Ran across an old article. In it the author modified a Remington 700 action by machining a lug and welding it on. Then he had the action re-heat treated. Supposedly the purpose was to have a more massive recoil lug and to add a flat surface under the action to help prevent twisting of the action in the stock.

Has anyone ever seen/done one of these? Is there really a benefit?

As you may be able to tell I have a lot of time on my hands right now as I recover. Lots of time to read and wonder so you all get the brunt of it. LOL.

Option C: just have a competent machine shop take a piece of good steel, cut it to lug width by 1" thick by 6-8" long, machine it flat, drill a hole the size of your barrel about 3/8ths of an inch from one end, and bend it to just clear the barrel by about 1/4" down from the hole. It will look like an "L" laying on its side with the short leg vertical. If weight is a concern, once the sideways "L" has been bedded, you can drill holes in it.

Option best: Buy a Model 70.

I have to agree with Chuck. If you want an action with a flat bottom, buy an action with a flat bottom. Regards, Bill

I have that book and have studied the article; yes, I could do it.
but what are you gaining? nothing.

Yes, you have too much time on your hands.

Why?

Actually, aluminum bedding blocks essentially accomplish the same thing.

I have 2 Rem 700, a Sendero .300 Win Mag and a Police in .308 Win. Both have HS Precision stocks with a lenghty alu bedding block. Doesn't it accomplish the same as the project afore mentioned, but in a factory package?

I was serious about having very little to do for the next week or so until I get back on my feet. I look at some of this stuff and while I put it into the category of "A clever solution to a non-existent problem" I have been wrong before. Easier just to ask about other folks opinions and do a tally.

As far as actions go, I believe in getting the right one for the job. I would no sooner use a military Mauser action to build a Palma rifle than I would use a Barnard or Stolle Panda for a DGR. That being said, once the action factors that affect rigidity upon firing are taken into account such as flat vs round, front vs rear locking lugs, thumb cut or not, size of the port, and on; then the bedding comes in.

I personally prefer a good piller bedded stock. As far as HS Precision goes, I got a bad taste in my mouth very early. In the very early '90s our unit received 216 brand new 24 systems. Over half went back to Remington because of bedding block issues. Later, in dealing with customer guns, I found the bedding blocks less than acceptable. After doing a dozen or so I said no more. Maybe by comparing what I had learned about inletting wood stocks to the meeting of the receiver and bedding block I was mistaken but I doubt it.

Trying to mass produce two separate items that are supposed to mate together very closely is difficult at best. They both have tolerances and when you have an LMC or MMC on both parts there is an issue.

Once again, maybe I am too picky and maybe great strides have been made by HS Precision. Just not interested.

quote:

Originally posted by Andre Mertens:
I have 2 Rem 700, a Sendero .300 Win Mag and a Police in .308 Win. Both have HS Precision stocks with a lenghty alu bedding block. Doesn't it accomplish the same as the project afore mentioned, but in a factory package?

Well no it doesn't actually. Unless you are glueing the two together.

quote:

Supposedly the purpose was to have a more massive recoil lug and to add a flat surface under the action to help prevent twisting of the action in the stock.

I have a 510WSM built on an XR100. This is the heaviest recoiling rifle I've ever experienced and it has no problems with the lug. For twisting you could pin the lug and bed the sides of it so it can't twist in the stock. For recoil, you could put an aluminum block behind it that's glued into the stock.

I think before I went to the trouble of machining and welding a lug and re-heat treating, I'd look into one of the custom actions with a built in lug. I built a rifle with a bat action that has an integrated lug and rail. I was eager to try it out so I slapped it in a wood stock and dremeled away wood until it fit. Later on I did the aluminum pillar and epoxy bedding on it and there was no change in the zero or accuracy. It's a pretty rigid receiver.

This picture shows what I mean by the aluminum block. For recoil you'd only need the rear block, and I'm sure even that is overkill.




This shows the same idea, with the front "pillar" going up flush behind the recoil lug:

The concept of having a flat bottom to resit torquing of the action in the stock, while it may have some merit, is far from being established as a real advantage. In fact, there are so many round actions, conventionally bedded, which are capable of winning matches that it's hard to argue too hard in favour of the flat.
Ultimately, it becomes selling point but one which must be SOLD. Regards, Bill.

OP-
Been there & done it.
A 700 S/A chambered in 6.5-08 w/ smithing accomplished by Alan & Dan Warner of Warner Tool Co in NH.
Rifle is set up for prone LR shooting w/ sling & open/any sights.

A single round S/S follower was machined to a slip fit in the mag opening w/ a drafted .5x.75x1.5" lug attached to the follower that was tack TIG welded 4 places to the receiver by myself.

Action has a drafted WTC tool steel recoil lug sandwiched between action & Bbl.

Stock is a Robertson Composites-Warner Prone w/ WTC brass inverted top hat pillars machined to action diameter as any WTC built rifle.

The 30"1:8"twist cut rifled Bbl has not shot larger than 5/16" 5 shot groups during load work w/140-155gr match/sorted projo's.

WTC's Barnard Action builds are second to none for any competition discipline.
My WTC built Barnard PO2's have a ground drafted lug attached to the underside of the action also.

Lots of good information, and even better, good explanatory pictures.

thanks,

Rich

700s and Tikka T3s have the most tennion length/strength of any commercial action.

For what you have to do to one to make it as good as a Bat you are better off buying a bat.

A m70, Mauser, Weatherby mark V and damn near anything else with it's 3 or 4 threads is really down hill.

Swing the bolt on a Barnard P series & you will give a BAT's away to people you don't know!

(any action/rifle is only as good as the Bbl & trigger group)

Barnard makes a good action, saw a lot of them in Australia at fullbore/f-class matches.

Helped my buddy rebarrel a couple.

The Barnard action reminds me of the old Weber actions.

I have a couple Remington 700's that I modified by swapping in a Mauser bolt and Turk receiver.
Sorry, had to do it.

quote:

Originally posted by odies dad:
I have a couple Remington 700's that I modified by swapping in a Mauser bolt and Turk receiver.
Sorry, had to do it.

LOL!

Quite some time ago I built a full custom on the Remington short action for a client. We decided the extra recoil lug hanging off the front of the action looked out of place. I made a Mauser style recoil lug and soldered it to the bottom of the action at the front guard screw location. It turned out and shot very well