I have a new "claw-feed" model 70 that I am putting in a McM stock. It has a #7 Shilen barrel. I heard some people say that heavy barrels cause reciever strain. Do I need to bed the first few inches under the barrel? Better to free-float? Thanks

Opinion= I would bedd the length of the chamber, about 3" would do it for heavy tubes. Even if it is a MCM stock, I would pillar bed also.

I forgot where I read this, but they said to bed the action, and bed the barrel channel to the center of gravity of the barreled action. If the CG of the barreled action is 3.5" ahead of the action, bed the barrel that distance.

After giving that theory some thought, it makes sense to me....

Bill