Mine absolutely has to be Locktited in, otherwise it shoots loose and you will have a baffle strike. Fortunately, I suspected as much beforehand, and simply shot it a bunch with just the thread protector on to see if it stayed put with mere torque and no Locktite. It did not. I took it out on New Year's Eve to rip a few magazines into the dirt. When I loaded back up in the truck, I noticed it was missing, and had to get out the flashlight and go looking for the thing downrange. Never found it that night. Came back in the morning about 7 hours later and found it. No bullet strike through the main hole,...so I was able to re-affix it,...but now with Locktite.