Filling a recoil lug.

[HUNTER1RD]

Free floating a fiberglass stock for a model 7 remington 7mm o8. Everything looks good but there's lots of room in the recoil lug slot. Should I fill that with epoxy and stick the metal tab under the barrel in it/ Fiberglass it tight ?

Thanks for the advice!
Ralph

[cdi]

The back of the lug should be in contact with the bedding.
The bottom and front of the lug should not.

You can use vinyl tape to mask off the lug in those areas-

[Lycanthrope]

Originally Posted by cdi

The back of the lug should be in contact with the bedding.
The bottom and front of the lug should not.

You can use vinyl tape to mask off the lug in those areas-

The bottom of the lug shouldn't be bedded?

It's rather common to bed the entire action and lug and even a couple inches in front of it...say to the shank of the barrel....then float the barrel.

Lycanopinionsvarythrope

[digdug18]

Yes, bed the lug and action tightly. Make sure to use plenty of pam/vegetable oil/crisco to keep the lug from permanently adhering to the epoxy though.

As for the shank of the barrel, opinions vary some peoples say yes, some no. To me it depends if you have enough strength in the stock itself throughout, or if you need the added support of bedding that area as well. It also depends on what kind of shooting your doing.

For benchrest shooting, without hunting or using the rifle in the field, I would just epoxy the action, and fully free float the barrel. If I were building someone a hunting rifle I'd fully epoxy the barrel into the gun. My thought being that your going to be climbing over, and under brush, trees, etc, walking for miles at times, and you don't want your stock to be fragile.

[cdi]

There is more than one way to skin a cat, but I disagree with fully bedding the recoil lug. Fully bedding the lug induces more stress to the action when the gun is fired.

Properly bedded, the lug should not touch the bedding on the bottom, sides or front. It is OK to cast a "pillow" that beds the barrel for the first couple inches ahead of the action.

ETA Using Pam, vegetable oil and other wet, slimy compounds for a release agent also makes for a messy pain in the ass clean up. It also can lead to air bubbles in the glass. I use a hard paste wax like the floor type from SC Johnson. It cleans up easier, stays where you put it and leaves a more workman like finish on the bedding.

[Lycanthrope]

Why would bedding the bottom of the lug induce stress on the action when fired? From the barrel whip?

I can see how you could bind the action without pillars, though and that would bind at the lug as well.

Not saying you're wrong on this as I have seen it done this way, but more detail in the explanation would be helpful to the OP in order to make decisions.

Lycanexplainthrope

[cdi]

When rifle fires, the receiver twists and moves. The bedded lug seems to help transfer that movement to the stock.

Leaving the lug plenty of room on every side but the rear seems to produce more consistent accuracy.

[Lycanthrope]

Originally Posted by cdi

When rifle fires, the receiver twists and moves. The bedded lug seems to help transfer that movement to the stock.

Leaving the lug plenty of room on every side but the rear seems to produce more consistent accuracy.

That they do. When I was shooting a .375 Ultra mag from the bench the entire gun would torque from the twist. (It was a fun ride.)

I just dont see how the lug would twist independently from the action....especially if that action was pillared and bedded.

Lycanopenmindthoughthrope

[Tomcat088]

Originally Posted by Lycanthrope

That they do. When I was shooting a .375 Ultra mag from the bench the entire gun would torque from the twist. (It was a fun ride.)

I just dont see how the lug would twist independently from the action....especially if that action was pillared and bedded.

Lycanopenmindthoughthrope

Originally Posted by cdi

When rifle fires, the receiver twists and moves. The bedded lug seems to help transfer that movement to the stock.

Leaving the lug plenty of room on every side but the rear seems to produce more consistent accuracy.

CDI, I'm finding your posts interesting. I've seen a bedding job done as you're explaining, but only one. The rifle shot fine, and just as well as any other bedding job I've seen, so I'm not knocking the method. I still don't quite understand the "reasoning" behind it. I'm with Lycanthrope, I don't see how the action can twist independently of the action if it's got action screws attaching it to the stock, and/or passing through pillars.

It kind of seems to me like only bedding the back of the lug defeats the whole purpose. The lug is still free to shift, move, and twist. When you remove the action from the stock, it would be easy to get it not in quite the exact same position as you did before. It also seems to me like this could be a bit stressful on the bedding and stock, and it'll break. The action kind of gets a "running start" before it hits something. It's like getting kicked by a horse that gets to extend it's legs all the way, instead of when you're right against it's flank and it can't get as much velocity and momentum. You can full bed an action into a stock stress free, it just has to be done properly. You can't just use the normal action screws to do it either. I'm in full agreement that they can be done improperly and put stress on the receiver. Done properly though, I don't see why they induce stress on the action, and don't make for a much more repeatable fit in the stock.

I am also in full agreement that some other release agent should be use besides vegetable oil, or something that is really running. Something that is a bit more on the paste/gel consistency usually works better.

Originally Posted by digdug18

Yes, bed the lug and action tightly. Make sure to use plenty of pam/vegetable oil/crisco to keep the lug from permanently adhering to the epoxy though.

As for the shank of the barrel, opinions vary some peoples say yes, some no. To me it depends if you have enough strength in the stock itself throughout, or if you need the added support of bedding that area as well. It also depends on what kind of shooting your doing.

For benchrest shooting, without hunting or using the rifle in the field, I would just epoxy the action, and fully free float the barrel. If I were building someone a hunting rifle I'd fully epoxy the barrel into the gun. My thought being that your going to be climbing over, and under brush, trees, etc, walking for miles at times, and you don't want your stock to be fragile.

I agree with CDI on what you should use for a release agent. I've never used some of the things you mention, but I guess for a do it yourself job, they would probably work.

Ummmm, the last paragraph of your post confused the heck out of me. I'm not sure I understand what you mean about full expoxying the barrel into the gun. As far as I'm concerned, the barrel is a part of the "gun" (rifle). I'm not sure if you meant fully epoxy the barrel to the stock, or what. That's kind of what I get from the post because later you mention not wanting the stock to be fragile. If that's the case, then what you are talking about is a COMPLETELY different animal, and I would NOT recommend that to the OP. Typically, stocks are more than strong enough to hold up to conditions that they'd be subjected to in hunting conditions. IF you need something stronger, buy a better stock like a McMillan or Manners. I mean you can park a truck on top of a rifle that's bedded into the action and it won't break. There is NO reason to take the approach that you're talking about, and make that a "permanent" kind of setup.

[cdi]

I have bedded rifles both ways and the only evidence I have is anecdotal. I have discussed it with a couple other gunsmiths in the past and they prefer to leave the lug with clearance.

The action should index in the same place each time the stock is removed- the recoil lug will not get a running start- if it moves it wasn't bedded properly.

The pillars serve only to keep the stock from compressing when the guard screws are tightened. A standard wood stock without pillars will compress, even if the action is bedded.

I have found the key to stress free bedding is to snug the guard screws the slightest bit and hold the action in place with rubber tubing or bands until the epoxy dries.

I personally don't trust the recoil lug to handle any load other than front to rear as it is held in place only by torque applied to screw in the barrel.