I Have always bedded Win. and Rem. actions with firm
contact to rear of the recoil lug, with no contact to front,sides, and bottom. Is it recomended to have firm contact with the bottom of the recoil lug on the mauser action? I am bedding this action to a McMillan stock and was wondering if skim bedding will work with this stock? Thanks in advance for your help.

I don't know if it's the right thing to do but I bed mausers with electrical tape covering the bottom, front and sides of the lug so that the only contact the lug has with the bedding compound is the rear section.....and the same for other actions.

So far it seems to work for me.

Thanks vapodog. Anyone else have any input?

Sorry to jump into your post, but does anyone know where a good step by step procedure is for bedding an action? I had a friend asks how it was done and it's a lot more typing than I want to do.
Thanks

Thunder Child

If the action screw attaches to the recoil lug like a Mauser or Sako the bottom and rear of the recoil lug should make contact. Sides and front need clearance.

If the action screw is remote from the recoil lug like a Remington there should be clearance on the bottom sides and front. Contact on the rear.

Think about it. If there was clearance under the Mauser lug, when the screw is tightened then the action would try to bow. Conversely if there was contact under the Remington lug when the action screw is tightened then the recoil lug could act as a high spot in the bedding.

I have done it with the tape, and without the tape, and I don't see any difference.

The idea is that steel expands faster ~.001"/inch over 87 degrees F, and epoxy exands less.

When I shoot the guns until the barrel is too hot to hang on, they are still shooting better than me.

Please correct me if I am wrong but I would think that upon recoil from the shot, the barreled action goes foward while the stock moves backward so wouldn't it make sense to have a full frontal bedding contact for the recoil lug?

Quote:

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I Have always bedded Win. and Rem. actions with firm
contact to rear of the recoil lug, with no contact to front,sides, and bottom. Is it recomended to have firm contact with the bottom of the recoil lug on the mauser action? I am bedding this action to a McMillan stock and was wondering if skim bedding will work with this stock? Thanks in advance for your help.

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My most accurate Mauser's have synthetic stocks, and are virtually glued in, with full contact bedding on the action barrel and triggerguard.

Mauser, It is my understanding that the Bullet going out the barrel causes ("equal and oposite reaction") barreled action to go backward. Sence the action sits in the stock, the recoil lug effectively pushes the stock backward with it. The need for firm contact at the rear is so the recoil lug does not get a "running start" and damage the stock. Once the initial rearward push has stopped I suppose their is a slight rebound where the barreled aciton tries to move foreward in the stock, but if the action screws are tight they hold everything in place.