I am about to glass bed my first rifle and I have a question. It is a howa 1500 that I am using as sort of a learning/experimentation rifle. I bought a Bell and Carlson Carbelite stock, and a new trigger to see if I could get it to shoot a little better. Anyway here is my question. I am not really sure how to relieve the area around the recoil lug, since the forward action screw is threaded into the lug itself. The instructions describe how to releive the area around the recoil lug, but the action screw is not threaded into the lug itself in the directions. I am fairly confident on how to relieve the back of the lug contacting surface(about 1/8" deep and 3/4 the width of the stock centered), but am not sure how to relieve around the base(bottom) of the lug. Should I relieve the entire area around the hole and the hole itself? My concern about doing it this way would be excessive amounts of glass in the threaded hole for the action because the instructions say to use the actions screws to make sure everything is aligned. Is this a problem? Can I not use the action screws, cover the threaded holes and drill them out later? If so great, but I'm still not sure of the proper way to relieve this area. If anyone has done one of these rifles or knows what I am talking about can you please describe how to do this? Even though this is an experiment I would still like to do it properly, and to do it myself. Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

Install an 1/8" router bit in a dremel tool and use it to relieve the entire area. The bit will remove material from the sides and bottom quite effectively.

Until you gain experience, I would recommend bedding the action in stages. For release agent I use Johnson's paste wax and will apply it directly in the screw holes with a "Q" tip and then to the standard action screws. Strip the trigger guard assembly of the floor plate. Flip the prepped stock upside down and place the trigger guard assembly in the stock using masking tape to temporarily hold it in place. Insert the forward guard screw and place a strip of tape over the head to hold IT in place.

Turn the stock upright and place it in a padded vise, mix the epoxy and dribble it in and around the guard screw/lug area. Lower the action into the stock, and as you lower it, begin tightening the forward guard screw as it is pushed downward by the weight of the action. Tighten the guard screws and clean up the excess epoxy with "Q" tips and Acetone.

After the epoxy has cured overnight, prep the rear of the action and bed that. When that's done, do the floor plate if necessary etc. When you're finished, be sure to re-drill the guard screw holes to provide clearance for the guard screws. Like I said, it's a whole lot easier to do it in stages until you've gained experience.

Make sure you use plenty of release agent and if in doubt, apply it. Be sure to wear sugical gloves to keep the epoxy from getting all over your skin. Don't forget to clean the area of the stock you're bedding with acetone and an air hose prior to applying the epoxy to remove impurities. Just like in welding, the quality of the job is dependent on how clean and how well the area is prepared.

As you gain experience, you will see ways to make the job a bit more efficient, but for now, this should help get you going. Be sure to go slow and double check everything before tightening those guard screws. Good luck.

I would add that I use the paste wax all over the outside of wooden stocks before I bed, just in case there's over-run or spillage. Putting it all over the stock is insurance against getting an unnoticed film of bedding on a glove and transferring it around.

Check an unobtrusive area of your composite stock to see what you can use to protect it that will clean up without residue. Masking tape all over the stock is more work than wax, but a good investment of time for messy folks like me. That's what I use on my HS-Precision stocks. I still wax the tiny exposed edge between the barrel and the tape.

Have everything ready and do about 5 dry-fits and "practice runs".

In winter I wrap my newly-bedded rifle in a heating pad so that I get known set-up times.

I use factory stocks with wide clearance around the barrel, and put enough SteelBed in to get some squeeze-out. When the leftover bedding is at the "clay" stage I cut the squeeze-out off with a sharpened popsicle stick. Using the heating pad this will take 30-45 minutes. Thirty minutes past the clay stage the SteelBed is still not fully set but will hold its shape. I carefully loosen the screws and "pop" the barrelled action loose in the stock, then re-tighten the screws. Then I leave it a week to cure before shooting.