Not my Tikka! Fired engaging safety

[Formidilosus]

TLDR; Had the same experience with a brand new Tikka with 9 rounds through it.

Crazy I didn't find this thread last year when I experienced an AD with my brand new Tikka! I won a T3x 6.5 PRC at our local Mule Deer banquet. It sat in the safe for a bit because I had just purchased a Bergara 7PRC. Ended up having to send my Bergara back for accuracy issues so I swapped my NX-8 onto the Tikka and headed to the range. 3 rounds to get it zeroed and then shot a couple 3 round groups. Very impressive right out of the box this gun was extremely accurate!

Anyway rifle season rolls around and we are going for a walk in the woods and we stop so my wife can re-lace her boots before we creep up this little ridge we always find elk bedded on the other side of. I have my rifle laying on my pack (pointed away from us of course) I chambered a round and when i flip the gun to safe it goes off. Scared the shat out of both of us. Still had my muzzle cover on the barrel, blew the crap out of that.

I unload the gun as I am explaining to my freaked out wife that all I had done was push the safety back. Strapped it to my pack and told her I would just be spotting for her that weekend. I couldn't duplicate it on the mountain and didn't want to mess with it and certainly didn't trust it.

I ended up getting my Bergara back that following week so I stuck that Tikka in the safe for the duration of the season. I was getting ready to box it up and send it back to Tikka and decided to take it apart. Found the loosey goosey trigger screw. Easy fix, although now I am gonna check that torque value again. Pretty sure i did 65 in/lb.

It needs to be degreased, thread locked heavily, and tightened way tighter than 65in-lbs. spec is 120 something or 130 something in-lbs. Get it as tight as possible.

 

[nm.otter]

Haven't seen the spec on those at the time, but mine came back from a well-known gunsmith with so little that I could unscrew it with thumb and forefinger on an Allen key -- the hard way. I stripped it with acetone, put a drop of 262 on it, and re-torqued to about 80 in-lb. Zero movement in the ~600 rounds since.

 

[Bcleck90]

What torque wrench are you guys using to get 100in lbs+? I’m about to remove mine and need to figure something out soon.

 

[Formidilosus]

What torque wrench are you guys using to get 100in lbs+? I’m about to remove mine and need to figure something out soon.

Just get it as tight as you can.

 

[nm.otter]

What torque wrench are you guys using to get 100in lbs+

Precision Instruments M2R200HX.

You're compressing a machined slab of aluminum using a hardened steel screw threaded into a steel action. It'll take a lot.

 

[Walker6]

Fyi, per earlier in this thread…



1.21 gigawatts…

 

[JoeK]

Precision Instruments M2R200HX.

You're compressing a machined slab of aluminum using hardened steel screw threaded into a steel action. It'll take a lot.

I've broken plenty of bolts and screws wrenching in various applications so I have an affinity for torque wrenches anytime there's a recommended torque value.

 

[JoeK]

I got back and took a look first thing.

It was loose, just a bit. Enough for a small wiggle.

Using forms post above (133 in lbs) I took it apart. I applied torque like I have been with my Harbor Frieght Allen wrench (short handle torque but all I could muster).

Then I used a normal ft lb torque wrench to 11 ft lbs (plus a smidge). It turned at least another 1/4 turn. (Note: this is a smaller 3/8 wrench with a smaller torque range)

BL: I don’t think I’ve been using the full 133 spec’d torque. And guessing those without a wrench or something other than a maxed out Allen key are getting it either. But I’ve been wrong before. Guessing I was closer to 80-90 in lbs using just the Allen wrench.

Time to check the tikka family for similar.

It was a good lesson to learn and no one got hurt, so counting it as a win.

Appreciate the replies.

also from earlier this thread ~11ft lbs. It's a tricky number to reach reliably with a lot of common torque wrenches but another post suggested this would be in a common range for bicycle torque tools

 

[1000yards]

It needs to be degreased, thread locked heavily, and tightened way tighter than 65in-lbs. spec is 120 something or 130 something in-lbs. Get it as tight as possible.

Have you seen this problem from the factory? IOW do I need to do this to a brand new untampered rifle?

 

[HandgunHTR]

Have you seen this problem from the factory? IOW do I need to do this to a brand new untampered rifle?

I realize that this question was addressed to Form, but it is a good practice to break down any new firearm and go through it. For rifles that means degreasing all fasteners and retorquing them to the correct values, as well as correctly lubing the areas that need it. For handguns it is a break it down, check pins and springs, clean everything and lube the correct areas.

 

[1000yards]

I realize that this question was addressed to Form, but it is a good practice to break down any new firearm and go through it. For rifles that means degreasing all fasteners and retorquing them to the correct values, as well as correctly lubing the areas that need it. For handguns it is a break it down, check pins and springs, clean everything and lube the correct areas.

That's my been routine. But the general message on here about Tikkas is that they're damn near perfect and you should never mess with the triggers. So I'm disappointed to learn that the trigger can become loose leading to an AD. How is that not a design flaw? I appreciate the input, but my question is specific to the trigger.

 

[MTBlazer89]

It needs to be degreased, thread locked heavily, and tightened way tighter than 65in-lbs. spec is 120 something or 130 something in-lbs. Get it as tight as possible.

Definitely plan on it. I have a Stockys VG arriving today from a member here so it's gotta come apart anyway.

 

[MTBlazer89]

But Tikkas are spectacular...not

It's my first one and it definitely shoots. I had to send my $2000 Bergara back because it was terribly inaccurate. My wife has a Christensen from 2021 era and its a laser. Mass produced things have problems, some more than others. I won't hate on Tikka for it.