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Old 02-03-2011 | 10:45 PM
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Nomercy448
Nontypical Buck
 
Joined: Oct 2009
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From: Kansas
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To maintain regular pressure and bedding along the action, I keep the torque even for both action bolts... 60in-lbs each...

It's a good idea to take a FAT or other in-lb torque wrench to the range and test out different bedding torques. Most rifles don't exhibit much change in accuracy for a pretty broad range (i.e. 55 vs 65in-lbs), but some do. It just so happens that when I tested my fiancee's rifle, 60lbs came out the best group each cycle. It's also good for my peace of mind, because I'd rather have the action screws as tight as can be without doing damage or negatively affecting accuracy.

Grab a couple boxes, a torque wrench, and your cleaning kit, and head to the range. Adjust the torque to 45lbs, and take 1 shot (off target), then fire a 3 shot group. Clean the rifle. Adjust to 50lbs, fire one shot off target, then fire another 3 shot group. Clean the rifle. Repeat for 55, 60, and 65in-lbs. Then repeat the process in reverse, decreasing from 65 to 45. If you have the time, ammo, and interest, go back up and down again. Cleaning between each group assures a level playing field, and taking the off-target shot assures that the rifle has "settled" at that torque. Repeating up and down assures that no single group is a fluke.

All that said, your rifle will VERY likely not change much, if at all. I shot ten groups at each 5in-lb increment before deciding that 60lbs was best for her rifle. The WORST groups were 0.3MOA, the best groups were 0.15MOA... So essentially we're talking about a ragged hole compared to a ragged hole... Not much difference for the average hunter.
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