Thread: bedding question

Originally Posted by Steve123

What's the one o'clock test?

1. Assemble rifle without magazine spring fitted (for internal box mags)
2. Hold the rifle vertically with the recoil pad on the bench, and the barrel pointing to 1 o’clock
3. Undo the front action screw (while the rifle is held in the 1 o’clock position) and see if the barrel moves in relation to the forend when the screw is tightened and loosened.

Any movement of the barrel indicates stress in the bedding. It is possible to bend either the action or the stock very slightly if too much force was used to hold the action and stock together when the bedding was curing. Yes it’s possible, done it myself.....

0.002” barrel movement at the forend tip is acceptable. Any more and I would re-do the job. It can be measured with a DTI, but 0.002” should be detectable with your finger. If you can feel movement it’s probably no good, but if you can’t then crack on!