6.5 Creedmoor Federal Nontypical problems

[CamoHD]

Need some help I don't know a whole lot about guns more of a archery guy but bought a new tikka T3X Superlite 6.5 Creedmoor and bought a box of Federal Nontypical 140 grain and the first three bullets I tried to cycle through the gun I could only close the bolt all the way on one so I grabbed three different bullets and couldn't close the bolt on any of them continued to try the rest of the box and could only close the bolt with 11 bullets of the other 9 I felt I could of forced the bolt closed with a fair bit of force with a couple of them the rest was a dead stop my limited knowledge of rifles tells me this could be a problem with the case sizing but not sure or could it be the rifle?

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[fightthenoise]

It could be (and hopefully is) that box of ammo. I’d try another box of a different brand. One thing you can do is color the rounds that won’t chamber with Sharpie and see where it’s rubbing off so you know if it’s a head space thing or the bullet mashing into the lands. If I had to bet, it would be a bad lot of ammo. You could also have a piece of dirt or something in the chamber. Worst case scenario Tikka didn’t headspace it right and you’ll have to send it back. This would be the first I’ve heard of that in these rifles.

 

[16Bore]

Not the first time I've heard of Federals being a bit snug. Same issue with some Fusions on a 49 old M70, although I did give them a bit of a shove to shoot.
YMMV...

 

[Bobbyboe]

I don't have an answer, but I had the same problem with my Barrett Fielfcraft. The federal ammo would chamber, but the bolt was hard to close. In addition, I reloaded some of those cases. I resized and trimmed them to spec. The reloads were also hard to close!. Not sure what that means, but it certainly is interesting.

 

[CamoHD]

It could be (and hopefully is) that box of ammo. I’d try another box of a different brand. One thing you can do is color the rounds that won’t chamber with Sharpie and see where it’s rubbing off so you know if it’s a head space thing or the bullet mashing into the lands. If I had to bet, it would be a bad lot of ammo. You could also have a piece of dirt or something in the chamber. Worst case scenario Tikka didn’t headspace it right and you’ll have to send it back. This would be the first I’ve heard of that in these rifles.

Bought a box of Hornady amo today and they all fit in the chamber perfectly so it looks like it was just the ammo and not the gun

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[fightthenoise]

Bought a box of Hornady amo today and they all fit in the chamber perfectly so it looks like it was just the ammo and not the gun

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Right on. Always a relief when it’s the simplest/cheapest solution.

 

[snarpezal]

Cool, glad you found the problem. My 6.5 Creed Superlite Likes Hornady 143x, 140m, 147m, and 129 whitetail. All shoot under a inch at a hundred. The 129’s kill way above their price point and weight. Getting to be one of my favorite rifles.