I wanted to glass bed the action and install pillars in a savage 111 30'06. If I drill out for the rear (action) pillar, there will not be enough wood to fully support the pillar, particularly at upper (action) end of the pillar. In other words, the pillar would contact the wood only on the forward portion of the pillar. The rear surface of the pillar would be exposed (that is, open into the trigger/action inletted area). The top of the pillar would contact the action; the bottom of the pillar contacts the trigger guard.

As I see it, the pillar provides metal to metal contact (action screw head, trigger guard, pillar, barreled action), and applies downward pressure, securely holding the action into the inletted (glass bedded) stock. The recoil energy is transferred to the stock via the recoil lug and the action/glass bedded stock areas. As such, the pillar might not need to be fully surrounded by wood. The pillar could be 'free floated' from the stock. (In fact, in the existing bedding system, the action screw is essentially free floated, only contacting the trigger guard and the action.) The critical dimension of the pillar is its length, such that the screw applies the appropriate downward pressure.

Am I understanding this situation? Is the rear pillar necessary/beneficial, or would glass bedding generally be sufficient?