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glass bedding and free floating barrel |
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nightranger
Optics Apprentice Joined: September/02/2009 Location: California Status: Offline Points: 99 |
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Posted: September/03/2009 at 10:42 |
Can someone explain what all the hype is about glass beeding and a free floating barrel that I seem to read about everytime I research various rifles. What is the reason for each and the advantages and or disadvantages. Thanks for the help
Edited by Roy Finn - September/03/2009 at 17:41 |
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BeltFed
Optics Retard Joined: February/12/2008 Location: Ky Status: Offline Points: 22284 |
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In general, glass bedding the action of a rifle mates the action to the stock so that there are no voids or spaces between the action and the stock. This should (when properly done) eliminate any chance that the action could move or shift in the stock during recoil, and helps to eliminate other variables that may effect accuracy. Think of it as the difference between a loose grip and a tight grip on a pistol during firing. While your first shot with a loose grip may be accurate, the grip will have to be adjusted between each shot and as the trigger is pressed the pistol has more opportunity to move in the hand as the shot is made shifting the point of impact (POI). With a tight grip it is more difficult for the pistol to move in the hand as the trigger is pressed, and after the shot the pistol is less likely to shift in the hand from recoil, and the sights should return to the same spot.
Free floating a barrel may or may not help accuracy, it depends on many things (type of rifle, barrel, stock, etc.). Free floating a barrel (in theory) eliminates any outside forces that may press on the barrel effecting the harmonics of the barrel and it's accuracy. An example would be a change of moisture in a wooden stock (rainy day vs dry day) which may change the amount of preassure the stock has on the barrel, and change the POI. Again free floating a barrel may not help some rifles, but in general it will.
Hope this helps.
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Life's concerns should be about the 120lb pack your trying to get to the top of the mountain, and not the rock in your boot.
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Rancid Coolaid
MODERATOR Joined: January/19/2005 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 9318 |
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Both are techniques that "can" increase a rifle's inherent accuracy.
Bedding perfectly mates the action to the stock. Any "play" in the action allows things to move around, and that promotes inconsistency - which is bad. Bedding the action takes any movement out and increases consistency - which usually increases the rifle's accuracy. (Some rifles do not benefit from bedding - and many rifles suffer from bad bedding jobs. If you get your actions bedded, make sure it is by a competent smith with experience and references.) Free-floating the barrel means the barrel doesn't touch anything from throat to crown. Anything that touches the barrel can throw off the harmonics (the way energy travels through the barrel) and "can" negatively affect accuracy. But, many non-free-floated rifles shoot great. In short, these are things that "might" improve the rifle's accuracy. If the shooter isn't consistent and/or has bad shooting technique, bedding and free-floating won't fix the problem. Likewise, some non-bedded and non-free-floated rifles are very accurate, and I wouldn't recommend changing anything - as anything you do might upset the balance that makes the rifle accurate. If you want a little better accuracy from a gun, sometimes bedding helps, sometimes free-floating helps, sometimes a new crown helps, sometimes cleaning the barrel properly helps, sometimes reloads help, sometimes a better trigger pull helps, sometimes improved technique helps: there is no magic fix, but these "can" help. If you are happy with how the guns shoots, don't change anything! If you think it should be shooting better and you know you aren't the cause, these can help. There is no magical solution to all inaccuracy, but these 2 things might help - But only if done right! |
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supertool73
Optics God Superstool Joined: January/03/2008 Status: Offline Points: 11814 |
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Free floating also helps because the placement of your hand on the stock of a non free floated barrel could create different amounts of pressure from shot to shot slightly pushing on the barrel changing your POI. The same could be said when using a rest to shoot off of. You may sight it in on a rest which could create a lot of pressure. Then when in the field you may just be using your arm to hold the rifle up which could change your POI.
The whole point is to make the rifle itself as consistent as possible so each time the trigger is pulled the only possible inconsistency is the shooter. |
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Trays 7940
Optics Master Joined: August/09/2009 Location: Texas Status: Offline Points: 1149 |
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I would like to say something... but it has already been said.
Well, I will say this, every rifle I have, with the exception of 2, have been glass bedded and free floated. Each, became more accurate and held tighter groups after bedding and free floating the barrel.
Just my 2 cents...
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nightranger
Optics Apprentice Joined: September/02/2009 Location: California Status: Offline Points: 99 |
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Thanks everybody for your info. It makes things much clearer to me now and has educated me.
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BeltFed
Optics Retard Joined: February/12/2008 Location: Ky Status: Offline Points: 22284 |
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Your welcome nightranger!
And to think; it only took four of us to answer two questions. LOL We must be gettin smarter.
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Life's concerns should be about the 120lb pack your trying to get to the top of the mountain, and not the rock in your boot.
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Rancid Coolaid
MODERATOR Joined: January/19/2005 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 9318 |
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Trays, I saw a guys bedding job (by a terrible smith) that significantly degraded accuracy, but i do agree that, in general, if well down, both will improve accuracy, all other factors being equal.
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Trays 7940
Optics Master Joined: August/09/2009 Location: Texas Status: Offline Points: 1149 |
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Agreed...
I know a guy that does really good work.
Lucked into finding him. He did a couple of stock finishings for me. Really cool guy. Ill send ya a couple of pics soon. Im breaking in my new AR this weekend.
C'ya!
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Trays 7940
Optics Master Joined: August/09/2009 Location: Texas Status: Offline Points: 1149 |
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Here is one of the rifles he bedded and finished for me... Mauser
30.06
Krieger #7 Barrel
Leupold Scope
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Sandracer
Optics Apprentice Joined: January/11/2009 Location: Eastern Oregon Status: Offline Points: 141 |
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Sometimes it seems as though everything you do does not help on a particular rifle. My last effort was an example. I pillar bedded, bedded the action and part of the barrel. This produced poor groups so I put clearance on the complete barrel and this didn't work. Took it to a gunsmith a couple times for help to no avail, he thought he found the problem, but it was back to it's old ways. The final straw was to instal a new barrel, but before that, in a desparation move, I fully bedded the barrel plus the action. Now it shoots 3/4 inches or better depending on the load. This does not work on all guns, but it has now for me on 2 model 70's. One is a 30-06 in a featherweight and the last is a model 70 in 300 Wby. The only thing I can figure is it supports a barrel that is too whippy??? By the way my brother in law did the very same job on a model 700 in 300 Ultra mag with the same results!
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Rancid Coolaid
MODERATOR Joined: January/19/2005 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 9318 |
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One not of importance: if your barrel is garbage, all the tricks and voodoo one can muster will cause no appreciable increase in accuracy or precision. If the barrel sucks, game over.
Another frequently overlooked problem area is the crown. I've had rifles tighten groups with a new crown, sometimes it is just that simple. |
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Freedom is something you take.
Respect is something you earn. Equality is something you whine about not being given. |
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D. Bravo
Optics GrassHopper Joined: December/16/2007 Location: Cntrl Minnesota Status: Offline Points: 13 |
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Trays, that is one nice stock job. I really like the cheek and grip design.
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Urimaginaryfrnd
MODERATOR Resident Redneck Joined: June/20/2005 Location: Iowa Status: Offline Points: 14964 |
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That rifle looks like fun to me.
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"Always do the right thing, just because it is the right thing to do". Bobby Paul Doherty Texas Ranger |
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Trays 7940
Optics Master Joined: August/09/2009 Location: Texas Status: Offline Points: 1149 |
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Its a lot of fun.
I built it for my brother a couple of years ago. He lets me hunt his property so I wanted to do something nice for him. I gave him the gun and he loved it.
He complains about the weight every time I see him, " man, i need a skip loader to carry that thing to the blind." is one of his favorite lines.
I keep asking for him to give it back but he just grins at me and walks away... Reckon he really dont care all that much about the weight.
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3_tens
Optics Jedi Master Joined: January/08/2007 Location: Oklahoma Status: Offline Points: 7853 |
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He could join the trend and shorten the barrel.
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Folks ain't got a sense of humor no more. They don't laugh they just get sore.
Need to follow the rules. Just hard to determine which set of rules to follow Now the rules have changed again. |
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Trays 7940
Optics Master Joined: August/09/2009 Location: Texas Status: Offline Points: 1149 |
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Then I would have to shoot him...
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Trays 7940
Optics Master Joined: August/09/2009 Location: Texas Status: Offline Points: 1149 |
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Pilot
Optics GrassHopper Joined: December/23/2009 Status: Offline Points: 1 |
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Forgive my ignorance, but if you glass bed a stock, then isn't the stock and barrel in contact? If so, how can the barrel also be "free floating" ? |
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RifleDude
MODERATOR EVIL OPPRESSOR Joined: October/13/2006 Location: Texas Status: Offline Points: 16337 |
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Welcome to OT, Pilot! When you bed an action to the stock, you can bed the action only, portions of the barrel only, or both. You can bed the action without the barrel making contact with the stock. In fact, most glass bedding jobs involve bedding the action only, and maybe the first couple inches of barrel in front of the receiver, with clearance left in the forend to "float" the barrel. If there isn't sufficient clearance for floating in the forend channel already, you just wrap sandpaper around a dowel and sand open some clearance. |
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Ted
Money can't buy happiness... but it's much more comfortable to cry in a Porsche than on a bicycle. |
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