drill the center out significantly wider than the diameter of the action screws. The action screws should pass through the pillar without touching the sides.

Yep, I hate the tupperware stocks too. I have never seen the inside of a T/C plastic stock but I imagine there is a LOT of empty space in there to fill if you want to bed it. I would search online and see, there must be a way to fill some of that space other than bedding compound, then bed over it.

hubby11

Spaniel, this is great stuff, thanks. One quick question - as far as tightening the lug screws, should you tight one before the other (e.g., rear then front) or does it matter?

spaniel

I think you're supposed to tighten the front one first.

Anybody know if there is a mod or someone who could "sticky" this? I've literally typed this out a bunch of times now, it gets asked enough we should just archive it.