I Drank The Form Kool-Aid.

[HighUintas]

I would LOVE to get a 223 Tikka and use it for volume practice, but I don't have the money for another gun at the moment and quality 223 rounds are more expensive than my reloaded .30-06 rounds. So, I'm just as happy working on shooting our my '06 barrel!

Good luck with your adventure!

 

[yycyak]

Yes I do. (I don't know if this is a positive or negative yet.)

Do you reload?

 

[yycyak]

This is another one of those things that would be fun to A/B test.

To fully drink it you can't ever put another patch down that bore

 

[yycyak]

That's the trouble. It's hard to tell what produces results vs. what is noise. I'll give Rokslide props, as it is one of the forums that generally filters out the BS. (I think it has to do with it being very difficult to bullshit humping a pack around the woods, and that keeps a lot of the nonsense out.)

Careful what you ingest from the internet, there are some questionable floaters in that punch bowl, LOL.

 

[HighUintas]

This is another one of those things that would be fun to A/B test.

I tried it for 275 rounds and couldn't take not cleaning. It still shit just find though!

I just bought a teslong bore scope and after cleaning it down to steal took a look. Zero pitting or any other damage. So, I may have to give not cleaning another try. The only thing I really worry about with it is the chamber.... So I did always clean the chamber.

 

[Lawnboi]

Yes I do. (I don't know if this is a positive or negative yet.)

Then you should be able to squeeze some performance out of the little round. 75eldm and 77tmk have good BC.

Definetly a positive, I can reload rounds way cheaper, on top of that here in the US 223 ammo is scarce. Good 223 components are dirt cheap compared to the big stuff. Small rifle primers are unattainable here now though.

Mountain tactical magazines work well if you want to load long

I also just cleaned the carbon out of the bore... 700 since the last cleaning. Only cleaned to measure the chamber for a new bullet.

 

[Castle Rock]

Had 2 tikka SWFA combos out today
22/250 and 708
What a pleasure
If you hand load the 77 grain TMK or MK works a lot better in the tikka magazine and it’s easier to tune
For cheap practice out to about 400 yards just find something with a 50 or 55 grain Vmax

 

[Castle Rock]

And really forget about going out to 1000 at the moment, up to about 600 is about where it all really happens

 

[yycyak]

Update - 14 Aug 20

Item A. Some annoying news for us Canucks (or anyone ordering outside of the US maybe.) I got hit with Canadian sales tax on the import of the scopes. $68. So now the total all-in cost per scope is $750. (Will update my cost list.)

Part of me feels like this is almost a threshold. A guy who needed a single scope could hold out for a Nightforce SHV at around $1,300CDN (depending on model). @Form seems to approve of these. At the same time, I was able to get two scopes for almost the price of one Nightforce. So I don't know what the right call is here. (You Yanks are lucky. Boxing day sales at something like $280/scope? I'm envious.)

Item B. I will give the UK seller credit. Order went in on Tuesday this week, and scopes are arriving today. That's 3-day international shipping. This is a crazy world we are in.

Item C. In anticipation of mounting the scopes via the method posted by @Formidilosus a few years ago, I went ahead and ordered an inch/lbs torque wrench, and some Torx sockets. I've confirmed that you should use about 18in/lbs on the ring screws, but I've been unable to confirm what to use for the base screws. (I've read 30in/lbs elsewhere, which sounds reasonable.) "Use the short end, and then finish with the long end" appeals to my keep-it-simple leanings, but I'm trying to make an effort to be a bit more scientific here.

For reference: https://www.rokslide.com/forums/threads/scope-mounting-to-maintain-zero.78482/

Item D. Ammo. I haven't quite figured out what to do here. Does a guy buy some bulk 55gr fmj, and start working on the fundamentals inside of 300m? Or does a guy use match-grade 77gr ammo from the start?

Which leads to a question of will 77gr ammo fit in a standard Tikka 223 magazine? Or will it be too long?

***

That's all for today. Carry on.

 

[ARK_Ginger]

Update - 14 Aug 20

Item A. Some annoying news for us Canucks (or anyone ordering outside of the US maybe.) I got hit with Canadian sales tax on the import of the scopes. $68. So now the total all-in cost per scope is $750. (Will update my cost list.)

Part of me feels like this is almost a threshold. A guy who needed a single scope could hold out for a Nightforce SHV at around $1,300CDN (depending on model). @Form seems to approve of these. At the same time, I was able to get two scopes for almost the price of one Nightforce. So I don't know what the right call is here. (You Yanks are lucky. Boxing day sales at something like $280/scope? I'm envious.)

Item B. I will give the UK seller credit. Order went in on Tuesday this week, and scopes are arriving today. That's 3-day international shipping. This is a crazy world we are in.

Item C. In anticipation of mounting the scopes via the method posted by @Formidilosus a few years ago, I went ahead and ordered an inch/lbs torque wrench, and some Torx sockets. I've confirmed that you should use about 18in/lbs on the ring screws, but I've been unable to confirm what to use for the base screws. (I've read 30in/lbs elsewhere, which sounds reasonable.) "Use the short end, and then finish with the long end" appeals to my keep-it-simple leanings, but I'm trying to make an effort to be a bit more scientific here.

For reference: https://www.rokslide.com/forums/threads/scope-mounting-to-maintain-zero.78482/

Item D. Ammo. I haven't quite figured out what to do here. Does a guy buy some bulk 55gr fmj, and start working on the fundamentals inside of 300m? Or does a guy use match-grade 77gr ammo from the start?

Which leads to a question of will 77gr ammo fit in a standard Tikka 223 magazine? Or will it be too long?

***

That's all for today. Carry on.

Any 223 or 5.56 should fit the factory magazine unless it is loaded long, which is uncommon. For starters I would say any match ammo you can get ahold of would suffice. Obviously the longer shots will be much easier with the better BC projectiles

 

[PNWGATOR]

Factory 77TMKs fit the Tikka mags just fine.

Make sure to do this: https://www.rokslide.com/forums/threads/scope-mounting-to-maintain-zero.78482/

Then start doing this: https://www.rokslide.com/forums/thr...ice-posts-and-rifle-practice-shooting.165291/

You’ll be surprised how much you learn and how fun the process actually is!

 

[HighUintas]

For the base screws, I went with tikkas spec for the pic rail torque that's in the owners manual. It would be the same size screw, so it should be the same spec even though you're not using a pic rail.

I think it was in the ballpark of 22in/lbs

 

[Stefan]

With the bolt gun you can run heavier pills more effectively than a gas gun (you can load singles easier and are not as reliant to mag length). With that, I was very happy shooting 77grn SMKs out of a 20" barreled AR platform at 800 yards on a nice steel silhouette at the owner of GAP rifles old place in KS.
You should have a lot of fun with that Tikka!

 

[Savage99]

I’ve con-“form”-ed as well...

Just picked up a T3x Lite .308.
- sportsmatch TO-84
- SWFA SS 6x42 (thanks mmw)
- used the scope mounting thread and degreased like a fiend.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[wyosam]

I would LOVE to get a 223 Tikka and use it for volume practice, but I don't have the money for another gun at the moment and quality 223 rounds are more expensive than my reloaded .30-06 rounds. So, I'm just as happy working on shooting our my '06 barrel!

Good luck with your adventure!

If you think the reloaded ‘06 rounds are cheap, start loading quality 223 rounds. Super cheap to shoot that way!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[yycyak]

Update - 15 Aug 20

Item A. Some stuff showed up yesterday, and I did a bit of shopping. Looks like next week I'll be able to get to the range and see some results.

Approx weight

Next to my old leupold fxii 6x36

Item B. Still wasn't sure about the ammo situation. Couldn't find anything in old Form threads other than "match grade 77gr".

I made the call and decided on the following approach:

• Cheap 55gr for initially getting on paper and dialed in semi-close at 100m.
• 77gr match for final zeroes, and shooting some 10rd groups to see how the rifle does.
• 20rds of handloads, just to compare to factory. (Will maybe tweak these later.)

 

[Apollo117]

IIRC, Form likes the 77gr Sierra TMK.

For cheap reloading and a decent all around bullet, I like the 75gr Speer Gold Dot.

 

[Lawnboi]

If you want to load long you might want more room. Factory ammo should all fit in the tikka mag.

Cheap stuff is nice if it shoots. Dosnt take much to start blowing a small 223 bullet.

I think you have a good plan going.

What grain eldm do you have? Might have a hard time squeezing The 75s in the stock tikka mag.

As for factory ammo, hornady 73 eld match factory ammo was a good shooter in my tikka. I accumulated a bunch of hornady brass to reload with. Got a pile of 75eldm, 77 tmk, and 60 tmk to load.

The only 77 tmk loads your going to find are going to be 5.56 not 223 rem.

 

[Wacko]

I will just mention with the SWFA scopes, sometimes that honking windage dial interferes with proper ejection. I find - for myself - I have been setting up my Tikkas to the scope, not to me. Just to try and avoid the issue. (I have 4 of them). I am going to remove the turret and cover the spindle with a rubber cap. Lots of guys have done it, so I'll give it a go.

Just FYI....

 

[MidGAHunter]

I tried it for 275 rounds and couldn't take not cleaning. It still shit just find though!

Glad to hear your rifle isn't constipated...