I am buying a Ruger M77 .458Lott and have been doing alot of reading on large bore guns lately. I read alot about bedding the rifle so that it will funciton properly. What is this? will i need to do it with this gun? Also, are there any other things that I will need to do inorder to have this gun function well and not worry about it breaking stock or any other type of damage? Please give some answers, I need the help.

It's when you love your gun so much, you sleep with it

Ok, all seriousness asside.

Bedding a rifle means to use a compound, typically epoxy with a filler to provide a close to perfect fit between the barreled action and the stock.

Paticular to big bore rifles is the need to keep the stock from going to splinters, and Jack Lott wrote an excellent article on that several years back. It has been scanned and is in one of the posts, hopefully someone will have a link handy.

To really keep a big bore together, there are a few things that should be done in addition to merely bedding the action. The tang, rearmost portion of the action should have a good 1/32" clearance behind it. 45's and up really should have a second recoil lug on the barrel, usually 4-5" in front of the receiver lug. Cross bolts are good to have behind the main recoil lug, and by the trigger recess.

Ruger has bedding block in the M77 magnum that is a bit unique and others will comment on the paticulars of bedding such a rifle.

quote:

Originally posted by Paul H:
It's when you love your gun so much, you sleep with it

Ahhh, many a rifle I have "bedded" then.

Good one, Paul.

Bedding your rifle means putting it under your bed so you know where it is. Very simple but there are some that are better than others!

quote:

Originally posted by Rakman1:
I am buying a Ruger M77 .458Lott and have been doing alot of reading on large bore guns lately. I read alot about bedding the rifle so that it will funciton properly. What is this? will i need to do it with this gun? Also, are there any other things that I will need to do inorder to have this gun function well and not worry about it breaking stock or any other type of damage? Please give some answers, I need the help.

Your Ruger will function just fine out of the box. Bedding has nothing to with functioning. It is about accuracy. Before you do anything to screw up the rifle or waste money, take it to the range. Take along 100 rounds of ammo. Now sit down and start shooting. The idea is to become familiar with it. Also you will be sighting in a scope or iron sights. Eventually, fire several 3 shot groups. Measure them. Are they within the kill zone of your intented quarry? If they are, you don't need to worry about bedding. If not, the come back another day with handloads worked up to find the most accurate loading. Again shoot several groups and measure. Are you within the kill zone of your intended quarry at your expected maximum hunting distance? If you are, then you are done. If the groups are all over the place, take the gun to a good gunsmith and let them solve the problem.

If you are building a rifle from scratch, bedding does become an issue. The idea is to have the metal and stock in contact in such a way so that things do not change from shot to shot. Also, bedding can solve some problems related to warping with wooden stocks. All this really grew out of the bench rest accuracy game.

With a 458 Lott, I doubt you are looking for 1/4" inch groups at 200 yards. It is dangerous game rifle after all. You want the game close, no?

quote:

Originally posted by Paul H:
It's when you love your gun so much, you sleep with it

My 458 resides next to my bed. Does that count?

"Bedding" a rifle is actually the process of inletting the barreled action into a piece of wood. "Glass-Bedding" is when you use a filler, two-part epoxy, or such like Acra-Glass to compensate for someones lack of inletting skill.

On modern factory rifles the stocks are hogged out on stock duplicators and then slapped together with the metal. Some fit well some are horrible and some have bad pressure spots. Also if a rifle is not sealed and finished well enough to keep moisture out the wood will warp and swell in an uneven manner and put pressure against the barrel or try to bend the action between the screws.

My stock making instructor at school was one of those gifted fellows who could bed a rifle perfectly, seal and finish it and never have it warp. All with out using 'glass of any sort. That kind of skill takes time to learn and is expensive to buy. Sean

If you have any accuracy issues then get a good smith to glass bed it for you. It doesn't cost much and cures most accuracy problems.

I have bedded several rifles, but I HAVE NO IDEA how to bed the Ruger RSM. That one is a brain stumper to me.

other than running a pin inside and down the wrist, the rugers don't need to be bedded... they've got FIVE screws holding them together and 3 mechcanical unions...

just make sure your screws are all tight and even.


jeffe