Bedding a Krico 302 .22 WMR

[FX Hunter 19]

Has anybody had experience with bedding a Krico .22 Mag model 302, as those that have one will know that the way the action is captured to the stock makes bedding a real challenge, from what I can tell the only part that actually draws the stock to the action is the first screw the mid and rear tang  screw only serve to capture the trigger guard and pull it to the action, they do not support the bedding at all, Would love to hear from anybody that has worked on these rifles and may have bedded one.

[FX Hunter 19]

OK, guess nobody has done this or its not an interesting topic.

Edited February 17, 2020 by FX Hunter

[Sausagedog 7,381]

Only just noticed.

I understand the same action was used for hornet.

Ze Germans are known for pushing the envelope when it comes to pushing an action strictly best for 22lr!

While WMR does induce barrel hermonics much greater than 22 the recoil placed on the stock is still light.

Do you have a problem?

[Sausagedog 7,381]

On 17/02/2020 at 01:21, FX Hunter said:

OK, guess nobody has done this or its not an interesting topic.

By the way. My first 22 was a krico. Very accurate and an amazing trigger.

[FX Hunter 19]

SD, thanks for the reply, my only problem is that I cannot get her to shoot much better than say 30mm at 50 and I tried every combo on earth as far as ammo goes, It has a great Zeiss scope on it so that is not the issue. The trigger has been worked on by the gunsmith and is excellent. Most of my other WMR half this group, so was thinking and looking at the way the action and stock mate and it is very weird I am convinced that that may be the source of the inaccuracy. 

[Sausagedog 7,381]

Is the barrel touching the stock? My 22 was but it doesn't matter for a 22. It will matter in WMR.

If I remember correctly the the trigger guard and mag well sandwich the stock to the barrelled action. The design removes much wood and can cause cracks. Check for cracks. I have seen that cause issues in a Mauser wmr with a similar design.  It went from clover leading to spraying it's ammo.

If that checks out ok check for bright witness marks on the barrel from the stocks barrel channel. If there is some the barrel is vibrating on the stock. That has to be eliminated by adding a pressure point or floating the barrel more.

As a test or permanent fix you can cut a plastic bottle to make shims. Put one or two under the front of the receiver to lift the barrel out of the stock.

Try that and report back.

SD.

[Meece 1,957]

Hey man.  It's a long way to here.  I just noticed your post.  What brings you to the conclusion that this problem might be action bedding.?  It could be lots of things from a faulty scope, ( although you have a good quality scope ). I have had a scope that I tripped over with and it wouldn't hold aero.  A loose mount,  A tight point on the stock barrel contact.  Using random different batches of ammo, or you are just a crap shot. If the point of impact  is moving then the problem isn't consistent.  Before you start doing a major rebuild make sure that you have checked the cheap and simple things first if you haven't already covered all bases.   Give us a further update.

Edit  If the barrel is supposed to be free floating,  then get a piece of thinnish card like a target card and check that it goes in betwen the barrel and stock all the way from the front to the breach without contact. As previously stated there could be a wear Mark on the barrel if there is a contact which will alter the barrel harmonics causing change of point of impact.

Edited February 28, 2020 by Meece

[FX Hunter 19]

Thanks all, so just to clarify here are the things that are not a problem: the scope is good and has been for years that is why I put it on just in case the Bushnell was not, I do not use random ammo I trialed every brand that was available, best group was 25mm worst was 34mm , the mounts are a Leupold Premier and the rings are lapped and they are toqued to the correct recommended settings. The trigger is as crisp and good as can be, the action screws are all torqued to 3 newton metres and I have tried less and various torque settings, did not seem to make much of a difference. The stock / action is not cracked or damaged but she is NOT a Floated, however I could not see any wear marks on the barrel to suggest a high point or otherwise. I have taken it to a gunsmith who specializes in bedding hard to bed rifles, he did check the rifling with a bore scope and said it was excellent. The rifle will be finished by Friday this week and will be bedded and floated, so I will attempt another grouping session and report back,,, Meece your right I could be a crap shot but than my crappiness would extend across all of my rifles rather than just this one.

[Meece 1,957]

Hm. A bit of a head scratcher. You seem to have covered all bases pretty well  The 22lr and 22WMR fire the same dia bullet but the speed is much greater in the WMR and you can't shoot a 22lr case in a WMR (it's different and dangerous to do so).   I  have never had a WMR  but I note that there are different bullet weights from 30 gn up to 50 gn available. If the different bulet weights are available that might work. The bullets that you are using might not suit the harmonics of the barrel but if so the point of groups might be different to another batch but should still shoot to a consistant point of aim .  It might be possible to remove the barrel and action from the stock and suspend it on two strings, lined up and sighted on a target and fired by a string around the trigger ( carefully and gently ).  This is used by factories to test fire guns .  It eliminates the stock and any frailties that hold may introduce. The gun can recoil freely. I've known ceeterfires that are very bullet and speed critical but not the 22 lead 40 gr.  It has been used since the 1800s and is the mainstay of 22 target shooting even at Olympic level. An interesting case. It might be worth an experiment to cut lead strips about quarter of an inch wide and wrap them around the barrel one at a time at different places along the length of the barrel to see if this alters the harmonics.  I fitted a silencer to my 223 and it  over the group a long way.  I mean 10 Inches at 30 paces.  Let us know what you do and how they affect the situation.  It's  Interesting.  We normally reply a bit quicker but for some reason I'm  not noticing this thread.

Ps.  Even though you think that scope ect are good there may still be an issue with part of that system. As I wrote I  had similar with a good scope that loòked good but I'd get it on zero and two shots later the group was moving all over the place. Check, check and check again then be suspicious.  This fault is something silly.

I have just re-read you  post and I note that different ammo batches are giving different size groups. So what is doing this.? Spèed, weight, bullet diameter,  bullet wt.? Bullet shape?  What's the difference  that is affecting the accuracy?  Have you got a chronograph? 

Best regards Meece.

Edited March 2, 2020 by Meece

[Meece 1,957]

What's the latest on this one.   It's all gone quiet.  I was discussing this with a couple of blokes at the rifle club and I've got a couple of other things for you to consider. Unlikely but possible.  A bulged barrel,  a damaged crown or barrel fouling.  I think that I would get a bristle brush and connect it to a spring balance with a wire.  I would then pull it through at a constant speed.  This might show if there are any tight or loose spots along the length of the barrel by the amount of pull as Indictated on the spring balance.  I would really be interested in any conclusion to this even if it was that you had beaten the gun into the ground as a fence post. All information is useful.

[FX Hunter 19]

Thanks Meece, I had the barrel floated and the action Devcon bedded, she now shoots on average 22mm at 50 and 28mm at 75 I'm happy with that as these older guns and the caliber were never a good mix for accuracy. According to the gunsmith the barrel was touching mostly half way down the forend and the way she locks into the stock was questionable, but happy now she shoots fine with Hornady V max or CCI Maximags .

[Sausagedog 7,381]

13 hours ago, FX Hunter said:

Thanks Meece, I had the barrel floated and the action Devcon bedded, she now shoots on average 22mm at 50 and 28mm at 75 I'm happy with that as these older guns and the caliber were never a good mix for accuracy. According to the gunsmith the barrel was touching mostly half way down the forend and the way she locks into the stock was questionable, but happy now she shoots fine with Hornady V max or CCI Maximags .

That is better but not as good as should be. It could the action end. They did do a hornet on the same action I believe!

40 mm groups at 100 is good enough and common for wmr. Mine goes a little tighter but it took some work!

Personally I would want 3mm clearance from the fore end to barrel gap. Mine has and it shoots now!

[Meece 1,957]

I thought that you had gone walkabout and fallen down a hole on the ground.!  As long as you can hit what your shooting at consistantly, your good to go. I don't know how tight a group mine shoots but it's accurate.  For rabbit I have an old  highly modified BSA.B/A.  It aint fashionable but it has a high mag capacity 20 and its been worked to be slick and very accurate. I am confident to head shoot at eighty paces and I can consistently knock down 410 cases at 100 Free hand with rws subsonic and a Parker hale silencer so it's ok for purpose.

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