PUT THAT RIFLE TO BED

I have a Ruger 77 Hawkeye in 270 Winchester. My friend bought one at the same time, but his is the All-Weather in stainless steel with a synthetic stock. His rifle groups real good at 200 yards; about 2 to 2 1/2 inches with some loads. My rifle shoots more in the 3- to 4-inch range with either of us shooting it. We even switched scopes, which only took a couple of minutes when leaving the rings on them, and the results were no different. I get two holes about an inch from each other, but the third, in no particular sequence, will end up three inches away. Any suggestions?

Ron, New Mexico

Sounds like a bedding problem in the forend. Take the barreled actions out of both rifles, and you'll see a pair of small support bosses in the front of the barrel channel of the synthetic stock that serve as a "V"-block. Duplicate that same intent on the wood stock, and that tendency for the rifle to shoot to two points of impact should disappear. To do the job right, two or three layers of masking tape need to go around the barrel so the tape contacts the very forward portion of the stock when the barreled action is put back into place; just the front half inch or so. The two little dabs of bedding compound should be placed just behind the location where the tape will bump into the barrel channel. The tape is to help center the barrel, and give enough clearance for the two little dabs of epoxy to squish and form the "V" block. There needs to be a good coating of release agent applied to the barrel in the zone that will come in contact with the bedding compound (epoxy). If you need coaching through this process, call us rather than mess it up. Our shop has commonly cut group sizes in half using this method, which is so familiar to us that it takes only about half an hour. Of course, it needs to cure overnight. Then disassembly, cleanup, and re-assembly finishes the job. The results may amaze you.

JDC