[jwilson48]

http://www.larrywillis.com/tip021.html


i am planning on doing a bed job and free float my marlin xs7 7mm-08 soon. i have to grind off my pressure points to free float. if this makes my accuracy suffer, i was planning on rebuilding them. i saw this article and it seems easier and much more precise than using a shim method. what do you guys think?

 

[dmsbandit]

The Marlin "X" guns are pillar bedded. They don't need bedding jobs. The pressure points are also there for a reason, leave well enough alone.

Have you even spent any time shooting your gun? What makes you think you'll do anything but mess up a sub MOA gun? I have 3 "X" guns and have over 3000rds thru 2 of them. I've done nothing but lighten the trigger on them and they shoot under .5" with hunting ammo. I would dare to say that most people on this forum shot the guns as they came from the factory, and I hardly ever hear of a gun that won't shot under 1" with some load.

 

[jbs04]

u havin a bad day or somthin bandit? if the guy wants to bed and free float his gun i really don't see the need to ask if he has even shot his gun; it is my understanding that this forum's purpose is to offer support and encouragement to guys who own marlins and love tinkering with them, not a place to offer backhanded assertions. people have been bedding and free floating rifles with great results for many years and i don't see any reason for it to stop...to each his own

 

[jwilson48]

yes i have shot through it quite a bit and if you followed some of my other posts you would know it is certainly NOT sub moa. right now it is just shy of sub mo barn. i wasn't looking for another omg what are you doing fool? i can't believe you want your gun to be more accurate (who would ever want that?) just a simple yes that works or i haven't tried it but using my internet god king genius mind i think that it would ;D

 

[grout-scout]

u havin a bad day or somthin bandit? if the guy wants to bed and free float his gun i really don't see the need to ask if he has even shot his gun; it is my understanding that this forum's purpose is to offer support and encouragement to guys who own marlins and love tinkering with them, not a place to offer backhanded assertions. people have been bedding and free floating rifles with great results for many years and i don't see any reason for it to stop...to each his own

Well I have no side in this fight but here is my opinion. The original post asked what "we" thought, correct? Bandit gave his thoughts. I think he has a very good point when he gave it too; but I guess if somebody wants to go through a bunch of time, trial & error and possibly even risk screwing up their current accuracy with sub-par accuracy then they do have the right to do so. There does seem to be a whole bunch of bedding questions all of a sudden and maybe Bandit just gets tired of the same question. There is a search feature, but most members asking are new, so I guess they can't really be to blame. The only thing I can add to the original question is nobody comes back on the forum after they bed & free float their rifle bragging about how much better their rifle shoots now. But like you said guys want to tinker. If their stocks are twisted/warped then there would def. be a benefit to the free float.

Wilson, you have a Rem barrel or the JM barrel?

 

[Click Click Boom]

I think that bandits point was if it aint broke don't fix it.

But wilson is having accuracy issues with his, so free floating may be best answer and is the next step.
Grind the pressure pads off and bed it. If that doesn't help, then yes you can always rebuild the pressure points afterwards. You can actually slowly replace the pressure pads with thin pieces of plastic material or aluminum thus increasing the pressure a little at the time until you find the amount of pressure your best load prefers.

I have never seen a GOOD bedding job hurt the accuracy of any rifle. Some rifles / loads do prefer pressure bedding over free floating!

Wilson is the side of the stock pressing against the barrel? Have you checked the muzzle crown? What kind of groups are you shooting, any pattern to them?

 

[YelloKW]

I also agree with "if it aint broke, don't fix it". My own XL7 in .25-06 was not an accurate gun at all when I got it. The stock was making contact with the right side of the barrel, so I sanded it out and free floated it. It made a world of difference. It went from all over the target groups to 3/4" groups with Federal factory 100 gr NBT's. as for bedding, there was at least 1/16" to 1/8" wiggle room in all directions when the action was placed in the stock without the action screws installed. So, a glass bedding job was done. I an very happy with the results, and recommend floating and bedding to anyone experiencing poor accuracy.

 

[dpe.ahoy]

News flash for some of you guys!!!!! I use a computer everyday at work, and everyday we fight. When I try to find something using the search feature on this site and others, it pulls up so much crap that I am NOT looking for, I give up on using it. I know people ask the same questions here over and over, so what, point them to the FAQ's and try to help them. One of the reasons I visit this site so much is because most people are so helpful. Let's not snap at people for asking a question, let's try to help them. DP

 

[jwilson48]

i think people are simply missing my question. i was not asking if i should do what i'm going to do. i actually thought a lot of you might see the article and think wow that is an ingenious way to rebuild the pressure points. as a matter of a fact, that actually looks better than the way it comes from the factory. i don't understand how everyone can't stand the idea of free floating your factory stock, but everyone thinks its a great idea to put a boyds stock on (which is already free floated). but it doesn't matter. my gun is currently shooting between 1 7/8 to 2 1/2inches at 100yrds. i have no idea what barrel is on it i don't know where to find that. it does say 7mm-08 rem but that is the cartridge. i have read a lot that it isn't the idea of the pressure points that is the bad idea, the factory just doesn't do a good job on them. by doing my own pressure points if need be i will probably have a better job than yours. ya i said mine is better ;D nana nana boo boo seriously though i do value everyone's input even if i don't agree with you, so please keep them coming.

 

[grout-scout]

Hey Wilson, is the barrel stamped JM or Rem. It will be on the barrel in plain sight, it's a little tiny mark easily seen if you look on the sides, it is a proof mark and you can't miss it. I am just wondering because your groups are pretty bad if they are that big! I know what you are really asking or trying to show us with that article but you need to first find out why your gun is shooting the way it is. If it's a warped stock then you can bed it as much as you want and it still will suck. Your current pressure points could be the problem if one is higher than the other, the stock could be putting side pressure on your barrel. Are you using a good rest? Is your stock tight? You have to find the problem before you can fix it!
Have you tried shooting a 50 yards to see if your groups are still large? I have a hard time getting tiny groups @100 yds without a lead sled, just too much room for error/wiggling.

 

[jbs04]

I can understand your wanting to get better groups, 1 7/8 to 2 1/2 is pretty hard to try and live with; this particular situation is broke so you do need to fix it, especially since the 7-08 is known as a easy cartridge to get performance from. you can find the proof mark just in front of the barrel nut should say rep, jm, or another which i can't recall but i think your problem may lie somewhere other than the barrel itself. are you running reloads through there or factory or both? im sure you have checked to make sure everything is tightened down(action, bases etc.) so your correct in that the next step is bedding n floating the thing. i know accuracy issues can be very frustrating but stick with it and im pretty sure you will get things ironed out sooner rather than later...keep us posted

 

[jwilson48]

i see the mark it says re. the e isn't as deep as the r so it probably should also have the p or m. remington i'm assuming. i shoot off of sandbags and a bench and this is hands down my worst shooting gun. it isn't me i have looked at the stock with the barrel in it and do not see anything warped. it appears to be equally apart on both sides. right now the gun is in pieces as i am prepping for my bed job, so i can't check if the height on the pressure points are correct. after i bed i will check that also. bedding material should be in early this week.

 

[BR549]

It will do no harm to grind off the pads and glass bed the action. Also make sure you are using a load known to be accurate when you sight in your rifle. I am lucky enough to have a factory stock that works well with my action and is an accurate combo. But like most tinkerers, I have bought the Boyds classic laminate stock and have done a pillar and glass bed job to it. I admit that my rifle was very accurate before (.75inch/100yds.) but with this new setup it is shooting between .5 and .25 of an inch at 100 yards. That is with 4 shot groups. You do what you want with your rifle and if you need to go back to pressure pads, buy another factory stock. Good luck.

 

[BNC04]

It will do no harm to grind off the pads and glass bed the action. Also make sure you are using a load known to be accurate when you sight in your rifle. I am lucky enough to have a factory stock that works well with my action and is an accurate combo. But like most tinkerers, I have bought the Boyds classic laminate stock and have done a pillar and glass bed job to it. I admit that my rifle was very accurate before (.75inch/100yds.) but with this new setup it is shooting between .5 and .25 of an inch at 100 yards. That is with 4 shot groups. You do what you want with your rifle and if you need to go back to pressure pads, buy another factory stock. Good luck.

Is your Barrel stamped JM or REM?

Thanks
Brett

 

[grout-scout]

All 3 of mine are JM and are shooters, I sure hope the problem with his gun isn't the "REM" barrel.

Wilson, sorry to hear that rifle is a peice of crud. I sure hope you get it fixed with the bedding if not, oh boy o boy the Remington haters are going to eat it up.

 

[BR549]

Mine is stamped JM. It is one of the early 7mm-08's as I bought it new when the XS first came out. I then immediately took it apart and re-chambered it to .284winchester.

 

[LJLKRL]

This is just a thought I had, but it might be possible to put a couple of washers between the pillars and the action to raise the barrel up off the front pads and see if it helps. This way you don't have to grind them off. I know it won't be bedded but it should be free floated.
Just a thought.