I just picked up a Savage 93 22 WMR for Christmas and have already replaced the stock with a Boyds Hunter Walnut stock.  Is it really beneficial to bed a 22 WMR sitting in a Boyds stock?  I have other center fire bolt guns with aluminum bedding blocks and they shoot great, but we're not talking center fire here we're talking rim fire. Appreciate any thoughts on the subject.  Happy New Year!

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I have never had a rimfire bedded. It probably is just as beneficial as with a center fire, but I tend to use a rimfire at 50 yds or less with an occasional 100 yd shot where I use center fire at longer distances. I would suggest you scope it, shoot it at the distance you intend to use it, see if it is accurate enough for the type of use you have in mind. I find that I don’t shoot the 22WMR as much as a 22 because ammo cost significantly more. But It’s a good hunting cartridge and way less noise than .223

If you target shoot it at 200 yds bedding it would make sense, but how you use it is the
deciding factor. Sometimes we make certain improvements just because that’s what we want to do and that’s alright.

Just like scope choice should be based on how you will use it. Low end of 3x or less for hunting. High end of 16x or more for target.
And note how much internal adjustment the scope has. 100 MOA would be good if you will push it several hundred yds.

That is a REALLY nice-looking rifle.


Wood compresses beneath the screw heads when the screws get torqued down.

Pillar bedding the action screws prevents this and is easy to do.

The action moves when fired.  

Glass bedding or installing a bedding block ensures it moves back.

I'd start by shooting it as it sits.  If it meets your needs, don't bother.  If it needs help or you just want to do it, bed it.

Even though it does have two points of contact, pillar bedding done correctly wouldn't hurt it.  I'm a big fan of metal to metal contact when it comes to accuracy and repeatability.

Agreed limited usefulness in bedding unless the factory bedding is overdone and the action screws permit action lateral movement.  If the ass end is moving then your pressure point in the forend is changing if you a pressure pad.  

One really wouldn’t need a full blown bedding job.  Pillars or a two or four point bed  would be more than enough.  Combine pillars with that if you want.  You don’t need it to hold up to recoil because there is essentially none.  With pillars you are pretty good managing wood changes.

My 93 22wmr I did pillars in the factory wood stock. It shoots great but I didn't really test it before.

Buddy had a Savage 17hmr in the Boyds thumbhole stock. It did not have a good inlet and the action would slide around in the stock. A simple action bedding job fixed it and it shoots better.

I bed and pillar them myself so it's a low cost upgrade, paying somebody to do it might not be worth it.

Oh, yeah, this is a DIY job.  If you have to pay someone to do this, that money would have been better spent buying a different rifle.

I got a Vortex Crossfire II installed over the weekend and went to the range today.  I'm very happy with the set up and have answered my own question.  No need to bed this rifle, she shoots better than I do.  Got her zeroed in at 50 yards today.  Now the mags for Savage 93 is a whole nother story, but that horse has been beat to death. Attached File

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