The slow barrel tikka dilemma

[HNTR_NW]

I have a dilemma and decent amount of time on my hands so I figured I’d see what Rokslide thinks.

I have a Tikka t3x lite 6.5PRC initially I chopped the barrel down to 22” and threaded it. When I chrono’d it through the garmin (10 shots) the results were as follows.

UM 156 Berger 2850fps
Hornady 143 factory 2730fps
Hornady 147 factory 2708fps

With the exception of the UM AMMO, it’s SLOW.

I then shot the ammo through a Christensen and it matched the box pretty close, within 20fps.

I then bought 2 tikka takeoff barrels, spun them up and shot each today. The velocity of the tikka barrels were all slow, almost matching the original factory barrel.

Why does this bother me? Mainly because I have plenty of 6.5cm ammo and rifles, and I wanted to gain the extra 200yds of terminal performance.

My questions:

Are all tikkas this slow with 6.5prc?

Should I just suck it up and get a proof or an Ace barrel and roll the dice that it will produce somewhat normal velocities?

Or I can buy more powder, pull all my factory ammo and maybe build a load to get me in the 2900’s with the 147s….

What do you guys think?

Thanks!

 

[schmidty3]

Hornady factory 147s have always been slow for me.

2585 in my 24" tikka ctr 6.5 creed.

Pretty sure they were 2750 fps in my dad's 20" seekins prc

 

[HNTR_NW]

Interesting. I know all factory ammo can vary but seeing it at or above box velocity in one gun and 200fps slower in the other is weird. The reason for thinking the proof barrel may be faster is I have a 6.5cm 24” proof that slings factory 147s at 2730fps

 

[Macintosh]

I then shot the ammo through a Christensen and it matched the box pretty close, within 20fps.

Just out of curiosity, what were the actual measured velocities, and what was the christensen barrel length?
And if you tried it, what velocity does the berger 156UM ammo get in the christiansen?

 

[JRay]

I get 2700ish through a Howa 20” 6.5prc with factory loaded 147. Which was similar to my 24”CM. I chopped it for utility. As UM demonstrated, you can go faster with hand loads. Why deconstruct the factory loads? Sell them or use them for practice and build new rounds from the spent cases or new brass.

Also, there’s a lot of reports on here about Tikka’s being slower than other brands.

 

[H80Hunter]

I had a 24” Tikka 6.5 PRC that was running 2800 with the 147 ELDMs. Only factory load I checked speed on. Crazy accurate.

 

[Smokinyotes]

I’ve never seen a Tikka yet that wasn’t slow, doesn’t matter which cartridge they are all slow. The good news is if you handload you can add more powder.

 

[MuleyFever]

As mentioned, lots of people saying their Tikka is slow. This is my concern for the 20" 6CM if/when they release it.

 

[Trackselk]

I have a dilemma and decent amount of time on my hands so I figured I’d see what Rokslide thinks.

I have a Tikka t3x lite 6.5PRC initially I chopped the barrel down to 22” and threaded it. When I chrono’d it through the garmin (10 shots) the results were as follows.

UM 156 Berger 2850fps
Hornady 143 factory 2730fps
Hornady 147 factory 2708fps

With the exception of the UM AMMO, it’s SLOW.

I then shot the ammo through a Christensen and it matched the box pretty close, within 20fps.

I then bought 2 tikka takeoff barrels, spun them up and shot each today. The velocity of the tikka barrels were all slow, almost matching the original factory barrel.

Why does this bother me? Mainly because I have plenty of 6.5cm ammo and rifles, and I wanted to gain the extra 200yds of terminal performance.

My questions:

Are all tikkas this slow with 6.5prc?

Should I just suck it up and get a proof or an Ace barrel and roll the dice that it will produce somewhat normal velocities?

Or I can buy more powder, pull all my factory ammo and maybe build a load to get me in the 2900’s with the 147s….

What do you guys think?

Thanks!

I think reloading is always the answer for max performance. You'll get the speed you were after and more usually

 

[Tahoe1305]

Agree. My experience the “barrels” aren’t slow, but the chambers are a bit big usually resulting in slower velocity (I know all technically part of the barrel).

The extra volume in the chamber kills performance. If you measure it out and reload closer to the lands you’ll gain a god amount of speed typically.

 

[HNTR_NW]

Just out of curiosity, what were the actual measured velocities, and what was the christensen barrel length?
And if you tried it, what velocity does the berger 156UM ammo get in the christiansen?

The UM ammo was right at 3000fps in the Christensen.

Would it be worth just pulling the factory bullets I have, dumping the powder, and building my own load off their primed brass?

I believe I have around 400 pieces of factory ammo.

 

[HNTR_NW]

I guess it may be time to start looking for some N565…. I’m glad I’m not the only one that’s run into this issue.

I love my tikkas but damn I wish they were faster!

 

[Q_Sertorius]

My 20” Tikka 6.5 CM got almost the same velocity as my 22” Sauer 6.5 CM using Hornady 140-grain ELDMs. The box claims 2710. I was getting in the 2560-2590 range.

My 20” Tikka 9.3x62 is the same as my 22” Sauer 9.3x62. The box claims 2250, I got 2185 and 2186.

Both are slower than the box advertises.

Not sure that Tikkas are “slow” or if manufacturers just test with 24” barrels with tight dimensions?

 

[Q_Sertorius]

The UM ammo was right at 3000fps in the Christensen.

Would it be worth just pulling the factory bullets I have, dumping the powder, and building my own load off their primed brass?

I believe I have around 400 pieces of factory ammo.

I would just use the factory ammo. How far away are the animals you intend to shoot?

 

[Trackselk]

I guess it may be time to start looking for some N565…. I’m glad I’m not the only one that’s run into this issue.

I love my tikkas but damn I wish they were faster!

That extra space is more room for powder or pressure anyhow. You might be able to make them extra fast, especially if you fireform, necksize, and load. That's what I'm trying with my new 223ai barrel. The trick of course is assuring good extraction when you need a backup shot...

 

[RWT]

I’ll be curious on this soon. Have a Tikka in 6.5CM running in the 2500-2600 range 16”. Have a new barrel in 6.5 Grendel being spun on a Tikka but with a LSWild barrel. Can’t wait to see if they are the same speed with the same bullets.

 

[UPThunderbolt]

The UM ammo was right at 3000fps in the Christensen.

Would it be worth just pulling the factory bullets I have, dumping the powder, and building my own load off their primed brass?

I believe I have around 400 pieces of factory ammo.

If you do that, you will probably have to resize the brass to make sure you get neck tension.

 

[HNTR_NW]

I would just use the factory ammo. How far away are the animals you intend to shoot?

i think that’s the plan for now, the zero doesn’t change much so I can build I couple profiles and swap ammo for hunts I know will be closer shots, or practice.

My preference is to keep 1800fps to 1000yds for my application and environmentals for this rifle in particular.

 

[Tahoe1305]

The UM ammo was right at 3000fps in the Christensen.

Would it be worth just pulling the factory bullets I have, dumping the powder, and building my own load off their primed brass?

I believe I have around 400 pieces of factory ammo.

I would just shoot them, then reload. Not worth the effort for a few hundred FPS IMO. Enjoy just running them as fast and accurate as you can!

 

[Tahoe1305]

I’m not seeing 1800fps at 1000yds in your future, unless you find some crazy magic in that thing some how. Caveat being you live north of 10k feet DA.

I’m at 9500 and would need 3000fps+ to reach 1800fps @1000yds. (I use 143s)

That’s a tall order for PRC on the assumption you are lower and with a 22” barrel.

Assuming your Christensen is a bit longer?

(Edit: ran #s for the 147s @ 2900….that will be pretty close. That’s still asking a lot from a 22” barrel but doable probably).

(Double edit: now I’m on a rant because it pisses me off how Hornady advertises/markets the 6.5PRC. Their load data is based on a 26” barrel (hardly anything else in the manual is that long) to give the perception it is faster than it is. I’ve also seen/felt their factory ammo is faster than anyone shoots….BL I think this PRC underperforms).