I Drank The Form Kool-Aid.

[yycyak]

Funny you mention that. I was wondering the other day how a guy might go about modding the windage turret. I'll have to do some googling I guess and see what's out there.

I normally try to run a neoprene cover over my scopes. (The rifles also ooccasionally ride in a horse scabbard.) The SWFA doesn't really lend itself well to this type of thing when compared to my old leupold 30mm-ish rigs.

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....

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[LightFoot]

Funny you mention that. I was wondering the other day how a gun might go about modding the windage turret. I'll have to do some googling I guess and see what's out there.

I normally try to run a neoprene cover over my scopes. (The rifles also ooccasionally ride in a horse scabbard.) The SWFA doesn't really lend itself well to this type of thing when compared to my old leupold 30mm-ish rigs.


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I'd like to see how someone has done this, too. My only issue with the SWFA SS is the windage turret. I like to hold for wind and dial for distance. A capped windage turret would make the SS near perfect for me.

>>>----JAKE----->

 

[Wacko]

Rubber chair end / cane end / other caps - 1" I believe....

https://www.amazon.com/Prescott-Plastics-Round-Flexible-Rubber/dp/B07Q3ZGFRD

I think these should work....

 

[yycyak]

Nice! How well does this work from a waterproofing standpoint? Is that cover easy to knock off accidentally?

Rubber chair end / cane end / other caps - 1" I believe....

https://www.amazon.com/Prescott-Plastics-Round-Flexible-Rubber/dp/B07Q3ZGFRD

I think these should work....

 

[Fatcamp]

Nice! How well does this work from a waterproofing standpoint? Is that cover easy to knock off accidentally?

Heck, gone that far, might as well silicone it on.

 

[guosim]

Really wanted to drink the koolaid too but hard to find a left handed .223 Tikka

 

[Castle Rock]

Brass hitting the knob is a non event in the 3 I have had

 

[Wacko]

Brass hitting the knob is a non event in the 3 I have had

I guess it depends then eh? On all 4 of mine it IS an "event"....Of course I may set mine up different, run it different, use a different scope than you(?) whatever. I know it's enough of an issue if you google it A LOT of people have it.

As for waterproofing it....electrical tape will do to both hold it on and "seal" it pretty well.

YMMV of course....hunt, shoot, your own way....

 

[yycyak]

Update - 19 Aug 20
(On mobile so no pretty formatting.)

-- Item A. Tikka 223 still hasn't shown up yet. Shipping has been slow due to covid. Supposed to show up today, and with a range day scheduled for tomorrow, it'll be a busy evening getting things prepped.

-- Item B. Put the fixed 6x on my hunting rifle, a 30-06 Mauser. Really concerned about size, in the sense that it doesn't seem that this scope/rifle combo will fit in a saddle scabbard (turrets are a problem.)

I'm wondering about putting my FXII 6x36 on the 30-06, and keeping it as a set-and-forget scope (no dialing.) However, I can't find any @Formidilosus comments on these scopes, and my assumption is they will likely suck.

Maybe an SWFA Ultralight would be a decent compromise?

Wish I could keep the SS fixed 6x on this, and if it were a pure backpack rifle I would. Anyone have any luck with using one of these scopes on horseback?

-- Item C. OAL of the 223 with the 75 grain hornady bullets is tiiiiight fit. Hoping the Tikka magazine has a little bit of extra room.

***

That's all for today. Should have a range report ready later tomorrow. Carry on.

 

[JollyRoger]

I’ve shot around a hundred 75gr Hornady factory stuff out of my Tikka with no issues. Same with all the 77gr stuff (SMK, TMK) and Ive shot a few cases of these. I think you’ll be fine with anything factory.


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[Wrongside]

Update - 19 Aug 20
(On mobile so no pretty formatting.)

-- Item A. Tikka 223 still hasn't shown up yet. Shipping has been slow due to covid. Supposed to show up today, and with a range day scheduled for tomorrow, it'll be a busy evening getting things prepped.

-- Item B. Put the fixed 6x on my hunting rifle, a 30-06 Mauser. Really concerned about size, in the sense that it doesn't seem that this scope/rifle combo will fit in a saddle scabbard (turrets are a problem.)

I'm wondering about putting my FXII 6x36 on the 30-06, and keeping it as a set-and-forget scope (no dialing.) However, I can't find any @Formidilosus comments on these scopes, and my assumption is they will likely suck.

Maybe an SWFA Ultralight would be a decent compromise?

Wish I could keep the SS fixed 6x on this, and if it were a pure backpack rifle I would. Anyone have any luck with using one of these scopes on horseback?

-- Item C. OAL of the 223 with the 75 grain hornady bullets is tiiiiight fit. Hoping the Tikka magazine has a little bit of extra room.

***

That's all for today. Should have a range report ready later tomorrow. Carry on.

Get a different scabbard. I've been a user of the FXII 6x36 for years, but have almost entirely moved away from them. The SWFA, etc. aren't as streamlined or light, but have other upsides that make it worth adapting systems, IMO.

Many of us go to different BM/magazines to increase OAL.

Good Luck at the range!

 

[Lawnboi]

Update - 19 Aug 20
(On mobile so no pretty formatting.)

-- Item A. Tikka 223 still hasn't shown up yet. Shipping has been slow due to covid. Supposed to show up today, and with a range day scheduled for tomorrow, it'll be a busy evening getting things prepped.

-- Item B. Put the fixed 6x on my hunting rifle, a 30-06 Mauser. Really concerned about size, in the sense that it doesn't seem that this scope/rifle combo will fit in a saddle scabbard (turrets are a problem.)

I'm wondering about putting my FXII 6x36 on the 30-06, and keeping it as a set-and-forget scope (no dialing.) However, I can't find any @Formidilosus comments on these scopes, and my assumption is they will likely suck.

Maybe an SWFA Ultralight would be a decent compromise?

Wish I could keep the SS fixed 6x on this, and if it were a pure backpack rifle I would. Anyone have any luck with using one of these scopes on horseback?

-- Item C. OAL of the 223 with the 75 grain hornady bullets is tiiiiight fit. Hoping the Tikka magazine has a little bit of extra room.

***

That's all for today. Should have a range report ready later tomorrow. Carry on.

Your going to have a hard time cramming the 75eld in the case at the stock mag length.

 

[Kimber7man]

Your going to have a hard time cramming the 75eld in the case at the stock mag length.

Tikka T3/T3x Gen2 Billet Magazine - 223 4 Round - Mountain Tactical Company

tikkaperformance.com

 

[Lawnboi]

Tikka T3/T3x Gen2 Billet Magazine - 223 4 Round - Mountain Tactical Company

tikkaperformance.com

I have 3 of these. They work perfect. Way more room than my throat has, and they feed super smooth.

 

[False_Cast]

Your going to have a hard time cramming the 75eld in the case at the stock mag length.

Yup. As in, you’re not without the ogive below the case mouth. Think AR mag confines. The 75 hpbt, 73 eld, and the 77 TMKs (designed for AR mag confines) will be fine in Tikka factory mags @ AR mag coal. 75 eld and amax will be no joy.

 

[yycyak]

Update - 21 Aug 2020

Well good and bad news. Good news is the Tikka finally showed up in the mail. Bad news is it didn't arrive in time for range day yesterday. So yesterday was spent beating up my shoulder firing my 30-06 mauser out to 600m with its new 6x SWFA. (This was great fun, but not exactly relevant to this thread.)

But now that the Tikka was finally here, tonight I went into the shop and followed @Formidilosus instructions on scope mounting and Tikka tuning, and attempt to get the 10x SWFA on the Tikka.

1. You need to remove the "rib" on the stock to free-float the barrel better. Also, sand the barrel channel until you have at least 1/8" gap on either side.

(This is post-fix. I used a rotary file, and just hogged out the rib. It wasn't delicate work. Barrel channel was done using a deep socket with sandpaper wrapped around it.)

2. Once that is done, reinstall the stock and torque the action screws to 60 inch/lbs

3. Open the new scope rings, and de-grease everything. I dumped mine in a pail of varsol and cleaned them up, then sprayed them down with some brake-clean.

4. Install the scope. Get your eye relief sorted out, with the rings spaced as far apart as you can. Make sure it's level.

5. Locktite every screw with blue locktite.

6. Tighten the ring screws to 18 in/lbs, and the base screws to 30 in/lbs.

7. Throw some nail polish on the screws. (Form says this is to make it easy to spot any screws that have loosened, but I feel it is done to make a statement. Nothing says confidence like hot-pink.)

Now you're done.

***

Hoping to get out next week maybe for a trial run on this rig. Will update when I have a decent range report.

 

[Dobermann]

Really wanted to drink the koolaid too but hard to find a left handed .223 Tikka

Are you hoping to just pick one up off the shelf, or order one?

While the availability of many things off-the-shelf is affected right now, Tikkas are one of the most commonly-available left-handed options around (especially as Ruger and Browning discontinued a few LH models a couple of years back).

Your local dealer should be able to order one in.

 

[Dobermann]

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.)

CJ - I think you could possibly just skip the 55g step.

Here's my brand new Tikka's first 6 rounds (after one that showed we weren't on paper, and some rough boresighting by eye only). I've posted the image elsewhere here, but these are two three-shot groups, stacked one on top of the other. Ammo was Hornady Black, 223 REM, 75 gr BTHP, and Fiocchi 223MKD, 77 gr Sierra Matchking HPBT.

This was only at 50 m, as it was all we had available on the day, so I'll re-tweak at 100 soon. But a 'hunting accurate' zeroing with 7 rounds total won't break the bank - and means you won't need to re-zero after a 55gr zero.

 

[Savage99]

CJ - I think you could possibly just skip the 55g step.

Here's my brand new Tikka's first 6 rounds (after one that showed we weren't on paper, and some rough boresighting by eye only). I've posted the image elsewhere here, but these are two three-shot groups, stacked one on top of the other. Ammo was Hornady Black, 223 REM, 75 gr BTHP, and Fiocchi 223MKD, 77 gr Sierra Matchking HPBT.

This was only at 50 m, as it was all we had available on the day, so I'll re-tweak at 100 soon. But a 'hunting accurate' zeroing with 7 rounds total won't break the bank - and means you won't need to re-zero after a 55gr zero.

View attachment 209110

Where do these targets come from? I want to try that style.


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[Shooter71]

Not the best pic, but first one I found. You can see the turrets machined smooth. On the 700 I chopped about 1” off the objective and chopped the windage off as well. Small changes, but makes a difference if you use a Gunbearer.