barrel floating an ultra lux

768 Views 4 Replies 4 Participants Last post by zonk, Apr 27, 2003

zonk

Discussion Starter · Apr 23, 2003

Here's the deal.

Brand new ultra lux (my first cz). Before I even shot it, I started reading this forum. I floated the barrel and sealed the stock with stain, and Tru-Oil.. I shot a few rounds with the iron sights to find out just how bad my eyes were. I then added a Weaver V24 on millett high rings. Fits fine, and the groups for the first hundred rounds of various ammo seemed good to start with (.49" best group at 50yds). When I took it out of the safe tonight, I noticed the barrel clearance seemed a little tight. I can still get 1 business card in, but it fits tight, was an easy slide before. I pulled the action out of the stock and noticed a slight depression in the stock, right around the boss of the barrel lug (like I over-torqued it). I notice some of you guys don't like that lug.

My question is this. If I insist on leaving it, should the lug seat tight at the bottom of the hole, or at the boss at the top of the lug. I've placed a .035" washer in the hole, and it seems to seat at the bottom now, but I have yet to shoot it. I haven't torqued it very tight, as I seem to recall a post talking of action/barrel binding if you use the washer trick. I know the obvious answer would be to shoot it and see the results, but I'd like to hear you opinions. Sounds like you all have more experience with these than I.

Also, can somone briefly explain to me the difference between action bedding, and pillar bedding, and the pros and cons of each. And during the bedding process, do you remove wood to make room for the bedding agent?

Sorry for the long post... Also, I have to say I occasionally read several gun forums, and you guys are by all means the friendliest most informative bunch I've found.

Thanks in advance,
zonk

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350

· #2 · Apr 24, 2003

Zonk,
I am by no means an expert, but I do have 7 CZ 452's. One of them is a lux. I have bedded all but the lux which I recently aquired. I will probably bed it some time too. I think the advantage of bedding is to eliminate just what you described about the wood being mashed around the barrel lug. As the wood is compressed the torque on the screws which attach the gun to the stock change, and you have to torque them again. Bedding helps to eliminate just about all of this problem. My opinion is that Screw torque is usually critical on .22's that are not bedded.

I try to remove wood everywhere bedding is applied to get a bedding thickness of no less than about one eighth of an inch, more is even better. Thin bedding can flake off over time. I bed all my guns with the barrel lug out to the lug. Bedding to about one inch in front of the barrel lug may be the best with the hole through the bedding large enough for the lug to be inserted easily. I would not want my lug to bottom out, but the barrel bottomed out, seated well in the bedding. I like the barrel lug. It gives you two points of attachment, which I think is good if done right.

Ronnie B. Weatherman

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Jim W.

· #3 · Apr 27, 2003

ZONK,

EZ has pretty much got it like I want to do my Ultra, if it starts to have problems. So far, I have floated the barrel forward of the lug with great success. I now have no problem getting .20 inch, 5 shot groups at 25 meters. Out of the box, it was getting .375 inch groups with the same cheap ammo. Some of my best groups are around .20 inch at 40 meters with Win T-22 target ammo. I hate to mess with it until I see some deterioration in the way it shoots. I have the stock all sanded and polished to a high lustre finish so it looks extra nice.

Since there is no recoil to amount to much, the amount of bedding doesn't need to be very extensive. The Ultra's rear reciever screw pulls the action down to the radiused chanel in the stock, limited somewhat by the flat area under the rearmost tang of the reciever. I'm going to try acra-glass gel bedding under the one inch rear tang and around the flat boss where the lug now seats. I will also glass the inch in front and 1 to 2 inches behind the lug. I will leave a little wood under the lug boss and at the rear tang to control the depth that the action is seated. This way I will maintain the free-floated area from 1 inch in front of the barrel lug as it is now. The barrel lug is a little awkward to work with but I like the two solid points of attachment.

A business card is pretty thick. I don't like alot of daylight around the floated barrel. If you have .008, or more, that's plenty.

Good Luck with your project.

Jim W.

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MangesMade

· #4 · Apr 27, 2003

I can vouch for the way EZ does it.....He helped me do a Special and an American. One thing is for sure. When you remove the action from the barrel to tinker and tune.....then put it back there's no loss of Zero. It's a solid precise fit, and they shoot great. :t

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zonk

Discussion Starter · #5 · Apr 27, 2003

Thanks for the info guys. I haven't had a chance to get out and shoot, since I tried my washer under the lug trick. I did notice that after I put the washer in, I got a real solid feel when I torqued the screws down, not that mushy feeling like before. Sounds like I'll go the bedding route eventually. Not til I try it this way first though, and I have a spring kit coming from Brookie also. I think I have a case of what someone else on this forum called JCLWEA (just can't leave well enough alone).

What is it with these rimfires. I have yard work to do, family responsibilities, a boat to prep for the season if I want to go fishing this year, not to mention shooting skeet every weekend, and I can't seem to get my mind off this danged CZ!!!!!

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