I am in the process of bedding a ruger 77mkii. I plan to bed the action only and leave the barrel free floated. I have heard that bedding the rugers are quite difficult due to the angled front action screw. This is my first bedding job and I don't want to screw it up. I would appreciate any info on how to do this correctly. Pics of the finished bedding job would be nice if you have them. Thanks.

I sent you Jack's write up about the best I can do. I bed M77s using surgical hose to hold it in place I don't use the screws.

ramrod,

if you don't mind to minimize the write up efforts here would you send me the same info? My next bedding is the Mk II full stocker-just the recoil lug and rear tang

thanks

email wetfoot2004@yahoo.com

Grizz007 it is on the way.

Thanks for the article ramrod. It did a nice job of explaining how to bed the action and barrel channel. Just wondering what would be the difference in bedding just the action as opposed to action and channel. Could you explain how you use the surgical hose to hold the barreled action in place.

Just like Jack talked about "To hold everything together I’ve used the same piece of ¼ inch surgical tubing that I talked the blood bank nurse out of all those years ago. Its about a yard of crusty rubber and I wrap it around the action from the center of the front ring to the center of the rear bridge. I wrap it about the same tension as when that good looking nurse wrapped it around my arm. This tension will keep the action from raising a little should an air bubble start pushing on it."

I used to rely on the screws to hold everything in place including supporting the barrel. Now I get the action area ready and then build a shim in the front of the barrel channel so the barreled action will lay flat. This works the same if you are bedding the chamber or not. If needed I use inletting screws to make sure everything is aligned. Apply the release agent and the epoxy. Then lower the barreled action in place. Then use the tubing like a large rubber band wrapping it around the stock and action with tension to hold everything in place. Same method I use to glue a BR rifle together. Also eliminates the issue of glueing your screws into the action.

Andre that is a very NEAT looking job. How did you hide all the extra glass?? Very nice job.

I don't really find the ruger to be all that hard, but I two pours, generally, on them

Since I normally put a wrist pin in them, I put the pin in, and bed the rear of the action, with 2 layers od dcut tape over the front of the receiver action flat, to raise it just a hair.. I then use the front screw and the middle screw to pull the action in. Plumbers putty in the back screw hole. You'll probably wind up cussing me over plumbers putty!!

after that dries (marine tex let you do this in one day), I clean out the rear screw, remove the tape. putty in the front screw and stock hole, then bed the front screw, with surgical tubing holding the barrel down and using the rear screws to pull the action in. the tubing should "lever" the action down.

if I've put a barrel recoil lug on, it gets bedded the same time the rear screws do, and makes the whole thing easier for the front action screw.

i DO suggest bedding the front bottom metal, for what it's worth, for an even pull on the bottom.

jeffe

Well Ramrod, I'd love to boast about how I did myself but it's not the case. It's the work (of art) of a buddy shootist who makes a living (a very good one at that...) as a professional scale model maker, an artist in resins. He's mostly commissioned by musea, naval architects and the like. That's the second rifle he beds for me (1st. one was a Win 70) and his bedding is so precise it looks like inlaid work. It's functional too and the rifle in question, a Lothar Walther rebarreled Ruger 77 MkII VT in .308, shoots .25 MOA.

A true honest man that will give credit where credit is due.

Your buddy does great work.

Hi Guys

Jeffe - is it a common practise to add a "barrel recoil lug" to rugers ?? Is anything else done with it (like making the front action screw vertical ??_

What are the benefits ??

Cheers

Tentman,
Nope!! it's not a common practice, because it's uncommon for rugers, in the states, to be the basis for a custom or modified rifle.... I wouldn't straighten the front screw.

I generally build bigbores.. and i tend to think there's a line somewhere betten the 458 win and 458 lott that requires (for me) a barrel mounted recoil lug... like on the last couple versions of the winchester safari caliber'ed rifles...

click on my website, then AR rounds.. the pic below is a 416 ar on a springfield (left) with no recoil lug, and on the right is the 470AR on a ruger mkII, with recoil lug

quote:

Jeffe - is it a common practise to add a "barrel recoil lug" to rugers ?? Is anything else done with it (like making the front action screw vertical ??_

I've built a couple rifles on the Ruger. It works fine. Never had an issue with the slanted screw. One was built blind the other with the factory bottom. Nice cheap action with a 3 position safety If I really needed a verticle screw I would buy a different action before I would spend the money to do it on a Ruger. After the change you would have bottom metal and stock issue in addition. You could pick up a Montana for the cost of the Ruger action and alteration. Or a used M70 or Mauser.

quote:

I've built a couple rifles on the Ruger. It works fine. Never had an issue with the slanted screw.

I'm not familiar with the slanted screw, does it angle forward?

quote:

Originally posted by tanz2007:

quote:

I've built a couple rifles on the Ruger. It works fine. Never had an issue with the slanted screw.

I'm not familiar with the slanted screw, does it angle forward?

The front action screw is angled back so that it pulls the recoil lug firmly against the stock.

It is "believed" to be good for holding stocks together, but bad for accuracy.

I only ever bedded one Ruger. I really concentrated and was extra careful; it was the best bedding job that I ever did. It is sort of like shooting a match when you don't feel well due to illness or injury; you shoot fantastic because you are concentrating more.

Well anyhow, I made a very short inletting guide screw for the angled screw. I cut a screwdriver slot in this guide screw. I wrapped the installed guide screw with vinyl electric tape and pinched the excess into a tab of sorts and thoroughly and I mean thoroughly coated with release agent. Then I bedded the gun as I would a model 70 Winchester, with a "C" clamp pressing the barreled action into the stock.

After the bedding cured, I took some needle nose pliers or forceps or something, maybe even a small screw driver as my memory isn't fresh on this and removed the bedding tape and then used a small screw driver to remove that short inletting guide screw, then removed the other inletting guide screw and then the barreled action. It worked like a charm and the gun shot fantastic. As I said it was my best bedding job, no sanding afterward; there was just the right amount of bedding with no voids! This was full bedding from tang to forend tip with the barrel being floated.

ETA: HA! I found that little screw. 1/4-28 .410" with .250" thread

Here'a a great explanation with pictures of how to do it:

http://www.24hourcampfire.com/...ic_heavy#Post3003214

Here's some info on how I bed a Ruger. I doubt that many go to this length, but you may get some ideas to employ with your chosen technique.

http://www.24hourcampfire.com/...ger_Comp#Post3060014

Good Luck

I really would not recommend this guy's way for two main reasons.

1. It is p-poor. There is hardly any bedding!

2. It is very risky; and woulkd be bigtime risky if you used enough bedding to do some good.

That is my opinion anyway and it is worth what you paid for it, but I seriously do not recommend this procedure at all.

quote:

Originally posted by Labman:
Here'a a great explanation with pictures of how to do it:

http://www.24hourcampfire.com/...ic_heavy#Post3003214

quote:

Originally posted by Tentman:
Hi Guys

Jeffe - is it a common practise to add a "barrel recoil lug" to rugers ?? Is anything else done with it (like making the front action screw vertical ??_

What are the benefits ??

Cheers

sorry if i didn't answer your question .. when i build them ovoer .400 i like to put a recoil lug on the barrel, and bad that in, too .. the angle front screw works darn good .. can't tell you if its better than anything else..