Mauser action bedding question

[stew71]

Does anyone happen to know if sporterized Mausers, in general, "prefer" to be fully bedded, including the barrel channel, or do they perform better with a free-floated barrel?

I have a rifle where the previous owner completely bedded the stock, including the barrel channel. I've gotten the thing on paper, but as soon as the barrel heats up after 2 or 3 rounds, it starts tossing them all over the place. I'm wondering if that bedded channel is causing me some grief.

Yeah, I know. A hunting rifle only really needs the 1st couple of rounds on target to do the job, but I'd still like to see if I can get this thing to tighten up a bit.

Right now, I'm swapping out the atrocious military trigger with a Timney Sportsman. It's also getting a Leupold 6x scope that is a proven performer with mounts that are tight, torqued, and aligned.

And yes, I'm having fun figuring this out.

[Pete44ru]

[I'm wondering if that bedded channel is causing me some grief. ]

Yep.

I once bought into a pristine commercial rifle based on a Mauser 98, that was F/S @ 50% of it's used value.
When I got in to my club's range, I found out why.
It was a .30-06, and wouldn't keep ANY 150gr, 165gr, or 180gr factory load under 10" @ 100yds.

When I got it home & took it apart, some numbnutz had tightly glas-bedded EVERYTHING, and the pore thing had no room to vibrate.

Since I know my Mausers (among a few other types), I scraped out the glas bedding, only leaving it bedded behind the recoil lug, under the front ring's action flat( behind the lug), under the rear tang (scraping out 1/16" clearance around the rear edge of the metal), under the chamber/barrel reinforce (about 2-1/2" FWD of the recoil lug), and a small pad in the forward end of the barrel channel, about 1/2" behind the forend tip joint.
I made sure there was some "up" pressure at the forend tip bedding (shim).

At my next range session, the rifle rewarded my attentions by giving me consistant 3/4" 5-shot groups # 100yds with all 3 bullet weights, and even kept the POI's for the various weights very close to each other.

I used kid's Silly Putty, rolled into thin/short spaghetti-like strips, under the various areas, to indicate when I had at least three cat whisker's clearance wherever, except the forend tip - kinda like using plastic shims to measure an auto's main bearing clearance.

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[FWiedner]

I've got a long term Mauser project that gives me pause to be interested in this subject as well.

[Pete44ru]

FWIW, full-length glas-bedding a boltgun has it's place - to line the bbl channel, especially handy for thin, Mannlicher-type full-length stocks.
The trick is to tape the barrel first, so there's vibration clearance everywhere along the bbl except where you want to stop it (like at/near the forend tip).
The tape is removed after the bedding cures, to establish some clearance.

The mistake I see most often, is that some folks just slather in the glas-bedding compound & drop in the waxed (release agent) action/bbl/etc, without previously applying a layer or two of tape in certain areas to both prevent binding & allow vibes.

IMHO, The areas that need to have some clearances, when bedding a Mauser action are:

1) Front, bottom, and both R&L sides of the recoil lug.

2) Rear of the upper/rear tang.

3) ALL around the magazine (well).

4) The entire bbl, except the entire 2-1/2" at the rear & a pressure pad near the forend tip.

5) Bolt handle root.

The best results occur when bedding is done with the bolt & trigger mechanism removed from the bbl'd action. (I know, I know - but there's always one, in the crowd )

A heavy/target bbl usually shoots better w/o the pressure pad/point @ the forend tip - IOW, floated.


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[TedH]

I've taken two military Mausers and turned them into sporters. While not a whole lot of experience was gleaned from those two projects, my results would say that Pete is right on the money. I have a 95 Mauser that is a very light barrel 257 Roberts, and a 98 Mauser that is a heavy barrel 22-250. Both are very accurate rifles bedded as Pete described.

[wolfdog]

Pete nailed it. I have never clearanced the bottom of the recoil lug, and have had good results, next one I do I will clearance it too.

[Ben_Rumson]

Just for a little flavor.... My bone stock 96 Swede Mauser has printed one inch & sub one inch groups often enough that I know it aint no fluke...Two barrel bands & fully bedded in +100 y/o wood...POI changes have on occasion shifted from one year to the next as far as zero goes though...

[stew71]

Excellent information, Pete. Many thanks!!