Also posted on Gunsmithing but figured I'd go to the specialists.

Getting ready to finish restocking my Mark X Whitworth .375 -- I'm putting it in a Boyd's JRS laminate. The straighter comb, larger butt area, and extra weight proved most welcome at the bench -- in fact, felt recoil was less with the 1/4" Boyd's pad, than with the factory stock + 1" Decelerator.

This rifle has a second recoil lug on the barrel and I've bedded the rear of both lugs and the tang in Steelbed, plus crossbolting behind the magazine.

Accuracy as tested is OK, but maybe a little behind the factory wood. The factory stock was bedded pretty tightly to the barrel, and I'm wondering if I should follow that lead and skim a layer of Acraglas full-length in the new stock. Of course the barrel is pretty heavy, given the hole that it's asked to support...

Any thoughts?

After half a dozen Mark X Whitworths (.358 STA to .450 Barnes Supreme), I like full contact bedding of the barrel out to the secondary recoil lug on the barrel, then free float forward of that.



Make sure you have easily visible clearance relief behind the rear of the tang, which should not contact the bedding material or wood.



The Mauser spacers of the Mark X will do a good job of keeping the laminate stock from compressing, but if you want to do it right, pillar bed it and the stock will never crack or compress on your 375 H&H. Laminates are great but they are only as good as the veneers they are made of.



The crossbolt between the magazine and trigger wells is a great idea, as well as one behind the primary action recoil lug and one behind the barrel lug. Hidden or visible crossbolts will do.

Well, I'm even more perplexed now.

I free floated it from the back of the barrel lug and tried it again. The reduced practice loads that I tried last week, shot about the same (about 2" at 100 yds.).

But the one group that I shot with a full power load (270 Hornady SP with 73.0/RL-15) absolutely went in the toilet -- 2.91". When loaded in nice concentric brass, this is a reliable 1-1.5" performer at 2700 fps as recently as this January. Velocity was a little higher today (90 deg. F. vs. whatever it was in January) but I felt like I was shooting fine, so after that one I packed it in.

These loads were full-power plinkers loaded in less concentric brass, which seems to matter a fair bit in this rifle, but I've never seen that much of a difference. All the screws, scope mount, etc. are nice and tight.

This week I'm going to load up some more full-power rounds, as perfect as possible in every respect, and try again next weekend with both stocks. If the new stock still isn't shooting right, I guess I'll try a duct tape pressure point at the forend tip. But any other suggestions would be more than welcome.

John,

When that free floating fails me with that perfect load in that perfect rifle/new stock, I simply set the rifle up in a vise, or appropriate rest with sandbags on the butt so it is not going anywhere, level and square shooting position, with the forearm jutting into space, horizontal and clear of contact forward of the action, hang 5 pounds at the forend swivel base downward, or turn the rifle upside down and hang five pounds from the barrel band sling swivel base, and put a pad of epoxy at the end of the barrel channel to give that pressure point, with release agent on the barrel and masking tape on the exterior of the stock. I have had this cut group sizes in half in the occasional rifle/new stock situation.



Duct tape or business card shims at the forend tip may give an indication if that pressure point bedding is needed, as you say. Since your previous stock did well with a tight forend fit /pressure point? ... Hopefully that will fix it. Good luck.