Question on Tikka action/smoothness

[Eldoradotim]

So I got a Tikka T3x in .223 for a RSS as my son's first rifle. First Tikka for me also. Just a quick question on running the bolt. On operating the bolt from empty, the little red loaded indicator has to extend as you run the bolt. During this part of the process it is much stiffer and requires more force. If I run the bolt again without pulling the trigger (and reseting the loaded indicator) it runs very smoothly with little effort. Its just a very noticeable difference between the two and I was wondering if this is normal of the Tikka action that I have heard so much about?

TLDR: Running the bolt when the chamber loaded indicator is already extended is extremely smooth/easy, when starting from "empty" and extending the indicator it requires more work to lift the bolt handle. Normal?

 

[Lawnboi]

Normal. Your cocking the firing pin spring when you lift the bolt. Once it’s cocked it’s already there. (Being held by the trigger group)

A very small amount of grease on the cocking ramp where it contacts the firing pin protrusion helps keeps things operating smoothly but the force will always be there to cock the firing pin, as it is with many other bolt action rifles.

 

[WeiserBucks]

Perfectly normal. Initial cocking takes more effort. A rifle that's already cocked takes less effort.

 

[AZ Gator]

That’s not a chamber indicator. The red tab is indicating if it’s “cocked”. The reason it takes more force to operate after the trigger has been pulled, is because the firing mechanism has to be re-cocked. Once it is cocked, that force is no longer needed and the bolt operates more freely.

All bolt actions work this way (though some cock on close, instead of while opening the bolt).

Some geometries require more force than others, but cocking the rifle will always require more force than when it doesn’t need to be cocked.

 

[skipper907]

Greece the bolt lugs and the cocking ramp on the bolt will help

 

[Eldoradotim]

Thanks all. After posting I found a thread below in the "Similar threads" that basically answered it as well!