Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters How do you tighten the stock screws on a Mauser

Snug the front first?

The rear?

Equal a 1/4 turn at a time?

How tight?

Front one to 40 oz inches, then back one to 20 oz inches.

A good test is to then loosen the front screw and see if the barrel rises in the stock. If it does, you have a bedding problem. Then re-tighten to 40 oz inches.

Front one damn tight, then rear one pretty tight. Brownells has hex head screws for the clumsy, or those who've bought rifles from the clumsy. I fit both descrptions at times.

I agree except I can’t find a torque wrench in inch/oz. mine are all inch/pounds or foot pounds. Some manufacturers vary on torque specs but 40/20 is a general number.

Front screw farmer tight, rear screw snug. That protocol has worked fine for about five generations, but now we need torque wrenches?

I can relate.

If the gun is bedded correctly, you will be drawing down on steel both front and rear. You can`t over tighten, snug um both up tite.

There are more materials used to make stocks now. That, and pillars, aluminum action bedding, etc. Some of these were uncommon or unknown back in the daze of the mostly wooden stocks. Torque wrenches used to be more common in the BR world, but virtually unknown with hunting rifles. That has changed. Time marches on.

I use a flat bladed screw driver unless it has torque or allen head screws.

40 oz inches = 2.5 inch lbs = 0.208 ft lbs

Long ways from 40 inch pounds. Believe the Ruger American states 60-80 inch pounds. I might have 2.5 inch pounds on the front trigger guard screw but I doubt it.

I do the front first then the rear.

I don't do farmer tight.

40 inch pounds of torque on the front doesn't seem unreasonable, but I'm going to have to back up the recommendation to play with the screws and test for movement or springing. It was probably "farmer tight" up front for K-98s and about half that for the rear tang, which in turn was SUPPOSED to contact a metal sleeve around the rear action screw (to avoid crushing the laminated wood).
What I would want to feel is both action screws snugging up quickly to a firm stop that tells me the wood isn't soft or damaged. If it takes a couple of turns to go from "free" to "tight," it's smart to take a scratch awl or something and see how hard the support wood in the stock still is. If it's gooey or smushed, a bedding job with modern epoxy is in the cards.

Generally I use a screwdriver.

Have a very accurate (and relatively expensive) torque screwdriver, but mostly use it for scope-mounting. Have yet to find any significant difference in various inch-pounds with most well-bedded centerfire rifles, and have experimented plenty. So just tighten the front screw first, with the rifle tilted upward so the recoil lug rests firmly against the stock inletting, then firm up the rear screw.

I also use a screwdriver. Great invention.

Or, as the Brits call it, a turnscrew.

Righty tighty
Leftie loosie

Clockwise

I have hex head action screws on my Mauser--which I recommend--but I don't believe places like Brownells or Midway carry them anymore.

And, for my military (vs commercial) Mauser actions, I glass in a metal ferrule to prevent over-tightening the rear action screw.

Someone should make a torque driver marked "Farmer, Damn, Pretty, Snug, and Friction". Save a lot of confusion.

The front screw on my Fieldcraft is supoosed to get 80 inch pounds. Don't have a driver that goes that high, so it'll get "Farmer" I suppose if I ever take it apart.