help on stressed action and sticky bolt

i recently became addicted to savages as i bought a 10 in 204 ruger with a SSS trigger and boyds laminate stock and i just slapped on a shilen barrel from Jim. The problems i am having with the stock is that when the rear action screw is just starting to get tight, the bolt will get sticky about midway through the raceways and is hard to even get to release from the action. As i tighten the screw more, it just gets stickier and stickier to the point of being scary. Out of the stock the bolt glides free. I also noticed the rear tang is not floated and the bolt will sometimes actually graze the safety when cycling fast, which will cause the safety to either go "on" or "off". Maybe floating the tang will resolve that issue, but my main concern is the action being in a bind due to the stock somewhere on the receiver. How do i tell where the heck i need to relieve this tension? I thought about cutting most any contact with the stock/action out and just glassing it with hopes that this will be cured. Thanks for a great site and wonderful information. I have to hurry up and finish thi s project so i can start my 6.5 x 284 project.

Weird problem.

Was this stock bedded to this action?

Was the recoil lug replaced with an aftermarket? If so, was material removed from the recoil lug area? Sounds like the front of the action is higher than it should be, not allowing the action to set in the stock level.

With a sharpie, color the bottom and all sides of the recoil lug and install the action into the stock. Remove and check for contact.

The recoil lug was replaced with an aftermarket and the lug area was relieved and bedded. The lug was taped for clearance. It is going to be hard to determine true contact with a sharpie as just getting the action in the stock will more than likely cause contact due to the tight fit. I will try and see.

When i bought the gun, the bolt was hard to get released from the action and i just assumed that this was normal and also the bolt would rub the safety if cycled fast. All this was with the factory barrel, before i put the shilen on. The only thing that changed when i put the shilen on and aftermarket recoil lug was the problem was accentuated and now the bolt is sticky midway through the action.
I was thinking it was the rear of the action that is out of whack and that this might be a left to right problem rather than front to back. But i know nothing and that was just my guess.

Also, when i bedded the action/lug, after i set the stock in, i only tightened the screws to just the feel of resitance and wrapped the action in surgical tubing. This scared me as i was scared the action and lug would float in the epoxy instead of squeezing it out and really bedding in. is there a better procedure for this, and should i tighten th e action screws down more?

Sounds to me the screws are too long.

Nah, I checked that first and it's not the screws. I already had to grind the front, and the rear is ok on length. It isnt showing through the receiver or even close when tightened. Jim at Northland said that it might be a bent receiver and that when put in the stock, it gets accentuated. I thought about first relieving and floating the tang and then start relieving areas of the stock to see if i can narrow down the problem. Jim told me how to tell if the action is bent with a straight edge and i hope that's not the problem. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Well if the screws are not too long then it sounds like the stock is placing stress on the action. Is the stock bedded to the action, and not to another action? Floating the tag is not needed.

If the action is truly bent then I would send it off to SSS.

The action was the first in this stock. As far as the tang, i was afraid that once the rear screw was tightened, this could be causing stress on the tang and might help narrow down a resolution to my problem. So if i rebed this action, once i set the action in the epoxy, how tight should i get the screws???

I'm sure you already verified this, but was your action stagger feed with the mag box attached to the action? I only ask because Boyds doesn't carry anything for centerfeed (pretty sure), so they wouldn't be cut properly for a centerfeed action.

It sounds like you may need to bed that action.

yes it is stagger feed..

Make sure the mag is not contacting the bottom of the mag well. Had one short mag well that gave "me" problems. ;)
If the bolt is pulling the safety on, float the tang. Adding pillars would also raise the action a bit in the stock. You wouldn't need much to take the stress off the action. Set it to the height you want.

ok so i will relieve the stock and see where that gets me after bedding, but my question is still open before i start.. how tight should i set the action screws when setting the action in the wet epoxy?..

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Originally Posted by mgraham112

ok so i will relieve the stock and see where that gets me after bedding, but my question is still open before i start.. how tight should i set the action screws when setting the action in the wet epoxy?..

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Don't use screws, take to 4 inch long bolts cut off the heads and use them as guide pins, The only thing I use when bedding a rifle is electric tape.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 82boy

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mgraham112

ok so i will relieve the stock and see where that gets me after bedding, but my question is still open before i start.. how tight should i set the action screws when setting the action in the wet epoxy?..

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Don't use screws, take to 4 inch long bolts cut off the heads and use them as guide pins, The only thing I use when bedding a rifle is electric tape.

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+1 Get an extra set and trim the head off and use as guides. When you set it in the stock wrap tape around the action and stock. You will need to suppor the weight of the barrel. If done like this then when the epoxy sets you will have zero stress on the action.

And, add a spacer to the barrel at the front of the forearm so you've got daylight.
Tape and a couple of pieces of cardboard so you have clearence and be sure to space the tang also. Mug everything up and tie the action in the stock. Make "sure" you use LOTS of release agent on the action, recoil lug and nut area.
Set it aside and forget it for a while.
Tape the sides around the
action so the mud doesn't get on the stock.

ok great. i just bought the bolts to cut off this morning and i plan on doing it tonight. So, why do you not want to tighten the screws down tight when setting the action in the bedding compound? I would think that not tightening it somewhat could let the action float in high spots instead of squeezing the epoxy where it needs to go. I have surgical tubing i plan on using. Thanks for all your help.

so i just need to support the weight of the barrel to take it off the action... that makes perfect sense. i had thought the screws handtight would do that, but now it makes sense.

By spacing the barrel above the stock pillars/forearm with the kind of material you choose, it will allow you to set the height you want the action to be set at in the stock. I like about 1/8" on as little as 1/16" so the bedding material will be under the action and around the pillars.
The spacers will keep the barrel and action high enough that the bedding will be between the stock and action. Once you set the action back in the stock the excess will squeeze out. That's where the tape all along the top and sides next to the action will keep the bedding material from running all over the place. Better to think ahead. You don't want any more of a mess than you need to deal with.
I don't want to confuse you but I install my pillars one at a time. I'll do the front pillar set as high as I want with the barrel and tang spaced.
After it's set up I'll go in and do the rear. And again, don't forget LOTS of release agent. And don't rush it. Let it set up real good or you'll end up pulling some of the "not quite hard" bedding out with the action. And if the bedding doesn't look as nice and smooth as some of the pros make it look, don't worry about it. No one is going to see it after the action is installed. The more you do it, the better you get and you'll find out what you need to do and what you can get away with not doing. Practice makes perfect, or should I say better. ;D