Targets from my newly restocked 6.5-06

[Lone Star]

It makes me laugh when I hear folks say that unles a rifle has bedding compound it cannot and will shoot accurately. I wondoer how Harry Pope managed all those records without stnthetic bedding compound?

For one thing, he didn't build bolt action rifles. His most famous shooters were singleshots on Ballard and Stevens actions, chambered in very low recoil cartridges which did not move the action around in the stock. These actions are arguably easier to bed since they have smaller, relatively flat bedding surfaces, quite a bit unlike the M700 or M110 actions.

But of course as you imply, skill had the most to do with it, and time. Pope never got rich in spite of his fame as he spent too much time on each rifle, and he didn't charge enough for that extra time.