I just picked up a Browning Safari in 338, and I have a question about the forend screw, the one that screws into the recoil lug. It's the one in this picture:



How tight should that thing be? The rifle is glass bedded from the tang all the way forward of the recoil lug, and it looks like the guy who bedded it knew what he was doing. I know that on a Model 70 Standard Rifle, you should take that screw out and go about your business. Is it the same on a Browning Safari? Does the fact that the recoil lug is bedded make a difference?

I ask because this rifle groups well from the bench, but when I shoot from sitting with a sling, the group opens up to about 12" at 200 yards.

thanks,


Okie John

I would leave it be, and I torque mine on my CZ's the same as the front action screw.
Mine are also glass/pillar bedded.
The barrel recoil lug is there to stop the stock splitting through the wrist, believe it or not. It halves the amount recoil pulse coming from the tang.

Cheers.

You have to play with the tension and find out where it shoots best, then I would mark the screw head with the hole, so I could return to the same tension where it shoots best,

In many cases it requires that you take the screw out. If that works best in your rifle, I would cut the threads off the screw and glass the screw head back in the hole for appearence.

When testing don't bind the barrel as that is counter productive and probably whats happening with 12 inch groups..Hold the barrel and end of the stock in your left hand together as you tighten the forend screws and you can feel tension, a certain amount of tension is normally acceptable, but too much or too little can screw things up big time...sometimes a shim or two an inch behind the tip of the forend will settle it down and make it shoot. Sometimes free floating will make it shoot.

Brownings and the std wt. mod. 70 Win pre 64s have the problem, if you want to call it that..most of them shoot or can be tuned to great accuracy. Ive delt with it for many years. Today most think free floating is a fix all but its not, its just a viable options at times.

Glass bed or have a gunstock maker, check your inletting might solve the problem for you..but, whatever you do, the final test is shooting..

Ray, thanks for the response. I was hoping you'd chime in.

This rifle has been glass bedded from the tang screw all the way to the forward recoil lug. I had it out of the stock a couple of weeks ago, and whoever did the bedding knew his stuff. We have three or four excellent rifle makers in this neck of the woods, including Jim Cloward, Dan Cowen, Rick Freudenberg, and Arnold Arms. I'd be surprised if one of them didn't do the work, but I'll shoot it and see what happens.

Thanks again,


Okie John

Take the screw out and shoot it to start with, then tighten the screw a turn at a time shooting it, when it shoots to your satisfaction mark the screw position in some manner so you can return to that position when dismantling the rifle for whatever reason. If the gun shoots best without the screw, then cut the threads off the screw head. stick a tiny dab of glass on the screw head and glue it back in the hole with the slots facing north and south..for looks only.

Okie........ I look forward to hearing how things go with the testing at the range. I also just picked up one of those Brownings, but in .375 H&H.

My understanding of the front screw tension was as Ray described. Always interesting to see what works for a specific rifle, as they sure are not all the same in how they respond to the tension on both barrel lug screws and action screws.

Just got back from clobbering a Roosevelt's elk with that exact rifle. I'll hit the range once my feet stop hurting and let you know.


Okie John

Hey buddy, clobbering a elk tells me the gun is at least half fixed as is..

Thanks. I broke his spine with one offhand shot at 110 yards at last light, so I'm delighted with how it all went.

Today I took the rifle to the range and pulled the screw in question completely out of the rifle. I got these groups with a handload that I slapped together while I was in mad scientist mode trying to get this rifle ready:



The group in the center was my first. Then I let the rifle cool for 10 minutes and fired the one in the lower left. I let it cool again, then fired the group on the lower right. (All three groups have two shots close together with one shot a bit further out. I'm pretty sure this is me not getting squarely behind the scope because I set this rifle up with so much eye relief that I had to crane my head way forward to get a clear view of the reticle.) I adjusted the windage and fired the upper right group, then adjusted the elevation and fired the upper left group. The .22-caliber hole near that group came from the knucklehead next to me cross-firing onto my target.

I'm going to swap the scope for something with a little more magnification and correct the eye relief before I shoot for more groups, but I think that this rifle is fine without that screw.

Thanks to everyone who weighed in, especially Ray.


Okie John

That gun wants to shoot and it will, it just needs to be TWEAKED a little! Start using the screw a turn at a time until it pulls all three shots together, I don't know the number of each shot, but it appears to me it moves a little as the gun heats up in that it puts two together and one out just a tad..You might also put a paper shim or two under the forend tip and try that first of all...

At worst its shooting good enough for any kind of hunting that I know of..

Okie John ; have you made any advancement on this rifle ? Have u tried turning in the front screw ? What optic do you have on it. I have a SWFA 10×42 M.D. scope that among other things I use for accuracy testing of my rifles. Including my 458 Win mag. The fixed SWFA SS Classic scopes have 4" of eye relief so I dont worry about getting ringed. And the scope is 50 BMG rated. They make them in 6,10,12,16 +20 power so they have the magnification for wringing out the accuracy of a rifle. And they can be got on The Sample List for $269.oo. All are 30mm tube so as long as you have a set of 30mm rings to spare its eay to use one as a mule.
Anyway, just an idea. Hope you get it zapping right in there . And congrats on the elk
Glen.