"Tikka" Love em or Hate em!

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Colt_nut

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Hi all New guy here

I'm just looking for output from anyone who can help.

About 20 years ago I bought a .270 Tikka M65 Deluxe and fell in love with the first pull of the trigger. Consistently I was shooting groups between 3/8" to 3/4" at 100 yards, with the average being about 5/8" with factory Remington Ammo.

Recently, however, I bought a brand new .223 T3 Hunter with less than satisfactory results in many ways. I cleaned the new off of it and went to the range the other day to shoot the .223 for the first time with 3 different kinds of ammo. The best grouping I can come up with is about 3" with one type of ammo, and the worst being about 9-10" with another ammo.

Could I have lost my shooting edge? I then decided to put the .223 down and try my brand new 5 years ago but never fired .300 Win. Mag. Not surprisingly I was shooting 1-1/4" groups despite the fact I wasn't able to fully steady the gun.

Thinking that I just needed to warm up, I put the .300 away and picked up the T3 again. Again, the group was all over the paper, so I switched back to the .300 with excellent results.

Later that night, this time in excellent lighting, I cleaned my guns to pack into the safe. While cleaning the T3, however, I noticed the bluing for the first time. In some places the barrel has a milky blue colour, other places looks silver, and other places look like rust comming through. Not a very impressive looking barrel at all.

Any comments on ammo type and the blueing will be greatly appreciated.


Colt_nut
 
I think it's just you..I haven't had one that in 10 shots from getting it wouldn't shoot some 1/4" groups, never over 1".
 
As a general rule those Tikka's 'shoot' right out of the box...

The only ammo my heavy barrel or my buddies T3 lite wouldn't shoot under MOA was that Remington UMC stuff...

Check your action screws to make sure it's tight in the stock and also check your barrel channel to see if something isn't rubbing where it shouldn't be...
 
Everything is tight. I never shot a rifle before with such negative results. In fact, I can shoot my .270 better without a rest. I immediatly followed up my shooting session with a .300 win mag groups no larger than 1-1/4 inches. I'm not recoil sensitive and the T3 fits like a glove. Trust me I'm doing nothing wrong.

Just going by memory here

Remington 55gr SP produced the 3" group
Sellier & Bellot 55gr FMJ produced 4-5" group and the,
Winchester 64gr SP produced the 10" group

Any comments on the bluing it truely sucks
 
Maybe your rifle was improperly handled/stored before you got it...?

My buddies T3 Lite has really nice deep bluing, my HB Varmint was bead blasted stainless so no issues...


Colt_nut said:
Everything is tight. I never shot a rifle before with such negative results. In fact, I can shoot my .270 better without a rest. I immediatly followed up my shooting session with a .300 win mag groups no larger than 1-1/4 inches. I'm not recoil sensitive and the T3 fits like a glove. Trust me I'm doing nothing wrong.

Just going by memory here

Remington 55gr SP produced the 3" group
Sellier & Bellot 55gr FMJ produced 4-5" group and the,
Winchester 64gr SP produced the 10" group

Any comments on the bluing it truely sucks
Click to expand...
 
My Tikka is superb shooter I have HB version of 223 and I can shoot 5 shoots in the size of the quarter, I noticed though that after cleaning it, first 10-12 shoots are always more spread out and that goes for my other guns as well then I read that a number of competitive shooters those days try not to clean the guns too often I have stopped and honestly the accuracy is still there after about 150 shoots down the barrel if it is new I would inquire with the factory with the prove and see what happens

Paul.W
 
I haven't shot any factory loads in mine so..not sure there..I would phone up Stoeger..pretty sure Tikka has a gurantee on groups..10"..thats a shotgun..even with lower grade factory ammo.
Scope bases and rings are on tight aswell? The scope is good?
Free floated barrel..its a wood stock right?
 
Some guns just like it dirty, unless you have a krieger or shilen select, I would not worry about the copper until it starts shooting bad. My 7mm STW and my buddy's .378 wby shoot great after about 20 rounds have gone through. If we "get the copper out" they shoot like s_ _ t. Get them hitting the bull and clean them after huntin season. Check your scope mounts and maybe even throw a different scope on. check your tension on the screws holding the action to the stock ( I am not saying super tight I am just saying that if this tension varies then your groups could also vary). Is your barrel touching the stock anywhere? take a business card and see if it slides all the way up the barrel channnel without restriction (some rifles like a presure point at the end of the stock, and some don't) Tikkas are a poor boy sako and are probably one of the best values on the market right now. Where else can you buy a .338 win mag at 6.5 lbs. right out of the box that shoots like the dickens?
 
I think there is something wrong with your Tikka. Maybe a barrel that has been improperly stored or not finished properly. Get it checked out by a gunsmith.
 
Everything is tight including the stock, rings, and scope. I took a piece of paper and folded it 3 times and run it between the barrel and wood with no issues. Perhaps the scope is faulty. It was baught new with the gun and is a Bushnell Elite 4200. I guess I should try putting another scope on just to double check.

Still sending the gun in for warranty on the bluing even if the scope is at fault.
 
I have another scope mounted on it and will let you all know how I make out with it. I don't know if a scope is capable of producing bad shots. I thought that you just wouldn't be able to sight it in.

Any comments?
 
Remington 55gr SP produced the 3" group
Sellier & Bellot 55gr FMJ produced 4-5" group and the,
Winchester 64gr SP produced the 10" group
Click to expand...

What is the rate of twist of your rifle?If it is 1 in 12",heavier bullets may not be fully stabilizing.As well the FMJ bullets often produce poor accuracy.I would try some loads with 50 gr bullets.
 
stubblejumper said:
What is the rate of twist of your rifle?If it is 1 in 12",heavier bullets may not be fully stabilizing.As well the FMJ bullets often produce poor accuracy.I would try some loads with 50 gr bullets.
Click to expand...

Bingo.

Tikkas come with an 8" twist or a 12". This sounds like an 8" twist.

55's in an 8" will WORK, but the throats are way too long to properly work with short 55 grain bullets.

Although i am a huge tikka fan and have never had a bad one, factory guns are always a crap shoot. Some just never shoot properly. Get yourself some decent ammo with much longer bullets and give it another go.
 
My 1 in 8" Sako easily shoots sub 1/2moa at 100 yards for five shots with the 50gr v-max.

I wouldn't be so confident about shooting 64 gr bullets with a 1 in 12" twist.
 
Ya my M65 is a work of art, and is by far the most accurate rifle I've ever shot. My T3, on the other hand, has some issues.

My T3 has the 1:8 twist. I bought the faster rate of twist to stabilize the heavier bullets. I also bought 3 different types of ammo to experiment for accuracy, and these are the results

Remington 55gr SP produced the 3" group
Sellier & Bellot 55gr FMJ produced 4-5" group and the,
Winchester 64gr SP produced the 10" group

Go figure the results. I expected the 64's to shoot the best, but I guess I was wrong. I still need to try out this other scope to see if things are going to change


Colt_nut
 
Those older Tikkas are nice guns, as for the new plastic ones...it's not as easy as "love or hate", you can like the accuracy but hate everything else, such as the access to the chamber, which is my big issue. I also don't like to use an ugly gun, the gun must be either classic and/or have gorgeous wood or it's a non-starter for me. That's why I even dislike my Sendero, but with it at least I can load it 1 shell at a time.
 
tikka

Colt_nut said:
Hi all New guy here

I'm just looking for output from anyone who can help.

About 20 years ago I bought a .270 Tikka M65 Deluxe and fell in love with the first pull of the trigger. Consistently I was shooting groups between 3/8" to 3/4" at 100 yards, with the average being about 5/8" with factory Remington Ammo.

Recently, however, I bought a brand new .223 T3 Hunter with less than satisfactory results in many ways. I cleaned the new off of it and went to the range the other day to shoot the .223 for the first time with 3 different kinds of ammo. The best grouping I can come up with is about 3" with one type of ammo, and the worst being about 9-10" with another ammo.

Could I have lost my shooting edge? I then decided to put the .223 down and try my brand new 5 years ago but never fired .300 Win. Mag. Not surprisingly I was shooting 1-1/4" groups despite the fact I wasn't able to fully steady the gun.

Thinking that I just needed to warm up, I put the .300 away and picked up the T3 again. Again, the group was all over the paper, so I switched back to the .300 with excellent results.

Later that night, this time in excellent lighting, I cleaned my guns to pack into the safe. While cleaning the T3, however, I noticed the bluing for the first time. In some places the barrel has a milky blue colour, other places looks silver, and other places look like rust comming through. Not a very impressive looking barrel at all.

Any comments on ammo type and the blueing will be greatly appreciated.


Colt_nut
Click to expand...

Hey there, I had a Tikka .223 T3 lite ... it shot 1/4 inch groups at 100yds in less than ideal conditions. Check the screws under the receiver for the proper tightness. ANY Tikka I've ever experienced has been fantastic...
 
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