Is it worth having a gunsmith bed a custom rifle?

I have got a rifle with a gunsmith for action trueing and the installation of a Shilen barrel.

I just recieved the stock from McMillan and asked him how much he'd charge to do the (pillar) bedding for me. 250EU - about £330USD.

Now I have done quite a few bedding jobs myself, and I gotta say I can't pick any faults with them.

Is there something I'm missing here?

If I get motivated enough I'll post a picture of the last job I did and get the AR jury to decide whether my work is up to scratch or not but something tells me I'm asking a question I already know the answer to.

If you can do it yourself I'd certainly do it.

I believe most smiths run about $75 for this which isn't real bad as it can be screwed up.

But if this is in your bag of tricks then do it.

That way you'll know how it was done!

If you know how to do the bedding then do it and don't screw up. I will not shoot one of my rifles until the bedding is done. Much easier to work up loads after getting the action and stock tightened up.

By your question "Is there something I'm missing here?", I think you feel that because MacMillan wants a huge amount of money to do it that he knows something you don't. The only difference here is that MacMillan would probably void the warranty (big deal, I've never seen a MacMillan fail) if you or anyone else beds it. There is no magic to bedding the MacMillan stock over wood or anyone elses synthetic. MacMillan advertises his stocks as "Drop-In" for any factory rifle and, I'm sure, for a custom rifle, it would need some bedding work. If you have successfully bedded other stocks, I wouldn't worry for a minute in doing it myself. The "don't screw it up" command from others applies equally to any other type of stock. Of course, you don't want to screw it up (re my last statement about doing it yourself).

Well here's instructions from the guy who made your stock, so.......

How to Bed a Rifle-by Gale McMillan