H.S. Precision Stock

[DrMike]

Clearly, H. S. Precision did not believe that the overspray would affect accuracy, or they were unaware of the overspray. In either case, it does not give anyone great confidence in quality control of the product at this point. Surely, they will want to address this issue. Good that you have a handle on the matter, however. I do hope that the stringing has now been adequately addressed for you.

 

[TXbaldhunter]

I bedded the recoil lug on mine and it shot a lot tighter than it did before.The inlet for the lug seems to be quite sloppy in my opinion.After bedding the lug,I didn't have to torque the heck out of the screws either.

 

[USAFblue]

Hey Tex, you have my attention. Can you give me some details on the method you used to bed the lug? Did you fill the whole area, filling in both sides of the lug? Did you use a thin layer of Kiwi neutral shoe shine paste as a release agent? In my opinion, I cannot see how a drop-in can always have the lug flat against the aluminum bedding block, making good contact where it should be, seeing as how its position is dictated by the distance from the stock mounting bolts to the lug. Some bed with Devcon Steel, but after one master gunsmith stated he stopped using it because of rust, and started using Devcon Aluminum, I am strongly leaning towards that compound to bed with.

 

[TXbaldhunter]

I just fill the lug channel about half,use a release agent,Kiwi is fine,I use Snow Seal.I personally just use 5-Min Epoxy and have never had a problem with it.Put her together and tighten screws down snug.After compound sets,you can break it apart,clean off the excess release agent and when you put her back together the barreled action and the stock will fit like a glove.I shot this 100yd three shot group out of my 7mag.

 

[USAFblue]

Thanks Tex! Nice tight group. Congrats! :grin:
I think I may have found the release agent you used online...
"Sno-seal•Beeswax Formula Dries To A Solid Wax Surface"
I read that when bedding one wants a very thin layer of release agent so that the fit is accurate, but more than one coat, dried, and buffed to make sure critical areas are covered makes sense to me. From reading, Kiwi Neutral is quite popular, but Sno-seal may work just as well.
From what I have read, one must be careful to keep bedding below any area that will tend to lock the action in, as it is NOT meant to be a permanent attachment.
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Sithlord mentioned bedding an H.S. Precision voids the warranty...
I guess you have lost yours Tex, and I am going to lose mine, because the chance of getting one hole groups at 100 yards to me is more important.
I'm sure the warranty is for manufacturing defects, NOT accuracy, and my H.S. Precision stock is actually a very solid and well made stock.
I don't see it "falling" apart anytime soon.
My H.S. Precision stock "feels" great, is well balanced, and the palm swell is very nice. Even my wife likes the looks of it stating, "it is a beautiful stock"
If my Remington 700 will not shoot after bedding this stock, rather than buying another drop-in stock, I will take it to Bruno's here in Phoenix.
I now have three independent shooters that say he is "THE MAN" who can make it happen.
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To all of those that dropped their actions into ANY stock and their gun became what they wanted it to be, I am very happy for you.
I am no expert by any means, but in reading the posts here on this subject, it would appear that your chances are good that your gun will shoot better after dropping it into an H.S. Precision stock. One hole groups is my goal, and bedding appears to make a good stock better in many many shooters opinions.
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I wholeheartedly agree that one should properly tighten the mounting bolts that attaches their H.S. Precision stock, and shoot it to see what it can do.
If it gets better, and you are satisfied, ROCK ON! :grin:
If it does not meet your needs for accuracy, and you cannot get satisfaction through the H.S. Precision techs, consider bedding it, but also seek out the advice of a master gunsmith, who has much experience in benchrest.
-'nuff said :wink:

 

[USAFblue]

In searching for information, I found an article about bedding written by Gale McMillan. (McMillan Stocks in Phoenix)
I've been studying it before I give this H.S. Precision bedding project a try.
(Edited due to the link went "dead" that was here, but the one below is good.)
- - -
Found another good site in regards to bedding. Looks like a Remmy too 8)

http://www.rdprecision.net/diy2.html

Edited: 12 Nov 11 to remove a "dead" link :?

 

[USAFblue]

Tex, after thinking about your post, I took my trusty black marker, and "painted" the "shooters" side of the lug on this Remington 700 SS. Next I carefully lowered the action into the H.S. Precision stock. Finally, I pressed the rounded area of the action into the U-shaped aluminum bedding block and gently tapped the butt of the stock a few times to where the stainless steel lug made a light clicking sound as it made contact with the aluminum bedding block.
This resulted in the same type of witness marks showing up as on the other aluminum bedding areas, indicating where the actual metal to metal contact points are. I will try to attach a photo, and have circled the contact points to show that the aluminum bedding block for the lug is NOT accurately matching the actions lug surface. I believe that scraping the aluminum block in would be difficult in this case, given the limited area, so adding Devon Aluminum Putty #10610 will increase the lug to block surface contact area here at this critical point. Seeing as how a rough surface aides in bonding, I've decided to use 0000 steel wool to polish the shooter side of the lug to assist in release from the epoxy. I am reminded that taping the lug up on the muzzle side, plus taping both edges, and then double taping the bottom of the lug is required, as well as a double coat of release agent on the side facing the shooter will help to keep me from making mine a "glued-in" gun. My lug tapers from the barrel down so I should not have a problem with it "keying" or locking into the stock. Thanks for your post.
-

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Closeup view of the small areas of contact between the lug and the aluminum bedding block.
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[USAFblue]

Still searching, I came across some posts about H. S. Precision stocks at another web site. These posts were made back In Feb 1999.
The two bloggers that grabbed my interest are JP and another named JR and at that time this JR appears to be an H.S. Precision employee.
JP in Texas asked this JR fellow a question and he replied.
A bit later this employee of H. S. Precision named JR makes an interesting statement.
Read on folks, this is good stuff!
-------------
JR,
Nice to hear from someone who makes H-S stocks. I have several that are giving me excellent accuracy with the drop-in fit (as it came from the factory). But I have one Remington that just won't shoot worth a crap unless both action screws are torqued way beyond reason - and then it punches single hole five shot groups. The heads on the screws won't take this kind of torque for long before the allen heads strip out.
How would you recommend bedding this one gun (in hopes of getting it t shoot with a reasonable torque setting)?

Thanks for any info.
JPinTX
- (JR replies) -
I've been with H-S for a while now, but I am not a stock builder. Have built stocks in the past but now I spend my days as their barrelmaker, just to make sure they can hold their 1/2 moa guarantee up. And they can and do. Anyone headin' down to SHOT in Atlanta make sure to stop by the H-S booth there, got some new toys comin' out, know you'll like 'em.
- (shortly later in this chat JR states the following) -
Little secret though, I do bed all of my H-S stocks. Not at the action screws or the barrel but behind the recoil lug where it meets up with the bedding block, as sometimes there is a small gap between them. I think with that gap the action screws take some of the brunt of the force, which they should not, so I epoxy, fill in the gap. That is all the bedding I do on mine anyway. Otherwise the action is centered by the bedding block, so there is no need to bed it.

Take it easy everybody,

JR
--------------------------
So there you have it folks, what appears to be an H. S. Precision employee beds ALL of his H. S. Precision stocks at the recoil lug!
I wonder if he voided HIS warranty on all those stocks? 8)
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I just noticed that the above almost seems like these two Texans are one and the same..... is TXbaldhunter and JPinTX the same person? :roll:

 

[TXbaldhunter]

No we are not the same people,but I do agree with what he's saying.If there is a gap between the recoil lug and the stock inlet,you are likely to experience problems.Relying on the action screws to keep everything in place will someday fail and I really hate torquing the heck out of those screws.I do not remove any material from the stock at all.I just add epoxy into the recoil lug inlet and assemble,simple as that.I see no way you could void a warranty as long as you're not removing material from it.I can remove the epoxy without damaging the stock if I want to.

 

[JD338]

That is some good input from HS!

JD338

 

[USAFblue]

UPDATE: Fully bedded the H. S. Precision Stock with Devcon Aluminum. 50 inch pounds of torque on both screws. Groups are now tight, really tight. Can cover my shots with a dime at 200 yards folks. I'm off to hunt elk. :grin:

 

[DrMike]

Nothing wrong with that sort of accuracy! Congratulations. You've earned the right to brag on such groups. Any pictures? Consequently, any particular hunts planned for this year coming up?

 

[USAFblue]

These are store bought I had on hand, NOT hand loads.
I am out of time. Will hand load after hunt.

 

[USAFblue]

These are another box of store bought.
Nosler handloads should be the "bomb!" :grin:
Hunt is for Cow Elk, Dec 10th through Dec 19th, Arizona, Springerville area.
Gotta run... ZOOOOM!

 

[DrMike]

Your rifle is there. Sounds like a great hunt for you. Best of luck.

 

[SJB358]

Great looking groups there! It seems as if you will 0 excuses for missing! Good luck. Scotty

 

[USAFblue]

Thanks for the best wishes guys!
Back from work and getting ready to head out to the cold country now.
Will be using the VOR-TX 168 grain, not the 150 grain soft point due to the additional weight.
Am told that this all copper bullet will not break up, which is why I bought the E-tip Noslers to load.
Sadly, I used all of my E-tip and AccuBond Noslers in trial hand loads before I knew I had a stock problem.
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As far as the shot...
my thinking at this point is to play it safe and shoot for the "boiler room" on my chosen cow elk.
If I miss that roughly 12" circle, we all know it is not the rifle or stocks fault, and I can accept that.
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In conclusion, I highly recommend making sure there is NO overspray on the tang area of your H. S. Precision Stock.
If shots at that point do not meet or exceed your needs, bedding the H. S. Precision stock has made me happy and others as well.
My reasoning is come by ESPECIALLY after reducing shot group size from about 1.5" and greater down to less than .25" for store boughts.
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Good Lord willing, all of my family members that want it, will have fresh elk meat for their tables this Christmas!
Take good care all, and my best to all who read this "book" through all of the "chapters" I seem to have left here regarding H. S. Precision Stocks!
Bill

 

[DrMike]

I heartily commend the use of the 168 monolithic bullet rather than the 150 soft point. I believe you made a wise choice. When you get the opportunity to work up loads with the E-Tip, I believe you will really be pleased with the performance. I know the AB will perform well for you.

 

[jmad_81]

Sounds like your set! Its amazing to me sometimes how the little things can have a huge effect on how a rifle shoots. Glad it worked out for you. Best of luck on your hunt.

 

[6mm Remington]

Fantastic job you did on that rifle. Isn't it funny what a difference the sometimes the little thing will make. We expect elk photo's very soon and good luck!

David