C stock bedding questions

[RU shooter]

I finally got a C stock for my 03A3 its a decent original military stock ,Now I need some advice on how it should fit the action. I googled it but came up with multiple answers. What I have so far is upward stock pressure at the tip is wanted and needed, and I have that without the barrel touching anything but the stock tip but I do have some side to side movement and the barrel dosent return to the same position side to side after I release it (moving by hand) it sorta sticks to one side or the other, Can I fix this?. so far so good I guess? I had also read about adjusting/triming the rear action screw bushing? some say yes some say no? Any other little tricks to help it shoot better and stay consistant as it sure feels much better than the scant stock I had on it.

Thanks,Tim

[Rodfac]

In the old days, they shimmed the actions where loose with business cards...or the like at that time. Too, a business card, with a hole punched in it, then trimmed to fit the aft receiver screw recess will allow you to adjust the amount of "UP" pressure on the fore end tip. Shimming is not allowed in CMP Garand/Springfield matches so if you want to shoot it "over the course", that won't be an option. If not, then I'd glass bed the action, recoil lug and the first inch of the barrel channel. Trimming the rear action screw bushing would only be necessary if the wood at that point is overly compressed and can arguably be better accomplished by using the hole in the business card shim fix.

In a couple of my 03's, and 03-A3's, a fully tight forward receiver screw with a slightly less tight rear action screw gives the best accuracy. This takes considerable patience but the results may be instantly evident. 4-5" gps may be cut in half at 100 yds.

The question of course with any of this is: is it the load, the lighting conditions, my holding ability on the bench, the bedding, sight problems...etc. Duplicating the conditions for each trial is essential to success and will reduce the time and frustration involved. Good position awareness on the bench is essential and by no means easy...the rifle must recoil directly to the rear...your hold on the bags, or in the sling determines this.

To further complicate things I will offer this: the best shooting 03 in the family stable is an aged Rock Island high number with a stock that any sane shooter would consign to the wood pile...It's greasy, has a gap along one side of the receiver that allows you a view all the way through the rifle, virtually no finish left on the metal except where it was protected by the stock, and rust in the magazine well. The trigger is soft and spongy with no real difference between the first and 2nd stages but it will shoot MOA gps with 46 gr of 4064 or 18 gr of SR4759 and Sierra's 168 gr HPBP Match bullet when I'm having a good "eyes" day. .. all 3 shooters in the family are scared to death to tinker with anything....even so far as to remove the barreled action for thorough cleaning...it just shoots too d----d well. Go figure. We lightly wiped down the stock with paint thinner to get the bulk of the grease off, degreased the barreled action, cleaned the original barrel (a '36 tube) with J-B bore paste, then shot the hell out of it. It hasn't been out of the stock since and we've only used Hoppe's and a nylon brush plus patches through the bore. It does as well with cast bullets, especially Lyman's 311291 gc at .310" with 50-50 lube.

One last bit of advice: when you finish the stock, THOROUGHLY waterproof the innards, all the recesses. I use rubbing poly by Minwax, but True Oil works as well. You don't want any movement in that much slaved over stock when you get finished. Any movement due to humidity changes from seasonal weather patterns can play havock with your gp. locations, and my open gps as you go through a rapid fire string...10 shots in 70 seconds.

HTH's, Best Regards, Rodfac