To bed or not to bed

[K-man]

Hey fellas, ive got a cz 527 varmint. It has a quirky groupinng pattern. The first two shots at 100 yds are usually 1/2 to 5/8 inch apart. Real happy! The third always goes to the right of the first 2 a good inch to inch1/2. By the third shot the barrel's already warm. I'll never use this gun as some kind of competition piece but i was just wondering if pillar and bedding would fix this ? Thanks kurt

[Hinter686]

Thats wired man, consistently inconsistent sound like an ex gf on meth. Best way to check your bedding is remove action screws, and take a good hold of the receiver (I do it by the scope, if it moves at all during this then you mouthing is no use as well) rock the action in all directions and look for wobbles. Remember, even the tiniest of movement will equal a big shift in poi down range. Be firm with your movements and dont pussy about it if there is clicking I would advise a bedding job.

ALSO make sure your barrel is free floating. Could be the heat is causing the barrel to swell and make contact with the stock.. again tiny equals big in shooting.

[Rick in Oregon]

K-Man: ALWAYS BED! The above poster is spot-on. Virtually EVERY rifle will benefit from a good bedding job, pillar bedding, and/or proper action bedding, paying attention to the proper bedding of the recoil lug, an area where not everyone seems to understand what's required.

If you do bed your rifle, ensure the barrel is free-floated and not touching the stock forearm in any way. Also bed the first 1.5" - 2" of barrel chamber area to properly support the barrel hanging off the receiver.

The recoil lug's bedding should only touch the REAR of the lug, not the front, sides or bottom. This is an area much misunderstood by many. Use electrical tape to cover those areas, about two or three thicknesses, trim with a razor knife prior to sticking the action into the bedding goo. Tape also works well to ensure the barrel is not touching the stock forearm.

After proper curing, about 24 hours, remove the action and trim the excess, but don't shoot the rifle for a full week; giving it time to age and cure over time.

There's lot's of info on the net in regard to pillar bedding, and the above in addition to adding pillars is as good as it gets. A bit of work, well worth the effort and will certainly cure the ills you're currently experiencing. HTH

[K-man]

Thanks for the input fellas. Stupid question here. Do you always have to use pillars when bedding? This is all new to me. Im not a mechanical moron but the thought of gluing the action to the stock .... Well youd probably hear me swearing all the way out there in oregon. You recomend a good product?

[skipper]

Check out this article before you start:
http://www.accurateshooter.com/technica ... r-bedding/

[Hinter686]

In my personal experience the stocks I have bedded in the past i haven't used pillars . In a couple weeks though I'll be doing my tikka and will use pillars on that, i plan on custom making a set for the rifle so i can guarantee a perfect marriage. The reason being there is alot more consistency when torquing an action down between a steel or aluminium tube than between plastic or wood. Summer/winter your settings could change a few inch-lbs in a wood stock depending on humidity and that equals a change down range.

[DannoBoone]

First thing to do (and you will need to do it even if you do bed the action) is to check for clearance of the
barrel in the forearm area. If the barrel touches the stock after a couple of shots, your problem is there.
Take a similar sized dowel wrapped with sandpaper and sand that side of the forearm until there is proper
clearance.

Check out this article before you start:
http://www.accurateshooter.com/technica ... r-bedding/

That article greatly helped me with the very first bedding job I ever did years ago. Just skip what does
not pertain to your situation and do the rest. I've bedded seven stocks using Richard Franklin's method
and had to redo only one because of inferior epoxy. His suggestion for Devcon epoxy is spot on.

Make sure release agent is used, and I get better results using modeling clay for the mechanical lock
areas. Also use plenty of wax on the action screws if you do not pillar. When possible, I use correct size
bolts with the heads removed instead of the action screws.

[Crazymess]

DannoBoone thanks for your helping post and shared link of article. I am new here from Melbourne and its truly helpful!

[SShooterZ]

K-Man: ALWAYS BED! The above poster is spot-on. Virtually EVERY rifle will benefit from a good bedding job, pillar bedding, and/or proper action bedding, paying attention to the proper bedding of the recoil lug, an area where not everyone seems to understand what's required.

THIS!!

[Jim White]

I have a CZ527 American and it was doing the same exact grouping as you described. Bedding and free-floating tighten the groups up in real short order.

[DannoBoone]

Here's a slightly different method than Richard Franklin's. Photo heavy:

http://hanksmessageboard.freeforums.net ... edding-101

It involves a custom Rem ML, but can be used for most other rifles.

[kewl12]

Hi Guys, I am from Australia. I have bedded a number of rifles, and think that I'm gonna have to bed my CZ 527 American to eliminate some variables. Anyone have any lessons learned regarding bedding this rifle they care to share?

[Rick in Oregon]

Welcome to the forum Kewl12. We enjoy Kiwi's and anyone from Oz here.

Bedding a 527 should be no different than any other bolt gun. Pay attention to the chamber area and recoil lug as detailed above, and you should have no issues. My little 527 American in 221FB shoots almost like a HB rifle after it was bedded properly.

Once finished, post some before/after targets to show how much the accuracy improved. Good luck with the project.