My gunsmith (34 years with mauser) tightened my trigger gard screws VERY tight. I always thought that nice and snug was OK but he really put the tork on them... Is this right? How tight to you tighten your trigger gard screws? ... on the 96 Swede 9.3X62
Aaron

Aaron...I personally limit my own ability to overtighten screws by using the "stubby"handle from Brownells when I give it the final torque.Only my pinkie and ring fingers can grip that way.Snug is about right.

I stop just before the twist in half, most of the time

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Ray Atkinson

ray@atkinsonhunting.com
atkinsonhunting.com

There is always the racer's motto. "Torque it down until you strip the threads. Then, back it off one half of a turn."

Read in the magazine Spec weapons (from 93):
wood stock not bedded; 30-40 in lbs
wood stock pillar bedded; 40-50 in lbs
fiberglass stock bedded ; 45-55 in lbs
fiberglass stock pillar bedded; 50-60 in lbs

Just guidelines

This was from an article about police sniper rifles and that (as usual) each rifle has its preference.
I am not sure of how much good this is if one is not using a torq wrench.

//Jens

It can help quite a bit!

12 inch pounds = 1 foot pound

50 inch pounds = little over 4 foot pounds

use a foot long wrench on a screwdriver and a small spring scale, pull to 4 pounds and you know how tight it is. Only have a 6 inch long wrench? Then pull 8 pounds....

Here is the rub though- just use this as a way of learning how much torque to actually use, then just tighten by hand that much. If you think about it, the difference between 45 and 55 inch pounds is maybe a couple of degrees of rotation of the screw. Maybe.

Raise your hand if you have ever stripped a standard slot screw-head on your scope mounts. Thanks to Mr. Torx for developing a goof proof design. Also - Craftsman Tools has some great torque wrenches and drivers. It is always a good idea to use one with the Brownells driver set. Wonderful stuff...