BigJohnx13
AH veteran
Just a question. If a stock was bedded about 5 years ago and you need to remove the stock to have the rifle blued, do you need to re-bed the stock again or is it still sufficient to operate?
... Use a torque screwdriver and torque the action screws to the same setting every time you remove the barreled action from the stock.
For wood stocked rifles that you want to maintain accuracy and remain at or very close to "zero" after take down, I would suggest correctly done pillar bedding. I am anal about my bolt action hunting rifles and they are all pillar bedded. [I have HS Precision synthetics on a few but no worries because the HS Precision stock incorporates a pillar bedding system in its basic design.] I take my hunting rifles down regularly and every time I travel--- I treat the bolt action as a "take down". I re-tighten the action screws to witness marks on the bottom metal aligning to the screw heads. NEVER an issue of maintaining "zero" and accuracy.
As an aside, correct bedding of a heavy recoiling DG rifle is important not only for maintaining zero and best accuracy but it may also help prevent recoil induced stock damage over time. And, many DG rifle have the secondary recoil lug on the barrel which requires some extra thought and attention when bedding.
The only wood stocks I have are on hunting rimfires. All of my other rifles have either H.S. Precision or Bell and Carlson synthetic stocks with aluminum bedding blocks. I found they are not 100% precision, have manufacturing tolerances that allow them to not re-seat to the same spot so I bed all of them and torque to 50 inch pounds.
The B&C claims a rigid alum skeleton as a base for bedding. I found them to be substandard and not rigid at all- a key design feature of a quality stock. IMO the HS Precision is much superior, albeit somewhat heavy. I don't believe an aftermarket stock exists that will match perfectly with any given barreled action. So yes, even the HS Precision may need some minor fitting and bedding for best results.