Bedding Savage 11

[Fenq]

Hello everyone,

I am new to this forum and I have found similar threads on this website, however, I still had some questions so I decided to make a new one.

This past fall, I bought a Savage 11 Trophy Hunter XP (plastic stock, accutrigger, 22" factory thin barrel). I put 30 shots through it and I was not very impressed. At a 100 yards, I was making 2-3" circles, with cold bore shots about 6" from the middle. I put the gun away when I had to go back to school, but now that it's almost over, I want to make my gun more accurate.

This will be my first bedding job ever. I have been doing research for the past 2 weeks on how to bed rifles in general and how to bed Savages specifically. The area under the receiver and around the action screws seems pretty straight forward. Here's what I found out so far as far as the critical parts:

-float the rear tang
-bed the back of the recoil lug and put 2-3 layers of tape on the sides and the front of it

I bought a classic, laminated stock from Boyds that I am also going to pillar bed. I found out that the rear pillar must be notched at the top or else the sear will not pass. I ordered the following set of pillars:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Gunsmith-Accuracy-Pillar-Bedding-Kit-Savage-110-111-/190816805460?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c6d916254

Now, I am planning on first installing the pillars before I glass bed because it just seems easier to do. It makes sense to me that one would want to do that first so that when it comes to glass bedding, the action with guide screws will sit true and centered on top of those pillars. However, I have read that some people pillar and glass bed all at the same time, but that seems more difficult. Please correct me if the way I want to do it is not the proper one.

Ok, so here are my questions. I've tried to find an answer but I couldn't find a definite one:

1. Should I bed the barrel nut? I have read that people bed first two inches of the barrel for support if it's a heavy one, however, I have the light and thin barrel from the factory. Can bedding the nut actually hinder/improve the accuracy in my case? I am not planning on swapping barrels in the future or anything like that.

2. When I set the action in the stock and I am waiting for it to cure, should I put the action screws in and screw the action down or should I just put the guiding screws in and wrap the action down tightly with a tape?

I will be using Brownells Steel bedding kit for this project. I've read it doesn't run at all and is fairly easy to work with. I also read that it's not going to sugar and have a potential of cracking like glass.

That's all for now, I apologize for any grammar mistakes if there are any and if something doesn't make sense. I don't usually stay up this late. I will update the post if I have any more questions. Also, I just got off the phone with my dad and he put the action in the new stock to see how it looks and fits and, thankfully, it fits like a glove. He then put it back in the plastic stock and as he set it in, the front of the receiver rested on something and he was able to rock the barreled action back and forth. He was not able to adjust it so that it would sit in there properly so yeah... maybe that's where my accuracy problem was.

Anyway, thank you for reading this wall of text and goodnight.

[jonbearman]

Do not bed the nut as you could change the barrel and it willnever line up in the groove's used for tightening the barrel.I would bed the entire reciever except what is behind the rear action ecrew as the tang should be freefloated alittle.You will have to roughen the surface meaning removing the finish that boyds over sprays in the bedding area so the epoxy will stick good.Use a good release agent on all parts and I use plumbers putty to fill voids when removing the trigger to do it right etc.I fill the area for the magazine to make sure you dont fill it in which would require removal to refit the magazine afterwords.There is a tutorial on the home page and there is one over on accurate shooter.com as well and many on you tube which I suggest you watch.

[thomae]

Bottom line up front: You are on the right track.

I would bed the pillars and action as one unit. Here is a how to article.
http://www.6mmbr.com/pillarbedding.html
It is for a Remington, so things are not exactly the same, but you can get the idea. This guy calls it "stress free bedding" and it makes sense to me. I usually wait until after the rear pillar is bedded to make the cutout for the trigger with my dremel and a cutoff wheel. That way I can cut out the minimum required for proper functioning. Don't forget to put release agent on the entire action, as you never know where the goop will drip. I also put release agent inside the magwell so that any drips inside the magwell can be taken out easily.

I use lamp rod as pillar material, it is very inexpensive, however, I do have a small lathe, so I can cut it off and make sure the ends are really square. Use what you want , it's all good. Ultimately you want to make sure the length is correct so the bottom of the rear pillar contacts the trigger guard metal and the front pillar contacts the forward escutcheon.

When I bedded a boyd's stock, I pulled out the plastic escutcheon out of the forward bolt hole and replaced it with a home made one I fabricated from aluminum, that way I had continuous metal to metal contact all the way from the screw head to the action.

+1 on NOT bedding the nut.
+1 on plumbers putty

Go slowly and carefully and it will be fine.

[Fenq]

Thanks for replies.

I can see why bedding pillars and action as one unit is superior. The only thing i am afraid of is the fact that once everything is chiseled out under the receiver, the only places where the barreled action rests is the rear tang and the barrel. The only difference is that I would have to put some tape on the rear tang since I want it floated. I have a detachable box mag so I am just afraid that I might not get the height spot on.

In this article you posted, Richard says to wrap the tape around the barrel and stock. He says to be careful with pencil thin barrels as it may curve them permanently. Is that really true?

He also says that the forward escutcheon should not be in contact with the pillar. Why?

[BillPa]

He also says that the forward escutcheon should not be in contact with the pillar. Why?

I'm not sure why he would say that. Pillars only serve one purpose, to prevent stock material compression. They do not do the job of or replace bedding.

When I install escutcheon I want it in full contact with the pillar otherwise the screw head is bearing against the stock material defeating the purpose of the pillar. In the case of a foam core 'glass stock the screw would crash the laminate and foam, the reason why pillars came back into vogue in the early '70s.

It might be hard to see, but here I'm measuring the distance from the stock surface to the pillar. The pillar was already glued in along with bedding the action.
http://i37.tinypic.com/25s7uvc.jpg

After turning, counter boring for the screw length and contouring the escutcheon to match the stock contour is makes 100% contact on the pillar, the screw bearing on the escutcheon. In reality its a two piece pillar.
http://i35.tinypic.com/357ou3t.jpg


Bill

[thomae]

I don't know about bending the barrel. I have so far only bedded rifles with thick barrels.
I wrap electrical tape around the tang severals layers thick to make sure that it freefloats when all is done.
I wrap several layers of tape around the barrel at the end of the stock to make sure it is freefloated. Then I use electrical tape to secure the action to the stock as the bedding compound dries.

I have not bedded rifles with DBMs so I will let someone else with more experience speak to the issue of keeping proper DBM alignment when bedding an action in a stock.

What I did with respect to the forward escutcheon was slightly different than the article. I removed the plastic escutcheon, bedded the rifle so the pillar was a close to flush with the wood bottom of the escutcheon hole as i could make it. Then I made my replacement aluminum escutcheon and press fit it into the hole. It is a tight fit and won't fall out, but i did not epoxy it in. It basically acts as a fancy metal washer between the action screw head and the hollow pillar. The pillar is still epoxied into the stock, and the action rests up against the pillar and is supported and kept from moving by the bedding around the pillar.

I am not saying that my way is the best way, as I am no expert. I am sure there are those more knowledgeable than I who can explain why what I did was either ok, or less than optimal.

[Fenq]

Alright, thank you for replies.

I'll have to wait with the job till I get home from school. I'll come back to this thread if I come up with more questions or if I'm having some issues while bedding.

[coldmaker]

i would also put a couple layers of tape under the recoil lug.

[Fenq]

i would also put a couple layers of tape under the recoil lug.

Ah yes. Otherwise it might not fit properly. Thanks for reminding me.

[Fenq]

So I did bed my gun and I didn't come out too bad. Tang is floated, barrel runs perfectly parallel down the channel and is perfectly in the middle. Unfortunately, I haven't had time to shoot it yet so yeah... I don't know if I did a good job or not.

Anyway, I know where to get a metal trigger guard. They're at brownells, midway and other places. I am now looking for the part that holds the magazine. What is it called? It's made from plastic and I'd like a metal one just like the trigger guard. It's held by the front action screw directly and in the back you put the trigger guard on top of it first and then the screw. Where can I get one of those?

[thomae]

Fenq: It's called by the technical name: Bottom Metal

If you decide to become a paid member, you can access the classifieds where you can find them sometimes. There were two there this week, complete with magazines, although I think they have been sold by now, and they were long-action, not short action.