I never noticed any difference in having the screws in or out on mine. Tried both ways, then left them out. Finally got an Elite Iron 338 Sierra suppressor for mine and took the brake off. I'll never run the brake again. I accidentally shot it one time w/o hearing protection...DO NOT DO THIS! That brake is loud, may do it's job but wow is it loud, LOL.
Guys here are going to say don't waste your time with Hornady, but I picked up 3 boxes of their 285 ELD ammo to start with. Shot those factory rounds then used that brass for reloading. Reloaded those cases 12-15 times before I went with new brass. No problems yet mind you, just thought it might be time to use some new.
Got an Athlon Cronus BTR and an Atlas 5H bipod on mine. Honestly that's pretty much the only rifle I've shot in the last 1 1/2 yrs. Love it. I use Ramshot LRT powder. Luckily I just scored an 8# jug of it yesterday from Grafs so I'm good to go for awhile again.