I have a M70 Winchester in .300 Winch. Magnum that shot very well until the factory bedding epoxy went south. I had it glass bedded by a gunsmith. The barrel is floated and the first group or so is really good, then it goes to hell. The next groups open substantially. I tighten the screws as tight as I can get them, but it appears they continue to shoot loose. Should this be happening and should I loctite the screws in?

Thanks,
Telly

No, don't loctite the action screws in. The bedding by your gunsmith should be much better than the factory bedding. Sounds like the barrel is touching stock as it heats up or the action itself is in a bind in the stock.

On some other guns he's done for me, the action screws come out pretty easy. These I have to force a little bit. Could that be where the bind is?

Maybe so. The action screws on a bedded action should lock down like a vault door, not creep down to tighten. There should not be a problem of any kind taking them out.

I had scope mount screw get loose on Sunday.

I was going to clean the screws and screw holes of oil, and I came up with a system: dip the screw in Alcohol and run it in and out of the hole. Put the screw in folded Kleenex, pinch it through the Kleenex, and drive it with a screw driver, all at the same time. This makes the screw shiny clean. Put the shiny clean screw back in the screw hole and run it in and out. Clean the screw again. I repeated that until both the screw and the drilled and tapped hole were clean.

I was preparing for Loctite, the same system should work for changing the co-efficient of friction in the action screw threads, through oil free contact.