The Tikka T3 223

thatmikeguy

thatmikeguy

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As you may have guessed already, I have a T3 in 223. I'm wondering, for those of you out there with this gun...

How Do You Load Your Heavy Bullets?

If you load them long then they don't fit in the clip and loading singly just does not work. Is there a clip available with more space? Would a clip for the 204 ruger cartridge work? Do you just seat them deep and use less powder?

I find it very strange that Tikka would give the barrel an 8" twist but only provide a factory length magazine.
 
There's a thread somewhere on here showing how to modify the mags so you can load longer rounds. I can't do it right now but if nobody else has done it by the time I get home I'll look it up.
 
I shoot the 69gr Matchking out of my own T-3 Tactical. I seat the bullets .010" off the rifling, but I had to use a half round file to remove about .020" from the front of the magazine. If you pop out the follower and spring, it's easy to do.
 
My gun shoots nice but it's very rare that I get a half inch group or less. It's usually around .75".
Click to expand...

Sub 1/2moa is routine for my rifle.

223tikkagroups.jpg


I didn't take a picture, but my three shot sight in at 100 yards measured .230".
 
that's great. I've tried that load combo as well and the odd time i would get a group just under half inch but not usually. When i bought the gun, i was expecting consistant accuracy of .5" or less but it just isn't happening. I even made sure that the barrel was free floated.(there was some plastic touching)
 
Bullet seating depth has proven to be fairly critical with my rifle. If I load to the magazine, and leave the bullets .030" off of the lands, the groups open up to around .75" to .8". I also just increased the powder charge by another 1/2grain, and the groups have shrunk a bit more, so they are averaging around .4" for five shots. Now I need to wait until spring and see what happens in warmer temperatures. The good thing, is that the accuracy seems very good all the way from 22.5gr to 25gr. At 25gr, I am seeing 2950 fps at 8 degrees C.
 
i tried 24gr of imr 4064 which gave me 2900fps. That was loaded to mag length. i can't remember what max load is or if i tried it. What kind of primers and cases are you using? I'm using remington cases and cci primers. I think the cci brand may be a little hot which is why i can't always use max load...also, do you full size or neck size?
 
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I am using CCI primers and Lapua brass. The Sierra manual lists a maximum of 25.9gr for 3100fps, while the IMR site lists a maximum of 24gr and just under 2900fps. I neck size, using a Redding neck bushing die. A drop tube is good to have when loading max loads in the 223 with IMR4064.
 
Apparently I can shoot slightly better than I understand carmeras!

Here the only pic I have but I have a couple more better groups.
These with 25.5 gns 335 & 55 Sierra Spitzers.

223_004.jpg
 
thatmikeguy said:
that's great. I've tried that load combo as well and the odd time i would get a group just under half inch but not usually. When i bought the gun, i was expecting consistant accuracy of .5" or less but it just isn't happening. I even made sure that the barrel was free floated.(there was some plastic touching)
Click to expand...

The most critical thing when it comes to reloading .223 for maximum accuracy is accurately weighing the powder. Weighing to the nearest .1 gr doesn't cut it if you are looking for .5 or .25 MOA performance. I picked up an electronic jewel scale off ebay for $15 that consistently weighs to the nearest kernel of Varget, .02gr.

Work up in .1 gr increments, then tune the load for ambient temp.

My T3 Varmint shoots .25MOA with 80 gr amax, CCI BR4 primers and 24.5gr varget at 20deg C.
That same load will open up to .75 MOA at 0 deg C.
Up the charge to 24.7 for 0 deg weather, and I'm back in business with a .25MOA load.
 
The most critical thing when it comes to reloading .223 for maximum accuracy is accurately weighing the powder. Weighing to the nearest .1 gr doesn't cut it if you are looking for .5 or .25 MOA performance.
Click to expand...

My electronic scale measures to .1grain, and I am averaging.4moa for five shots shooting at -5 degrees to 0 degrees.
 
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