For info purposes I was looking at a few youtube videos on the Tikka varmint 223. Like mine, it was the heavy / stainless barrel with composite stock, little bit of a raised cheek rest. The twist is 1 - 8 inch so it should shoot heavier bullets beyond the 55 grainer. The shooter on You tube said that because of the OEM clip design it will only shoot longer bullets (above 55 grain) with modifications. I want to shoot 64 grain Winchester power points and was wondering if anyone out there has tried this particular bullet with the OEM clip. Just wondering if I have to do the mods that were suggested on your tube or can I use the OEM clip with 64 grain power points. Any assistance would be appreciated.
Tikka Varmint 223
- Thread starter Highwind
- Start date
I can shoot the 69gr matchking in my T-3 Tactical which is virtually the same gun, but the bullets have to be seated .030" off of the lands to fit the magazine. To seat the bullets closer, and to improve the accuracy slightly, I used a half round file, and removed .020" from the front of the plastic magazine. When using the 65gr gameking, it shot well with no magazine modifications. The only way to be 100% sure if the 64gr power point will shoot at it's best without modifying the magazine, is to try it in your rifle.
Here is a link to a video that demonstrates my points made up above. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3J77AUIDf0
The owner added a CCI Bottom metal that includes a trigger guard and magazine base for the bottom of the stock, and a Accuracy International (AI) Poly clip.
The owner added a CCI Bottom metal that includes a trigger guard and magazine base for the bottom of the stock, and a Accuracy International (AI) Poly clip.
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I haven't seen any advertisements yet in Canada for heavy hunting loads like the Winchester 64gr power point. Federal advertises a few more options, and I guess it comes down to availability in Canada. 60 grain nosler partition, 64 grain soft point; 69 grain Sierra Matchking BTHP; and a 77 grain Sierra Matchking BTHP.
No problem with accuracy. My Tikka T3 Varmint 8 twist put 5 into .220" at 100yd with 50gr Vmax @ 3300fps. If I were to shoot 40gr or lighter with thin jacketed varmint bullets they may tend to grenade at the muzzle, but I haven't tried, so I don't know.
Surprisingly with the 1 in 8 inch twist it will shoot 55 grains alright. But I wanted to shoot something a little heavier. I figured factory loads would be the first try. And both Winchester and Federal make a 64 grain hunting bullet. So If that fails I'll have to delve into the 70 grain interlocks and see how that goes. I've looked at some youtube videos on reloading so I have a better idea as to how that all comes together. If I decide to go the reloading route, I'd like to get that right so I'm gonna be banging on somebody's door for some help for a newbie reloader.
