Especially in the firearms market, customization is crucial. No rifle stocks fit the average shooter, but firearms should be made according to individual preferences and characteristics. Just in this way you can reach the goal of accuracy.
Bedding the rifle stock can also help the shooter and the hunter be successful.
How to make rifle stocks more accurate
Many people use firearms for sports and relax, like target shooting and hunting, so they want their rifles to be functional, durable, and accurate.
Accuracy is essential for any passionate. Many factors can influence and eventually reduce accuracy, for example:
- If the action moves and vibrates within the stock and can’t move the same way with every shot, the bullet will always have a different trajectory.
- Each shot causes a recoil, so the action goes a very bit backward and forward violently; accuracy is reduced if the action doesn’t come back to the same position after each shot.
It means that besides the ability of the shooter and the hunter the stability of the mechanism is necessary to hit the target consistently and repeatedly.
Bedding is a useful way to achieve correct stability and, therefore, be as much accurate as possible when shooting.
Bedding stocks means introducing a metal insert during manufacture of the stocks that creates a solid and stable support on which the barreled action is mounted. This provide a proper fit.
This process increases accuracy, as it relieves stress on the action. Without bedding, the action won’t sit flush in the stock. As a consequence, the action will flex when tightening the bolts holding it to the stock, which causes inconsistency and a loss of accuracy of the rifle stocks over time.
Moreover, without a proper bed, the action may be more likely to shift after a shot. If the action shifts and does not return to the same spot in the stock, accuracy will be affected.
Glass bedding is most common in wooden shotgun stocks. It means molding an epoxy-based material onto the gunstock to fill any possible gaps between the stock and the action and prevent any unnecessary movements inside the stock.
Bedding can also help prolong the life of the custom rifle stocks. As the action moves in the stock, repeated friction can create wear in the stock surface that can damage it.
Finally, considering tolerances is especially important. Each type of wood has its own tolerances, and even less of half a millimeter can make a significant difference in accuracy!
Respecting wood tolerances is necessary for a perfect floating barrel that moves freely but in the right way.
A manufacturer that uses sophisticated metrology software and makes specific field tests to ensure the quality of the arm and the stock can guarantee perfectly made products.
Therefore, your wood manufacturer must have a deep knowledge of wood, the right machinery, state-of-the-art tools to process it, and a team of experts able to solve each possible issue.
Minelli is the only wood manufacturer that can provide full-bed products where the aluminum component is processed together with wood at the same time. It means that the problem of tolerances can be avoided, as the gunstock is a unique block of material (wood + aluminum) completely integrated.
If you have an idea or a project in mind or need some information, contact us right now!
