Tighten the front screw first, hard--then tighten the rear screw hard.
Front screw first makes sense, being the front screw is a hex socket head tighten hard is easy, the rear screw is a slotted so I will have to be more careful I have a habit of trying to get them just a little tighter to be straight then striping them...
thanks to all
Front screw first also makes sense because that's the part of the action with the recoil lug--which is why I hold most of my bolt-action rifles upward when tightening the front screw, so the recoil lug is sitting against the recoil shoulder in the magazine.
However, I must also confess that I converted the front screw to slotted on my .30-06 many years ago, because I was using it a lot for travel hunts, where I prefer to take the rifle out of the stock and use a take-down case. It was far more convenient to use a slotted screwdriver than a hex wrench, and I also ground the bigger screwdriver tip on my Swiss Army knives (usually travel with two) to precisely fit the slot. The rifle has always shot well upon reassembly, perhaps partly because I tilt the body of the knife to the side when tightening the screw, providing a little more torque.
