blasted_saber
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- A blue part of Ontario
Have you shot any factory loads through it yet? If so, how did they perform?
Tikka not meeting expectations
- Thread starter BASG
- Start date
The only T3 to shoot poorly for me was a Light Stainless in 338 WM and only after about 50 rounds.
So we took it apart and although the stock was tight the recoil lug was wearing on the stock itself.
Our cure was to toss the aluminum Tikka lug and replace it with an identical piece made from steel, and re-bed and pillar bed.
After that the rifle became a tack-driver...
So we took it apart and although the stock was tight the recoil lug was wearing on the stock itself.
Our cure was to toss the aluminum Tikka lug and replace it with an identical piece made from steel, and re-bed and pillar bed.
After that the rifle became a tack-driver...
I have never had an issue getting a Tikka to shoot handloads well. Both my t-3 Tactical, and T-3 varmint, easily shoot sub 1/2 moa with my handloads.
I had a T-3 in 30-06 for a couple years. It shot 180gr Hornady factory loads very well. A consistent 3/4'' @ 100. It seemed to prefer heavier bullets. I also hand loaded the Hornady 180 gr btsp and barnes ttsx 168's with IMR 4064. Both loads would shoot around 1/2'' 3 shot groups at 100 yards. I found both loads to shoot best near max and seated just short enough to feed from the mag.
As others have said make sure everything is torqued properly, recoil lug is seated properly and barrel is truly free floated. I suppose there's lemons in every batch but I haven't run into a T-3 that doesn't shoot.
As others have said make sure everything is torqued properly, recoil lug is seated properly and barrel is truly free floated. I suppose there's lemons in every batch but I haven't run into a T-3 that doesn't shoot.
I'm hoping to find a 150 grain slug that shoots well, 165 max, all I will be chasing besides paper is white tails. I would have gotten a 308 or 7-08 but with a long action I figured I should get a long action cartridge.
I may get lucky and get a moose tag on Cape Breton Island but that's a long shot.
I can seat the bullets to the lands and they just fit in the mag.
I may get lucky and get a moose tag on Cape Breton Island but that's a long shot.
I can seat the bullets to the lands and they just fit in the mag.
If you want something cheap for punching paper try the plain jain hornady interlock flat base 150gr and imr 4064, my tikka 30-06 loves this combo
I trimmed and sorted the brass by weight, I figure that's just mumbo jumbo with a hunting rifle but I did it anyway, flash holes uniformed, partial neck sized, seated bullets deeper....only problem is, if I shoot better I won't know what it was.
That first one has worked great for me in 5-6 30-06 rifles including two Tikka rifles.
They tend to have very straight bores, I have never found playing with seating depth made any difference. I actually stopped worrying about distance to the lands unless I had to, try SAAMI COL.
Sask_Hunter
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Saskatchewan
Check you scope and mounts. A loose screw or some thing wonky there will keep you chasing your tail. I'd pull the scope and try it with a proven one.
Update. I love this rifle!!! 
. Just got back from the range, used the exact same loads with very different results this time. I tinkered with a few things, sorted the brass by weight, trimmed, lightened the trigger as light as it could go but what I think made the difference was the action screws, they seemed loose to me. I shot four groups of five, all but one was under an inch and it was just over a half inch for four rounds until I called a flyer, 1.030". The two that surprised me were the 49 grains of varget under a 167 grain spbt, 0.768". The other was 50 grains of n150 under a 155 hpbt, 0.835".
The best was 58/H4350/165 sp interlock, 0.733". The 0.510" four shot group that had the called flyer was 61.5/r19/150 ab.
I should add every time the rifle went off I laughed because the trigger broke so crisp and clean I never once expected it!. It bucks like a mule though, my 7wsm doesn't buck like this one does.
. Just got back from the range, used the exact same loads with very different results this time. I tinkered with a few things, sorted the brass by weight, trimmed, lightened the trigger as light as it could go but what I think made the difference was the action screws, they seemed loose to me. I shot four groups of five, all but one was under an inch and it was just over a half inch for four rounds until I called a flyer, 1.030". The two that surprised me were the 49 grains of varget under a 167 grain spbt, 0.768". The other was 50 grains of n150 under a 155 hpbt, 0.835".The best was 58/H4350/165 sp interlock, 0.733". The 0.510" four shot group that had the called flyer was 61.5/r19/150 ab.
I should add every time the rifle went off I laughed because the trigger broke so crisp and clean I never once expected it!
. It bucks like a mule though, my 7wsm doesn't buck like this one does.
Backcountryal
CGN Regular
- Location
- New Zealand
Good stuff! Never found a Tikka that wouldnt shoot, no matter what ammo was used, well done in tracking down the problem.
- Location
- Somewhere on the Hudson Bay Coast
To my way of thinking, the solution is to shoot 3 shot groups. If this thing is going to be used as a hunting rifle, and the first two rounds from a cold bore always land on top of one another, you have a winner. Your T-3's not a bench gun, so expecting it to shoot long strings as though it were, might be unreasonable. Looking at your avitar though, I wonder how you're holding this thing on the bench; are you holding the forend, or just letting it free recoil off the front bag? If you're just resting the forend, try supporting it with your nonshooting hand between the forend and the bag, adding a bit of rearward pressure with it. That might be all you need to pull those last two rounds into the group.
