shimming to fix "off" bedding.

Carrying on the saga of fitting the #5 back from Billy & Barney Bubba-Bob's "Glass Bedding" attempt.
I removed all the "glass" (some kind of gummy epoxy) from the forend tip & the center-braced crosspiece of the forend, which helped. Next I reworked the inletting which was binding on the barrel at 3 points on one side.

As it was shooting so high I also replaced the front sight blade with one from Paddy here (thanks, mate), so Back to the range for a test.

150 Gr Hornady SP/FBs at 2450 FPS were down 4" from before, now only a couple of inches high, groups were groups, not patterns any more, but still a bit big for my liking averaging 5" @ 100yds supported.

Next I checked the receiver & Knox form bedding. It was a bit "orf" to say the least. The rear bedding was basically a flattened round blob, the front receiver wasn't bad looking, but the Knox was bedded all the way up the sides of the barrel including the lightening cuts in the barrel!

Based on some articles I read on bedding the No4 action I started checking for issues. The forend to stock socket fit was non-existent there was a big enough gap that I could actually look through the gap & see stuff on the other side! I shimmed both the recoil blocks & the rear of the forend to reduce the gap without actually creating contact. (Supposedly there needs to be a narrow, but even gap here, we'll see). I also pulled the forend firmly to the rear as the "King Screw" was tightened so as to move the stock as far rearward as possible with the epoxied collar in place. I really don't want to drill & re insert a new collar if I don't have to.

There was zero clamping force between the trigger guard & the stock bottom at either end.
I shimmed the rear flats with some 0.004" shim aluminum (Thanks Keystone beer co) & that gave the suggested 1/8" "spring" to the trigger guard with the rear bolt fitted but loose.

The front end at the "King Screw" also had no tension, as well as some twit epoxying the spacer to the hole in the wood with the end standing proud instead of recessed so I could clamp the wood between the guard & the action body! ARGHHHHH!

I made up a 9 thou spacer, but it fell out after the bolt was tightened 9 thou & it wasn't clamping, no wonder this thing "wouldn't shewt fer beanz".
I found some thicker aluminum sheeting & cut a thicker spacer & now I have definite clamping both at the rear & front of the receiver/stock/trigger guard.

For now I just added a thin shim to the left side of the Knox form trying to shift the barrel slightly more to the right in relation to the channel & relieved very slightly on the right to give it somewhere to go. Its currently fee floated in the stock, but I'm not sure if this is “IT” or if I need to remove all the "epoxy" that’s up the sides of the Knox. I guess I'll shoot a few test groups & see if I'm done or not.

Film @ 11.

Unfortunately it has also introduced horrible horizontal stringing! Groups (if you can call them that) are in a diagonal line about 1 1/2" high by 8" across at 100 yds benched & bagged fore & aft.

I'm beginning to think this stock has more damage than I can repair & as I can't find a forend for either a No5 as such, or a No4 that I can field convert as armorers did then I'm gong to have to swap for a Boyds sporter set of furniture to make this a shooter.

I do have a bubba'd sporter forend that might be rescuable, so the next step is to try that at least for now to see if I can somehow get it to bed properly. I'm going to have to start somewhere else though as its a Mk2 forend with the missing wood at the back & no bracing strap.

I'll take some pics of the shimming as I tear the poor old thing down.