I guess I got bad ones. Didn't seem to take that much to get mine loose, either the Axis or the 12. Getting the nut off the barrel (once it was unscrewed from the action) was a bit difficult with all the grit on the threads. I ended up cleaning up the threads then unthreading the nut.

I put mine back on without a torque wrench, but, it was 'really tight' with the 1/2" bar.