Tikka T3x reloading & load development

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mikeboehm

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I just bought a brand new Tikka T3X chambered in 338 win mag. Has anyone did any reloading for these tikkas in this cartridge. I've had two sako 338 win mags that I sold and regret. And they both liked 225gr and 250gr Nosler partitions over H4831.

I've switched you most of my bullets over to barnes. And i've noticed the velocities in the books are quite a bit lower than Nosler. Has anyone had any good luck using barnes bullets in there tikka 338
 
I tried loading Barnes bullet in my dad’s t3 and no matter the powder or weight it just did not like them. I ended up using 225 partitions and it was acceptable. Your mileage may vary but RL19 worked best with the partitions.
 
While I do not have a tikka in 338 win mag, I have tikkas in 223,6.5 creed,308 and 7mm rem mag. Tikkas run slow compared to other rifles and load data. Usually in between the 2-300 round mark, they will settle down and velocity will be closer to what you would expect but still slow. I will typically see a 75-125 fps increase from day one to somewhere between that 2-300 round mark.
 
Doing a load for a t3x 270 now for my dad . Getting .640” groups with 5 rounds , 145 eldx with 7828 powder hitting around 2900 fps . HORNADY eldx shoot good in all my tikkas . Couldn’t get the ttsx to shoot as well as the HORNADY
 
Remember Barnes bullets like a lot more “jump” than conventional bullets.

Straight from Barnes;
“When loading a Barnes TSX, Tipped TSX or LRX bullet, your rifle may prefer a bullet jump of anywhere between .050” up to .250” or more.”

Yes your magazine length is the ultimate decider sometimes, but for any of my rifles I’ve had success with Barnes bullets I’ve generally ended up seating somewhere around the last negative in the driving band closest to the bullet tip.

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Also remember the Barnes bullets will out shine every lead and copper bullet for weight retention so consider dropping 20%-25% in bullet weight to get similar on game performance as expected from lead and copper bullets. 250 grain lead/copper, use 210 grain Barnes, 225 grain lead/copper use 185 grain Barnes, 210 grain lead/copper use 160 grain Barnes. This also ensures adequate velocities to facilitate proper bullet upset throughout the typical impact velocity range.
TSX and TTSX need a minimum of 1900 fps for proper expansion, the LRX are designed for a minimum of 1600 fps-1800 fps depending on the bullet.

For powders look at any of the 4350’s to either of the 4831’s.
 
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