TIKKA T3 223 Lite

Probaboly not a good idea to leave ammonia based products in a barrel for longer than 15 minutes unless the directions specify it, but it's up to the owner of the rifle to decide.

I know I woudln't be leaving CR-10 in a barrel overnight!
 
I will burn a bunch of bullets through it this weekend and let you guys know if the fouling ends up messing up the accuracy. I will say that the 25 rounds this morning were accurate. I of course cleaned the gun after seeing the copper. I will leave it alone for a bit and count up some rounds through it. Thanks for your input so far guys.
 
Get in touch with "Alberta Tactical Rifle" and have tham send you the info on Microlon gun juice. It is a moly barrell treatment. I use it on my .300 RUM and the fouling goes bye-bye.
Later
 
Jasonsmack, I feel for you man, but I'll be blunt and please don't take it personally...but it is your fault. I have been preaching the advantages of a proper barrel break in, which by the way does not involve shooting and then cleaning. No, proper barrel break in IMHO involves thoroughly cleaning out any factory residual crap, then smoothing out the rough edges left on the rifling grooves by the factory using some JB polishing compound. Of course, that idea was met with staunch resistance by most. I'll say it again, pushing a bullet through your barrel at 3000 fps doesn't do much for conditioning, does it? A gentle cleaning and polishing works wonders....of course left in the hands of those that know how to do it right. I bought a cheapo Stevens 200 in .223, spent a mere one hour to "condition" the barrel bore, it shot cheap Winchester USA ammo within 5/8" group without a trigger adjust. In summary, I believe that your barrel got fouled up so bad because it wasn't broke in properly, period. And yes, not all barrels will react so adversly, it all depends on how they look. Don't blame Tikka, they make good guns, but they still are a mass produced item and need a bit of TLC before you blast the crap out of them. I wish you good luck, but if it was me, I'd get rid of it.
 
gitrdun said:
Jasonsmack, I feel for you man, but I'll be blunt and please don't take it personally...but it is your fault. I have been preaching the advantages of a proper barrel break in, which by the way does not involve shooting and then cleaning. No, proper barrel break in IMHO involves thoroughly cleaning out any factory residual crap, then smoothing out the rough edges left on the rifling grooves by the factory using some JB polishing compound. Of course, that idea was met with staunch resistance by most. I'll say it again, pushing a bullet through your barrel at 3000 fps doesn't do much for conditioning, does it? A gentle cleaning and polishing works wonders....of course left in the hands of those that know how to do it right. I bought a cheapo Stevens 200 in .223, spent a mere one hour to "condition" the barrel bore, it shot cheap Winchester USA ammo within 5/8" group without a trigger adjust. In summary, I believe that your barrel got fouled up so bad because it wasn't broke in properly, period. And yes, not all barrels will react so adversly, it all depends on how they look. Don't blame Tikka, they make good guns, but they still are a mass produced item and need a bit of TLC before you blast the crap out of them. I wish you good luck, but if it was me, I'd get rid of it.
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I have yet to see any fiream manufacturer say that you need to polish their bores with JB paste to accomplish a proper barrel break in. The method I used is what most gun owners do (if they do anything at all) and what most manufacturers recommend.

In the last six years I have succesfully "broke in" two Savages, two Rugers, two Armalites, a Marlin and a big mother of a Steyr. They were all broke in with factory ammunition and simple but lengthy cleaning proceedures. None of them have ever copper fouled 5% of what this gun is doing.

I am not taking offence or arguing, just pointing out that you probably have not heard the full story. I would bet a Stevens 200 would foul less than this gun even if the Stevens barrel had no break in proceedure performed.
 
I use Speer 70 grain semi-spitzer bullets in my Savage 22-250 and they stabilize nice out of a 1:12 26" bull barrel. Where the heavier bullets aren't shooting well, I'm wondering if they are stabilizing properly in your rifle. They should out of a 1:8 twist. Check for any keyholing. I find those Speers are very forgiving and accurate, and they might be worth a try.
 
I went to the range last night again and the rifle shot fine. Two shots and I could easily see copper in the barrel again. I sent 57 through paper and shot a few at four legged invaders. The gun had good groups with four different powders and velocities ranging from 2400fps to 3100 fps. No keyholing that I could distinguish. Most of my shooting was at 100 yards:
pictures071.jpg

I ahot these seven from two hundred but did not use a rest, still look fine:
pictures072.jpg

I am going to shoot it all weekend, or until the accuracy drops off from the fouling, whichever comes first. I will update with the results.
 
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