cloverleaf
Handloader
- Sep 10, 2006
- 4,381
- 1,014
Bubba considered himself one heck of a shot. He could keep all his shots in the "minute of squirrel" vacinity with out too much trouble. Trouble was Bubba had a rich cousin who visited from the big city from time to time. He brought down his fancy rifle and even Bubba could shoot "bug hole" groups with it. The cousin bragged about how the fancy rifle had a custom trigger, an air guaged barrel, and was glass and pillar bedded. Bubba began looking at his squirrel gun like an ugly step child.
Well, this worked on Bubba's pride for a while until he decided that any guy who could keep that 1986 chevy truck running ought to be able to do a little "accurizing". Bubba fired up his MAC computer and looked on youtube about how to glass bed a rifle. Heck that dont look tough at all....
So a couple nights later, armed with a dowel and a few sheets of sand paper, Bubba started to work. Now as we've said Bubba was by nature and necessity a frugal and practical fella. He got the principal behind bedding, make an imovable platform for the action and first inch or so of the barrel. Now a 22 mag (Bubba liked his Magnum's too) dosent always provide a lot of good wood for a platform. Bubba had seen Accra glass and Devcon liquid steel used on line but he knew that stuff would run all over in a 22. So, some two part epoxy putty was in order.
Now Bubba knew that Bondo was too soft, besides that stuff was always falling out of the fenders of the truck. Now the stuff that fixed the hole in the gas tank...that was still working and it set up quick.....heck this project could be done in a couple of hours.... Bubba had no intention of gluing his rifle into the stock permanently. He knew from youtube that you needed a release agent. Some guy on line had used white lithium grease and Bubba had some of that. Door hinges on that truck were one of the few things that didnt squeak. You dont want to scare the big one away getting out of the truck. So with all the particulars in hand Bubba began the project.
No problem getting things apart. Been there done that before and all the needed screws were already rounded over. Bubba had worked on the barrel channel / lug area with sand paper but found that was impractical ....and slow. The Dremel sped that up. Besides, those extra deep pockets would all get covered by epoxy anyway, and the grinder marks on the outside of the stock? Well... a camo pait job would be a good update any way. Once appart Bubba coated the barrel, action, and scope (unintentionally) with lithium grease. Hope "gun scrubber " will take this off.... Bubba had to find some where to set the action while he mixed up the epoxy. In the process, the greased part slipped from his hand and fell to the floor....well getting that ding out off the crown will get me a "custom crown". (Bubba saw some body on the internet do that with a hack saw and a file).
The epoxy was kneaded until uniform in color and pressed into the action area. The stuff stuck to everything that wasnt greased. That was good...sort off. Guess the paint job will include the barrel too. Now, with stock in one hand and grease covered barrel in the other Bubba tried to re-unite the two peices. Time is of the essence here as the working time for the epoxy is only 10 minutes, or was it five? Musta been three, cause the rear of the action went in a whole lot easiear than the front. In fact it took a big clamp, now alternately covered in epoxy and grease get the the screws to reach the threads once the barrel and action were reunited.
But it was done. An hour and a couple mis-appropriated bath towels later, the rifle is wiped down. It took some prying and pounding to get the clamp off but once that was done the fore end sprang away fron the barrel. Naturally free floated...? Bubba wiped what he could of the grease off the stock and used two cans of gunscrubber to get the grease off the steel.
It took the clamp to get it back together.... I wonder how it will shoot?
Note- please forgive my little attemp at humor, Patrick F. McManus I aint. "The story you have just read is true...mostly. The names have been changed to protect the innocent". (believe me...
CL
Well, this worked on Bubba's pride for a while until he decided that any guy who could keep that 1986 chevy truck running ought to be able to do a little "accurizing". Bubba fired up his MAC computer and looked on youtube about how to glass bed a rifle. Heck that dont look tough at all....
So a couple nights later, armed with a dowel and a few sheets of sand paper, Bubba started to work. Now as we've said Bubba was by nature and necessity a frugal and practical fella. He got the principal behind bedding, make an imovable platform for the action and first inch or so of the barrel. Now a 22 mag (Bubba liked his Magnum's too) dosent always provide a lot of good wood for a platform. Bubba had seen Accra glass and Devcon liquid steel used on line but he knew that stuff would run all over in a 22. So, some two part epoxy putty was in order.
Now Bubba knew that Bondo was too soft, besides that stuff was always falling out of the fenders of the truck. Now the stuff that fixed the hole in the gas tank...that was still working and it set up quick.....heck this project could be done in a couple of hours.... Bubba had no intention of gluing his rifle into the stock permanently. He knew from youtube that you needed a release agent. Some guy on line had used white lithium grease and Bubba had some of that. Door hinges on that truck were one of the few things that didnt squeak. You dont want to scare the big one away getting out of the truck. So with all the particulars in hand Bubba began the project.
No problem getting things apart. Been there done that before and all the needed screws were already rounded over. Bubba had worked on the barrel channel / lug area with sand paper but found that was impractical ....and slow. The Dremel sped that up. Besides, those extra deep pockets would all get covered by epoxy anyway, and the grinder marks on the outside of the stock? Well... a camo pait job would be a good update any way. Once appart Bubba coated the barrel, action, and scope (unintentionally) with lithium grease. Hope "gun scrubber " will take this off.... Bubba had to find some where to set the action while he mixed up the epoxy. In the process, the greased part slipped from his hand and fell to the floor....well getting that ding out off the crown will get me a "custom crown". (Bubba saw some body on the internet do that with a hack saw and a file).
The epoxy was kneaded until uniform in color and pressed into the action area. The stuff stuck to everything that wasnt greased. That was good...sort off. Guess the paint job will include the barrel too. Now, with stock in one hand and grease covered barrel in the other Bubba tried to re-unite the two peices. Time is of the essence here as the working time for the epoxy is only 10 minutes, or was it five? Musta been three, cause the rear of the action went in a whole lot easiear than the front. In fact it took a big clamp, now alternately covered in epoxy and grease get the the screws to reach the threads once the barrel and action were reunited.
But it was done. An hour and a couple mis-appropriated bath towels later, the rifle is wiped down. It took some prying and pounding to get the clamp off but once that was done the fore end sprang away fron the barrel. Naturally free floated...? Bubba wiped what he could of the grease off the stock and used two cans of gunscrubber to get the grease off the steel.
It took the clamp to get it back together.... I wonder how it will shoot?
Note- please forgive my little attemp at humor, Patrick F. McManus I aint. "The story you have just read is true...mostly. The names have been changed to protect the innocent". (believe me...
CL 
