I did a similar test and also came to the same conclusion. 15 in lbs was the sweet spot.

 

IME, this is as dependent on the stock as it is on the action. My Kidd with a rear tang in a Victor stock shoots best with 20 in-lbs on the front screw and 12 in-lbs on the rear screw. My Kidd without the tang and mounted in a custom walnut stock with a forward pressure pad shoots best at 12 in-lbs. Like Mike3838 says, it absolutely makes a difference when using decent ammo and, like lot testing ammo, it’s worth the effort to figure out what works best for your gun.

 

I usually pillar bed and use 12 inch pounds on the take down screw on all my rifles, then I use various thicknesses and the placement of inner tube pressure pad in the barrel channel to tune each of them...Having only one torque setting to remember, makes it easier when you're playing with multiple rifles...

 

Most everyone here has probably known for years that the torque of the action screw on a 10/22 plays a role on accuracy. I just recently saw some Youtube videos about it, so I decided to prove or disprove it today. Normally I tighten the action screw with a plain old screwdriver and call it good. I bought an adjustable torque screwdriver off Temu web site for my experiment. All shots at 50 yards, Bushnell A17 scope, SK Rifle Match ammo, stock Ruger 10/22 that has a Volquartzen sear / hammer installed. Shot two, 5 round groups each round, for the test.

Round one was shot with the action screw as-is, no known torque setting. Group size averaged around 1.5 inches.

Round two was shot with action screw torqued to 10 in. lbs. Group size averaged around 1.25 inches.

Round three was shot with action screw torqued to 15 in. lbs. Group size averaged around 0.5 inches. (Yes, half an inch groups.)

Round four was shot with action screw torqued to 20 in. lbs. Groups size averaged around 1.25 inches.

Round five was shot with action screw torqued to 25 in. lbs. Group size averaged around 1.0 inches.

Round six, I went back to 15 in. lbs. to double check, and again, group size averaged around 0.5 inches. So it wasn't a fluke.

So 15 in. lbs. seems like the "sweet spot" but keep trying.

Round seven was shot with action screw torqued to 12.5 in. lbs. Group size averaged around 0.75 inches.

Round eight was shot with action screw torqued to 17.5 in. lbs. Group size averaged around 1.0 inches.

So 15 in. lbs is without a doubt the sweet spot for my rifle. Your rifle may vary.

Packed up and moved from the 50 yard line to the 100 yard line to see if I could get that 1 MOA groups at 100 yards. As fate would have it, a storm front moved in and I was experiencing 20 mph cross winds with gusts up to 30 mph. Yep, that's my luck, but shot anyhow. Best I could manage was one group of around 2 inches, but most were closer to 3 inches. Wind plays heck on .22LR bullets!

So, try torque settings on your 10/22 action screw like I did. You may just surprise yourself.

I will try to attach a picture of one of the 50 yard groups with action screw torqued at 15 in. lbs. This one measures 0.508 inch.

View attachment 526454

You see Hamilton Outdoors/rifle action screw torque, ? To me that's the best one. Shot real well for a Ruger barrel. Also Wheeler just released a update version of thier Torque wrench.

 

I need to try this on my rifle and see if I can make improvements.

 

just be careful, and don't go ham on the screw...people have been known to strip the threads in the receiver..