I've spoken w/ HS-Precision on the Phone before and they advised not to bed their stocks and that the Warranty would be void if the stock was altered. The tech told me that putting the proper tention on the action screws was all that is needed w/ their stocks and bedding wouldn't help accuracy.

I don't really believe he was 100% correct but, I figured some of the Smith's here would have some experience w/ the issue.

The reason I'm asking is because when I do put torque on the Action screws it definitely puts the action in a bind(can feel the stock tip towards the screw being torqued) which can't be good but, the rifle shoots quite well so .

I do have one HS-Precision that has been Glass Bedded that I bought from Rooster and he had already had it bedded, luckily it fit my action like a glove but, I don't know how it would shoot w/o the bedding since I didn't have it prior, It's a tack driver w/ so, I'm sure not changing anything.

Will the bedding hold well on the Aluminum Block or does the surface need to be scuffed?

Opinions Much Appreciated.

Thanks,

Reloader

If it ain't broke, don,t fix it.
I put a few Rem 308 "varmint" barreled actions in HS stocks several years ago, they all shot great. That is the advantage of the HS stock, it is a bolt in.
If my rifle did not shoot good as is, I would try another HS stock.

You bed them.

I agree with Mike. Bed them and you don't need their warranty. They will not know exactly how every rifle receiver is exactly shaped. The one I had was not close to my 700 and bedding fixed it. In my opinion, the aluminum is for stiffness only.

Common logic will tell you that it is impossible to mass produce a bedding block that will fit all actions equally well...just like an epoxy bedding job will only fit the action it was molded to, really well.

I have a couple pair of Loeb bench-made shoes that were made from a mold of my feet. The difference between those shoes and off the rack shoes is like night and day...and the same principal applies to bedding rifle actions. One is a “custom fit†the other is a “one size fits all†within a certain range.

all 5 of mine are bedded.

I have mine bedded. There is a very light skim coat of bedding material put under the whole length of the action and then around each action bolt hole on the bottom metal. This gives a fit-like-a-glove support to the action and I believe, reduces action flexing. I can verify that there is no torque of the action when the action screws are tightened by using a backspace gauge between the barrel and stock forend if there is less than 0.002 - 0.005" difference between tight and loose action screws. You can see the difference down range.

Now, for something completely different.

In principal, bedding is better than not bedding but...I think most rifles are not tuned to the extent that the difference is noticable if you work the action screw torque to the optimal setting. That is a trial and error prospect with dramatically different groups between the best and worst torque settings. To do it right you need a good inch-pound torque wrench, too.

If you do all that correctly you can acheive groups as good as glass bedding will give in a typical varmint rifle.

If you just screw in the action without regard for screw tension then is a crap-shoot as to whether you found the sweet spot.

Glass bedding eliminates all those variables and is quicker/easier in the long run. On the other hand it does ruin any chance of a replacement under warranty if something goes wrong later.

quote:

Originally posted by Strawboss:
I have mine bedded. There is a very light skim coat of bedding material put under the whole length of the action and then around each action bolt hole on the bottom metal. This gives a fit-like-a-glove support to the action and I believe, reduces action flexing. I can verify that there is no torque of the action when the action screws are tightened by using a backspace gauge between the barrel and stock forend if there is less than 0.002 - 0.005" difference between tight and loose action screws. You can see the difference down range.

Don,

That is what everyone I know that has H&S stocks does and it seems to work fine. Did you try the gauge, and/or indicator test prior to the bedding? I have done it on H&S stocks with just the bedding block and you can get up to .10†or more when you loosen and tighten the guard screws.

Tiggertate, you raise an intersting point. Pardon my ignorance if I misunderstood. Since I'm about to bed one of my rifles, let me see if I understand what you're saying and how it would be applied.

Take the unbedded rifle to the range and using an inch pound torque wrench, experiment with different screw tensions and determine the setting that provides the best groups. Then, bed the rifle, torque the screws to the desired screw tension and let the bedding cure.

Would the process above yield different results than bedding the rifle first and then going to the range to experiment with torque settings?

I was talking about it in an "either one or the other" context. I suppose both would be optimal but I doubt that if you glass bed the rifle torque will have as great an effect.

The principal of screw torque is what was determined by the military when they adopted the H-S stock for sniper rifles. IIRC, they found something between 55 and 65 inch-pounds optimal depending on the individual rifle. At the time I learned about this, they were not bedding their guns. Don't know about know.

One thing that did come up was that constant re-torquing of the screws was wearing out the counter-sunk holes in the aluminum bottom metal of their Rem 700s and that was a lot of the reason they went to steel.

The best source of info for this might be one of the bigger sniper forums on a military site. Those guys live eat and breathe this topic and can tell the pros and cons with more authority than I can.

I have used 65 inch pounds for some time for most of my rifles, all are glass bedded.

Are you aware of any negatives to fully bedding the action front and rear. In a gun with steel pillars, do you see any advantages or disadvantages?

I use DD Ross bottom metal on my 700’s and you would literally snap the heads off the guard screws before you bent or deformed one of those suckers!

The Marine Corps was torquing the guard screws on their M40’s when the Army was still using M14’s for sniper rifles.

Personally, I’ve never liked the bedding block concept because you have to end up epoxy bedding it anyway and that seems just a bit redundant to me.

quote:

Originally posted by brianbo:
I have used 65 inch pounds for some time for most of my rifles, all are glass bedded.

Are you aware of any negatives to fully bedding the action front and rear. In a gun with steel pillars, do you see any advantages or disadvantages?

None that I have ever heard.