Warne used to recommend 25 in lbs for scope rings at least their mountain tech rings. Here is the install instructions from my set of mountain techs with a sticker over the 25in lbs that was recommended.
I would check to see if the recoil lug is fully seated in the action. My guess is the stock was took off to thread the barrel and it wasn’t seated correctly when put back on. The pressure port circled in the picture should be low enough in the stock that if it drops any at all it will start to...
It doesn’t make alot of sense to me as well. My choice would be a SBR with a red dot shooting 77 tmks. The goal is to have a bullet that causes maximal tissue damage with sufficient penetration in the most shootable platform for rapid shots.