Bedding Recoil Lug

[FW Conch]

I saw in a post about bedding where frank1947 said he doesn't tape his lugs. I'm glad to hear this because I only tape the sides and bottom.

I have yet to be convinced that the recoil lug comes backward against the stock at the moment of discharge. I think, if the action were loose in the stock, the front of the recoil lug would hit the stock at the moment of discharge.

We are instructed by scope manufactures, when installing their scopes, to take the slack out of the mounting "in the forward direction". The logic here is that at discharge, the barreled action recoils backward, and the scope, being screwed on top of it, wants to stand still, and therefore, wants to move forward when the barreled action recoils backward.

The stock is screwed to the bottom of the action, and I don't see any reason why the stock should behave differently than the scope at the moment of discharge.

If the scope, on top, wants to go forward at discharge, and the stock, on the bottom, wants to go backward, does that mean the physics would reverse if the rifle were fired "upside down"?

I bed the front and back of my recoil lugs, and that should take care of it no matter the physics.

In reality, when I mount my barreled actions to my stocks, and my scopes to my actions, "Nothing Moves", if you get my drift! ;-))

I am also aware that there are untold numbers of rifles out there in which the recoil lug "touches nothing". I have owned a few of them, until I recognized, and corrected the problem. In 1970, I bought a Rem 700 ADL, 30/06, and mounted a 2 to 7 Weaver on it. That rifle shot 5 shot groups, with factory ammo, prone, off sand bags, that could be covered with a quarter. When I found out what a recoil lug does, I put "play dough" in the stock hole, installed and removed the barreled action, and guess what- it was "blue" all the way around. When I bedded the action, it didn't do anything to help or hurt the groups, but it probably saved a nice stock. I never should have sold that rifle.

JMHO on the subject ;-)).....Thanks.....Jim