Tight chamber on an IBI Tikka T1X barrel?

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Michael94

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I picked up an IBI barrel for my tikka T1X. I'm not mechanically inclined, so I had it installed by a gunsmith.

He said he test fired it and had no issues with Eley Tenex after having it installed.

I took it to the range, it feeds and extracts live rounds no problem. But when the rounds fired, it won't extract. The casing are stuck in the chamber and have to be pushed out with a cleaning rod, with some force.

I've tried every kind of Eley, SK, lapua (including centre-x), down to cheap bulk ammo. All have the same issue with extraction.

I've contacted the gunsmith he suggested to try a new extractor, and if that doesn't work he can cut the chamber off, and remake it.

I've also contacted IBI, they said it might not be installed properly. But I'm not 100% sure, since it extracts live rounds properly, and the cases are stuck in there. They said I can send it to them and they can take a look at it.

I will have to send it to a gunsmith to have it removed in order to have it sent to IBI.

Obviously costs are going to add up with the shipping, and gunsmith work. Does anyone have any suggestions on what's the most cost effective way to deal with this? Would it be possible to have the chamber expanded slightly?
 
What changes when a round is fired? How did the gunsmith set the headspace? What does the extractor look like? Was it damaged during barrel install? Had that gunsmith done T1X barrels before? I replaced mine with an IBI. Extraction has never been an issue. The gunsmith rechambering sounds like covering some other issues if he says it worked fine for him.
 
How do the fired cases look? Any bulges around the base ahead of the rim? I'm not a bolt action guy, but on a single shot rifle, poor extraction is often caused by unsupported case at the extractor. Usually a poorly fit extractor. The fired case bulges into the unsupported area and gets stuck.

Chris.
 
I was thinking the case expands slightly after firing and gets stuck because the live rounds feeds and extracts without any issues. I'm not sure if he worked on Tikka barrels, but he was recommended by a friend since he does all his work for his rifles and never had any issues. He did say he set the headspace, and borescoped it.

As for the chamber, I am not sure, I purchased the barrel second hand. IBI said it's most likely the standard match barrel as it's their most common one for the Tikka. The tighter match one is extremely rare for them and only made on request. But they think it should have worked with some of the higher end match ammo I tried.

I've attached some pictures of the extractor, it does look like there is some wear on the edge of the extractor.

Would it be easiest just taking it to a different gunsmith and having them reinstall the barrel?

I didn't inspect the cases closely, I should have. But from a quick glance, there was nothing that stood out with them.

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Is there any evidence of dry-fire damage to the top of the chamber mouth? The result would be a little nub of displaced metal than hangs down into the chamber, leaving enough space to work an unfired cartridge but biting into an expanded case causing the issues. The brass case would have a tell-tale scratch on it as evidence as well. Fired cases shouldn't require much force to extract, normally one can easily pick them out with a small flat screwdriver, so this aspect is suggestive of some kind of damage to the chamber.
 
I’d try a new extractor. I was at a match on the weekend and saw lots of IBI rimfire barrels working well.
 
another thing to check is to look at the barrel where the extractor fits into. it could be plugged up with debris.
 
I have had similar issues in various rifles here - is about rust or pits in the chamber - as if upon firing, the case expands a smidgeon and grabs tight to the chamber walls - look into your chamber with a flash light - with your eye, it should look shiny like a mirror in there - all of it, all the way around. A bit different if the bolt can be opened - in that case the case is stuck AND the extractor slipped off the rim - sometimes when firing, can not open the bolt - case is "frozen" in there due to corrosion, and the extractor claw has a good grip on the rim. OR, could be the chamber was cut too tight. OR, when torquing it on the chamber was squished too small - multiple causes could explain the symptoms that you describe. If you believe that your gunsmith did in fact test fire that thing without issue, ask yourself what might have changed between then and now - corrosion is the first thing that comes to my mind.
 
Michael94 said:
I picked up an IBI barrel for my tikka T1X. I'm not mechanically inclined, so I had it installed by a gunsmith.

He said he test fired it and had no issues with Eley Tenex after having it installed.

I took it to the range, it feeds and extracts live rounds no problem. But when the rounds fired, it won't extract. The casing are stuck in the chamber and have to be pushed out with a cleaning rod, with some force.

I've tried every kind of Eley, SK, lapua (including centre-x), down to cheap bulk ammo. All have the same issue with extraction.

I've contacted the gunsmith he suggested to try a new extractor, and if that doesn't work he can cut the chamber off, and remake it.

I've also contacted IBI, they said it might not be installed properly. But I'm not 100% sure, since it extracts live rounds properly, and the cases are stuck in there. They said I can send it to them and they can take a look at it.

I will have to send it to a gunsmith to have it removed in order to have it sent to IBI.

Obviously costs are going to add up with the shipping, and gunsmith work. Does anyone have any suggestions on what's the most cost effective way to deal with this? Would it be possible to have the chamber expanded slightly?
Click to expand...

Who chambered the barrel? Who cut the extractor grooves? That's who you should first talk to. The best case scenario would be the extractor just needs a sharper edge or fitted a bit better in the extractor cut out to the chamber.
 
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Michael94 said:
I was thinking the case expands slightly after firing and gets stuck because the live rounds feeds and extracts without any issues. I'm not sure if he worked on Tikka barrels, but he was recommended by a friend since he does all his work for his rifles and never had any issues. He did say he set the headspace, and borescoped it.

As for the chamber, I am not sure, I purchased the barrel second hand. IBI said it's most likely the standard match barrel as it's their most common one for the Tikka. The tighter match one is extremely rare for them and only made on request. But they think it should have worked with some of the higher end match ammo I tried.

I've attached some pictures of the extractor, it does look like there is some wear on the edge of the extractor.

Would it be easiest just taking it to a different gunsmith and having them reinstall the barrel?

I didn't inspect the cases closely, I should have. But from a quick glance, there was nothing that stood out with them.

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Click to expand...
That looks nice. Any carbon in the chamber? As soon as you said it’s second a hand barrel that opens up a lot of options for non ideal conditions.
 
The bolt doesn't get frozen so to speak, the extractor slips during extraction. I will attempt to source a new extractor to test it out, but stoeger doesn't have any available and I can't seem to find any in Canada.

I took a look at the chamber when the barrel was new, it was shiny, no damage to it or the chamber mouth. I took the rifle out a two weeks after receiving it from the gunsmith, so it wasn't sitting for long. But even after inspecting it now, no damage, and very minimal dirt in there since I fired less than 15 rounds through it to see if anything would work.

@Guntech I am not sure who chambered the barrel or cut the extractor grooves. The barrel was a drop in so I assume it came with that already from IBI, but I am not very knowledgeable so can't answer this.

I purchased the barrel from someone on the forum here, they had a large amount of positive reviews.

But obviously someone during this entire process might not have been 100% honest. But finger pointing isn't going to fix any of it lol.

I will take it to the range next week and inspect the fired cases.

Is there any way to use steel wool or some metal polish on the chamber? Or would that be a bad idea.
 
I’ve used an IBI for a 457 and a 10/22 and I had failure to extract problems with both with a variety of ammo. It was 50-75% of the time. For the 457 I asked IBI about fixing the problem and they said to send it back and they would have it fixed in 12 weeks or so. I didn’t like that option because that was the entire summer shooting season so I dremelled the extractor cuts deeper and it ran flawlessly. I’ve since upgraded my 457 barrel to a Lothar Walther match barrel and I’ve had zero issues. I’m not saying that’s your problem but thought I’d share my experience.
 
Michael94 said:
The bolt doesn't get frozen so to speak, the extractor slips during extraction. I will attempt to source a new extractor to test it out, but stoeger doesn't have any available and I can't seem to find any in Canada.

I took a look at the chamber when the barrel was new, it was shiny, no damage to it or the chamber mouth. I took the rifle out a two weeks after receiving it from the gunsmith, so it wasn't sitting for long. But even after inspecting it now, no damage, and very minimal dirt in there since I fired less than 15 rounds through it to see if anything would work.

@Guntech I am not sure who chambered the barrel or cut the extractor grooves. The barrel was a drop in so I assume it came with that already from IBI, but I am not very knowledgeable so can't answer this.

I purchased the barrel from someone on the forum here, they had a large amount of positive reviews.

But obviously someone during this entire process might not have been 100% honest. But finger pointing isn't going to fix any of it lol.

I will take it to the range next week and inspect the fired cases.

Is there any way to use steel wool or some metal polish on the chamber? Or would that be a bad idea.
Click to expand...

It probably isn't the chamber but the extractor cuts and the end of the extractor probably needs to be sharper. You need an experienced gunsmith familiar with extractor cuts to diagnose it before altering the chamber.
 
guntech said:
It probably isn't the chamber but the extractor cuts and the end of the extractor probably needs to be sharper. You need an experienced gunsmith familiar with extractor cuts to diagnose it before altering the chamber.
Click to expand...

Sorry, pardon my ignorance with this. Are the extractor cuts on the barrel itself? And would you recommend getting a new extractor as well?
 
I built a rifle in 2019 when I was thinking about long range shooting. Did the install/headspacing myself. Initially it worked well (except for some feeding problems) then after a three or four hundred rounds it started to have extraction issues (using SK+).

Wound up taking it to a gunsmith and he opened up the headspace a titch. No issues now with different types of ammo. The chamber is still 'tight' as nothing was done to it.

FWIW here are comments from Ryan @ IBI when I sent him an email in 2019 - note my 'feeding' issue at the time turned out to be the garbage magazines Tikka had for this rifle initially (I still think the mags are a sore point and I should have built a on a CZ457 chassis instead):

Yes sir the chamber IS VERY tight. All true match chambers are this way. There is a pile of engagement between the bullet and the lands. The best ones engrave way in there which is why when you drop a rd into the chamber it sticks way out. If you are having chambering/feeding issues you might want to re-headspace it with the actual ammo you plan to use. That usually sorts it right out and makes feeding smoother. Chances are its too tight at the moment which is why you are having probs. If you have questions on how to do it I'm happy to walk you through it.

The good news on the chamber is that it does seem to "loosen" up once you get some fouling in there. Couple hundred rds generally does the trick. You seem to be extracting already though so thats good. There will always be that squeeze to engage the lands though as thats why they shoot like they do. Doug Blessin's Walther Olympic rifle that he's currently shooting at the World Cup in Australia is mega tight! You cant extract a live rd out of that one at all.
Anyways get some good ammo through that thing and let me know how she goes! Looking forward to seeing what you can get out of it!

Take it easy,
Ryan

I'm thinking (like Travis_m posted above) if I ever want to tighten my headspace again I'll cut the extractor groove deeper.
 
Thanks for the help everyone, I'm going to drop it off at a different gunsmith, hopefully they can figure it out. Seems like it could be a lot of things.
 
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