took my ruger rifle out of its stock...now which screw do I tighten down first and with the most torque? Stock is snythetic. There are 3 screws.
One heavy duty screw which goes at about a 45 dergree angle infront of the floor plate and there is one on each side of the trigger housing.
i can send you pictures.

Front screw first, back screw next. The middle screw serves mostly to fill in the hole in the trigger guard and doesn't need to be tight at all. Regards, Bill.

Tighten the front one first. In technical terms it should be "pretty tight."

Then tighten the back one. This one can (and probably should) be a bit looser than the first. If the rifle doesn't group, altering the tension on this screw may help, but it usually shifts the zero as well.

The center screw holds the trigger guard on. Tighten it just enough to get the floorplate closed and keep the guard from rattling. If it's too tight, it can make your zero wander. If it's too loose, it can keep the floorplate from closing. Sometimes I use a drop of one of the milder forms of Loc-Tite on this one since tension alone may not hold it in.

These instructions also apply to the Model 70 Winchester. Hope this helps, Okie John.

thank you for your assistance; I have been using Teflon tape to snug things up,,, not as messy as loc-tite...should I quit using T-tape?

[ 09-26-2002, 02:53: Message edited by: beltloop ]

If you have an inch pound torque wrench, as I recall the front screw should be torqued to 60 in/#, the rear 45 in/# and the middle just tight enough so it doesn't fall out. If you ton't have the torque wrench, it would be tight, firm, and snug

I've never had a need to put loctite on action screws. If anything, a little dab of grease. Oh yeah, front, back, middle as the others said.

I have reassembled the rifle -338 mag- Front tight, won't turn anymore, middle tight but did not torqued it down like front and rear screw, rear tight won't turn anymore...is this too much?

I had a hunting buddy show up in camp with a Rem M 700 30 06. He complained about the bolt suddenly binding. I asked him what was the last thing he did with the rifle. He said disassmble it for a complete cleaning. We rounded up a screwdriver, loosened the screws and the bolt binding went away. It is possible to over tighten. I just snug the screws, I don't relly tighten. The only function of the screws is to keep the barrel and action from falling out of the stock when you hold the rifle upside down. Too tight and you introduce stress and stress is bad for accuracy.

Roger K---

I'd bet green dollars to horse turds your buddy left out the washers under the front action screw and when he tightened the screw it went too far through the action and the tip of it hit the right locking lug when the bolt closed. Common screw up.

Just wondering if you will buy him a new stock when his splits because the loose action screws allowed the action to hammer it every time it fires?

I check the screws on my highpower rifle with a torque wrench before every trip to the range. I use exactly 60 pounds on both, which is the suggested from McMillan.

beltloop: The front screw should be a tight as possible, the back screw (behind the trigger guard) should be tight (not as much), and the center one (in front of the trigger guard) should be snug.

The easiest way to tighten the action screws of a Ruger rifle is explained in the owner's manual (start with all the screws loose):

1. Tighten the front screw as tight as possible. This screw sits at an angle for a reason; it pulls the action towards the stock, and also in a rearward direction.

2. Tighten both trigger-guard screws as follows: Start with the rear screw, but turn it about one thread only, then turn the middle screw about a tread. The idea is to alternate from screw to screw. Continue tightening both screws in such a manner, until the rear screw stops turning. When that happens, don't tighten the middle screw anymore, but you may want to tighten the rear screw just a little more.

If you have followed the directions correctly, the front screw should now be very tight, the rear screw should be tight (but not as much as the front screw), and the middle screw should be snug.