no bedding compound is not meant to be soft and tacky
in the past I have re-bedded rifles that the bedding went like a chewing gum, some of the materials were commercial name brand bedding compounds
pay special attention to the flat sides of your action as they need to be relived with tape to stop pinching that will cause inconsistent return to battery
your recoil lug needs to be tapped on the front/bottom and the sides leaving the rear clean
where there is a right angle/ 90 degree in the action you need to round off the inside corner with a small layer of play doe so that when you pull the job apart the edge is clean and not broken, it also stops broken material from stopping the action from seating properly if you scrape some when fitting
tape a thickness of tape on the barrel at the fore end to give the right height for the action to fit the stock
just take your time and think about the job as you go, dont use a quick drying compound, epoxy is best and dont use clamps to pull the job down
tape all the edges that compound may come out of onto the stock and clean with qtips, if you use devcon qtips dipped in water
it's not that scary after the first one I promise
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