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Bedding Tikka Scope Base
Hi everyone,
I recently got my custom Tikka back from the gunsmith chambered in .260 Remington. I noticed that there is a small gap between the receiver and scope base. I do have experience bedding bases to receivers, and there is plenty of information online about how to do it, but none of them mention how to bed a base to a fully enclosed receiver like on my Tikka (older T3 lite version).
So my question is, should I bed just where the gap is or should I bed the entire base? It is a 20 moa rail for clarification. Also, the base has a recoil lug machined right into it to fit into the slot on the receiver. Should I bed this like a normal recoil lug or just let it be?
Thanks for the help!
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21 Replies
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Gap? that should not happen with a quality base.
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Totally agree with Dog , you just need to go for better quality
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Ya ok… so neither of you helped me out at all. I'm not questioning the quality of the rail. I got it from Mountain Tactical. There is clearly a small space between the rail and receiver. If you don't have any advice on how to go about bedding it, please just keep your opinions to yourselves.
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If there’s a space you’ve put it on wrong you don’t bed rails
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Hahaha dude really? How mentally challenged do you have to be not to know how to put a base on? Besides, I didn't put it on, the gunsmith did. Like I said earlier, if you don't have any advice just keep your opinions to yourself.
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Ok laddy crack on , this will be fun
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Umm… What's gonna be fun? You clearly have no idea what you're talking about. There is tons of information on the internet about scope base bedding, so clearly it is a thing people do. Is there anyone who can help me who isn't senile?
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Ok….lets start again and see if we can get this back on track.
Regards to the rail and previous post:
My previous post should have said… “That should not happen, something is wrong…”
If the rail you recieved from Mountain Tactical does not seat/fit flush and level with your guns receiver it must be a manufacturing issue or bent rail…there should be NO gap when fitting and especially after its screwed down, it does not need to be bedded…BUT…I sometimes bed / epoxy rails to my high recoil magnum caliber…but have not had a situation like yours that would require bedding to fill a gap or defect of any kind.You got a picture you can post showing the issue?
Any chance the rail is riding the threads on the screws or you have some debris pinched in there?Regarding bedding…
– I've used 2 part JB weld epoxy for this and it works great. Gives you a long setup time for clean up.
You are just adding strength to take some load off the screws, nothing more.
– Tape the exposed receiver area and wax it so nothing sticks if you have a mistake somewhere.
– Install the rail like normal, rotate even pressure to each screw and clean up excess epoxy being squeezed out…I apply epoxy to both the rail & receiver to make sure all surfaces are coated and have good contact.
– Clean all excess epoxy with isopropyl alcohol soaked q-tips and rags as you go. -
Thanks man, I really appreciate that. Sorry for the smart a** replies but I'm really looking for advice. I'll attach a couple pics of the gap and then one of the back where there is no gap. Now that you mention it, I did have the gunsmith duracoat the action only, so maybe that is having an effect?
My biggest issue with this is that I am consistently missing by about .2 mils high at 500 and 600 yards, as far as what my ballistic calculator is calling for. I have accounted for all the conditions and I am using a magneto speed for a chronograph. I know my system works because my .223 has always been spot on out to 700 yards. I just want to get everything ready because my shooting friend and I finally got access to 1000+ yards.
I guess I'm not asking whether you would bed it or not because I will make the final decision on that as I keep shooting the rifle. What I'm asking is how would you do it since it is a fully enclosed action, unlike the Remington 700, which it seems like all the info on the internet is for? Would you bed the entire base or just fill in where the gap is? Also, since it is a 20 moa base, would I be better off just bedding the back with the front tightened dow? Hope this all makes sense.
Thanks again.
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One more.
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Last one.
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Its still hard to tell from the photos but i can see what you mean by the light coming through on one of the pictures.
I'd do what I suggested…bed it with JB weld, apply it to both surfaces so you have continuous contact and all gaps will be filled.
Make sure there is no debris (old thread loc, etc…) caught in the receiver grooves on top of the action. Anything in that area or around the screw holes would prevent the rail from setting properly. Really give it a good clean before you bed it. You should be fine if you mask off the action and only leave the rail area exposed. Put a thin layer of epoxy on the rail and on the receiver. Install and screw the rail down rotating on each screw evenly, don't torque down each screw fully all at once. The excess epoxy will squeeze out and then just clean it off…let it setup for 24hrs before shooting and you are good to go. The rail will be permanent but can easily be removed with heat gun or torch in the future.
Its a pretty easy process, I'm sure you can do it…this is the best Video I could find on the process showing you what you will need…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSLNilqnpWc
The ONLY DIFFERENCE for T3 is…it will be like how the T3 CTR rails are glued & pinned from the factory. The Tikka action grooves do not allow you to bed it the same as a Rem 700, where you can bed it and remove it based on the round smooth 700 action. It will be permanent bedding job between the 2 surfaces.
Make sense?
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Yup, makes sense! And to be honest, I was considering gluing down the base anyways because I don't see any reason I will be removing it in the future.
Sorry, just a couple more questions, and this might be kind of a dumb question, but will bedding the entire base at once lose sone of the 20 moa offset? And would you suggest just filling in the gap for the recoil lug on the base of the receiver? I really tried looking hard on the internet, but like I said, all the information is for Remington 700 actions.
Thanks again!
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As long as you apply even pressure on the rail when fully tightened you shouldn't lose any offset.
I've always waxed the inside of recoil lug indent and them just fill with epoxy.
That way if you ever do remove the rail you won't be stuck drilling out that hole, the epoxy should just pop out with a little force.Good luck.
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Awesome, thanks! I'm gonna work on this tonight!
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