Tikka T3 hunter 300 WSM

bladerogers

bladerogers

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Hey all, having a bit of a dillema today. I was helping sight in a Tikka T3 hunter in 300 WSM that came with a Burris Fullfield II 3-9X Scope. After bore sighting and putting one dead center at the close target (25 yds) we moved out to 100 yards. Within 5 shots we had a dandy sub 1 inch 3 shot group, everything seemed to be great. Buddy wanted the rifle sighted in for 200 yards so we moved the target out to 200 yards and this is when things took a turn. I adjusted elevation accordingly and proceeded to squeeze off three rounds. The group was scattered across 7", not what I would expect. This was fired out of a Shooters Ridge shooting rest, so I really don't think the human element plays into it that drastically. We continued after a few adjustments, same thing. It was a little windy, but not enough to affect flight this drastically IMO. A little miffed and confused I rechecked with the bore sighter between a few shots and the cross hairs had not moved, so this leads me to believe this rifle doesn't like the ammunition maybe?? We were using 150 grain Winchester Power Max bonded ammunition. Has anyone else had poor results with these? Is there a different factory load the Tikka prefers? Perhaps the bullet weight is to light for this rifle? Any suggestions or comments, greatly appreciated.
 
I'd try different ammo before I'd fault anything else. Did you shoot agian at 100 after shooting at 200?...scope didn't come loose while shooting at 200?..depending on what bore sighter you have maybe it's not that repeatable when removed and reinstalled...mine isn't....arbors are very loose in the bore. I have some arbors I've made from brass rod that are tighter....
 
the 30 cal arbor fits like a glove on that rifle, nice and solid. It never moved at all, those cross hairs stayed right where they were supposed to. I just can't believe that we could print such a fine group at 100 yards and then open up so much at 200 yards. I am leaning towards the ammunition to, but that's a big variance, that's why I ask if anyone else is having such issues with this ammunition in the Tikka. That ammo is not cheap stuff!
 
All of my other large caliber rifles group far better then that at 200 yards, and that includes an old 6.5X55 swedish mauser. My Remington 700 in 300 WSM shoots 1.5" groups with my 168 grain handloads at that range. Given the ballistics of the 300, anything inside 300 yards should be a gauranteed kill with no hold over on a white tail providing the shooter does his part. If this is what it looks like at 200 yards, I'd hate to think of the 300 yard shot. Is this bullet to light for the rifle or something? I want my friend to be confident in his shot inside 300 yards, and this doesn't help of course. What I am really looking for is, is it possible that a premium ammunition can make this much of a difference in groupings (fantastic @100yd, piss poor @200)?
 
A few ideas, wind has very little effect at 10 yards but quite a bit at 200 or further. 10 mph sidewind is maybe 1 inch at 100, 4 at 200 and 11 at 300.

I would shoot a bit more at 100 and see if maybe your buddy isn't the best shot.

Try a different ammo.
 
I have had several gun/load combinations that shot well at 100yds that shot like #### at 300yds. I never test at less that 200yds anymore, it's a waste of time.
 
martinbns, you think it has that much effect on a 150 grain 30 caliber bullet? I think that might be a bit excessive personally, that sounds about right with that wind speed for a 55 grain 22 caliber bullet. Regardless, the wind was more to our backs, slight crosswind, gusting to 25 k or so, but again, almost perfectly back to front. We both shot as well with similar results. Yeah, I am quite certain it's a different ammo solution, but what ammo is the question? He doesn't reload, so we need to find him a factory load that works. Any suggestions in this rifle?

Thanks for all the input guys!
 
bladerogers said:
martinbns, you think it has that much effect on a 150 grain 30 caliber bullet? I think that might be a bit excessive personally, that sounds about right with that wind speed for a 55 grain 22 caliber bullet. Regardless, the wind was more to our backs, slight crosswind, gusting to 25 k or so, but again, almost perfectly back to front. We both shot as well with similar results. Yeah, I am quite certain it's a different ammo solution, but what ammo is the question? He doesn't reload, so we need to find him a factory load that works. Any suggestions in this rifle?

Thanks for all the input guys!
Click to expand...

I ran it through a ballistic calculator. Used 150 gr Hornady ans the bullet as the powerpoint wasn't in the database, I used 3300 fps in the calulator.

TRy different ammo, maybe some reduced recoil loads. I find wind that is gusting makes my shooting form inconsistent, kind of like a golf swing. Even when the wind is helping it still knocks you off balance a bit.
 
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