5.56 in a 223 Tikka T3x?

Sandstrom

WKR
Joined
Sep 24, 2020
I picked up a stainless Tikka t3x lite in 223. I am wondering about shooting 5.56 in it. I have some Hornady frontier 75 and 62 grain bthp 5.56. How many of you with 223 Tikkas shoot 5.56 in them? Does anyone have any first hand experience with a problem shooting 5.56 in a Tikka?

I just want to be sure before I take my new toy out for fun.

Thanks!
Ryan
 
Thanks! That’s the kind of real world, first hand experience I am looking for!

Ryan
 
I picked up some Hornady 556 recently; experienced salesperson at one of the most respected gun shops looked at me quizzically - 'You know this is 556, right? You can't shoot it in a bolt action.'

Turns out that they had a bunch of 556 sitting around after the ban on semi-autos here - no-one wants it; most folks have believed those same interwebs truths.

Good for me; good for my T3X. Not so good for all the critters round here.
 
I picked up a stainless Tikka t3x lite in 223. I am wondering about shooting 5.56 in it. I have some Hornady frontier 75 and 62 grain bthp 5.56. How many of you with 223 Tikkas shoot 5.56 in them? Does anyone have any first hand experience with a problem shooting 5.56 in a Tikka?

I just want to be sure before I take my new toy out for fun.

Thanks!
Ryan
I have shot tons of 223 and 5.56 out of my tikka t3x 223 rifle

no issues
 
Sigh...

There is no issue shooting 5.56 in bolt guns. Course I’ve only seen a hundred thousand or so of them shot from bolt 223’s....

Hi Form,

I know this post is pretty old, but could you elaborate on why there isn’t an issue shooting 5.56 in 223 chambered bolt guns? Is it related to Tikka using the CIP spec for its chambers? Or is there a reason it is OK with 223 chambered bolt guns but not AR platforms?

For reasons similar to OP I started looking into the 223/5.56 debacle, and it has only left me more confused. I trust your experience that it’s not an issue, but I would really appreciate if you could shed some light on the reason why (and maybe why all of the warnings to not shoot 5.56 from 223 chambered rifles persist).

Thanks
 
Hi Form,

I know this post is pretty old, but could you elaborate on why there isn’t an issue shooting 5.56 in 223 chambered bolt guns? Is it related to Tikka using the CIP spec for its chambers? Or is there a reason it is OK with 223 chambered bolt guns but not AR platforms?

For reasons similar to OP I started looking into the 223/5.56 debacle, and it has only left me more confused. I trust your experience that it’s not an issue, but I would really appreciate if you could shed some light on the reason why (and maybe why all of the warnings to not shoot 5.56 from 223 chambered rifles persist).

Thanks
It’s fine in ARs too. Find one case where someone had an issue shooting 5.56 out of a .223 chamber.
 
When I had a .223 bolt gun it was a factory Remington 700. I shot a couple hundred 5.56 through it. Never had any real issue. Bolt was a little stiffer but that's all.
 
I have hundreds of rounds through my 223 tikka. I have never put an actual 223 round in it, only 5.56 x 45. Never even close to a problem.
Ryan
 
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