Tikka lovers

[fighthedude]

Men. Had my tikka few years now. Seem to have trouble consistently grouping shots. Gonna experiment here soon on getting it right. For the much more informed can you answer a few questions for me. Are all tikka t3x stocks interchangeable? Is a .308 win long action or short? And are there any legitimate/worthwhile aftermarket upgrades that come recommended? Thanks for info men! Cheers

 

[Antares]

Welcome to the forum. This is probably a better thread for the Firearms section, maybe the mods can move it for you.

T3x stocks are generally all interchangeable, but some models have different barrel contours (e.g., Roughtech, Veil, CTR, etc.) so stocks from those models will have bigger barrel channels.

Tikka actions are all the same (i.e., there is no "long action" or "short action"). They're essentially all "long actions." You can change the chambering of any Tikka by 1) getting a new barrel, 2) getting a new bolt stop, and 3) getting a new bolt with the appropriate face (.223, standard, or magnum). Depending on what chambering your starting with, you may not need a new bolt stop and/or bolt.

Accessories and upgrades are going to depend on what you want to do with the rifle. The only "must have" Tikka upgrade for me is a stock. Nothing wrong with the factory stock, it just doesn't fit me. After market trigger springs are a common upgrade.

 

[tallbuchholz]

What have you done to fix it so far? Scope, scope mounts, action screws? I haven't had to upgrade anything on mine, so can't tell you what aftermarket add-ons would help, they just seem to shoot to my expectations (not PRS) from the box.

 

[fighthedude]

What have you done to fix it so far? Scope, scope mounts, action screws? I haven't had to upgrade anything on mine, so can't tell you what aftermarket add-ons would help, they just seem to shoot to my expectations (not PRS) from the box.

Ive done absolutely nothing. Bone stock. Im gonna try few different higher grade ammo next week as last few times I shot I was shooting federal American Eagle. Saving brass to have buddy reload. I am gonna take off and apart everything and clean and remount. Paying special attention to torque specs. Vortex viper 4-16. Kept it simple and light. I think its me more than gun but this way I will know for sure.

 

[LeftyWilbury]

the only times my tikkas shot horrible groups were when my scope mounts were loosening up. I switched to DNZ mounts and they've stayed torqued up. some ammo shoots better than others but hornady and barnes have always been <1 MOA with a decently cleaned barrel on my hunting rifles, 7RM, .300WM and a 6.5x55.

as for upgrades, all I've done is swap out the trigger springs. almost makes it too light. the stock on both T3 and T3x fit me just fine so never felt the need to replace them. oh and I did throw in an aftermarket recoil lug in, just because.

i did have a savage 30-06 that for a few years grouped horribly after giving me 10+ years of great accuracy. i toyed with the idea of re-barreling it but one day pulled it out of the safe and realized the bore was blue and green. my youthful attempts at cleaning were apparently sub-par. after cleaning it fully it was <0.5 MOA at 200 yards with barnes. i apologized to my rifle for blaming it for being inaccurate. just a loose nut behind the trigger.

 

[Motown]

Are you shooting off a bag or a bipod? The reason I ask is because I normally shoot most rifles from a short harris bipod off the bench, but I find that I get the best accuracy from Tikka lites shooting them from a bag. Also make sure to put your weight into the rifle and dont let it free recoil. Everyone is different obviously but these are things I have learned when shooting lighter rifles.

 

[Steve from GA]

Your groups may very well start to open up after your barrel heats up. That’s how my Tikka is. Take your time shooting, leave the bolt open between shots, and take longer breaks every once in a while to let it cool down completely. I like to mix up my sessions with some .22 rifle shooting while the Tikka cools.

 

[fighthedude]

Bags, backpacks, lead sled. Whatever i have but dont have bipod. Ill try little tighter to shoulder. Thanks

 

[CHSD]

First thing I would do is get better scope rings. I have a set of the dnz game reapers that have served me well. I have heard bad things about the Tikka rings.

 

[fighthedude]

Ive got talley. Nothing fancy but so you guys here approve? My buddy said we should lap them. I never done it but he is experienced.

 

[wind gypsy]

Ive got talley. Nothing fancy but so you guys here approve? My buddy said we should lap them. I never done it but he is experienced.

If they aren't perfectly aligned lapping makes sense.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

Have you torqued down your action bolts properly?

 

[rileybassman]

Between my wife and I, we have 4 T3Xs, have friends with a couple as well - all shoot great - here's some tips/things to check - lot of other guys have said the same above but here's my list:

Scope and mounts - prolly biggest offender. Check your mounts and If you can, switch to a known good scope.

Action Screws - make sure they are around spec - I believe that tikka factory torque is ~ 45 in. lbs. with plastic bottom - you can get bottom metal and then I torque mine to 55-60ish in. lbs.

Clean - some guns like to be cleaner, some like to be a bit dirtier. My Tikka's shoot great after just a fouling shot - my old savage 116 took 7-10 shots to settle. Start with a very clean bore and then shoot it for awhile before cleaning again.

HEAT - these rifles are not good bench guns - 3-4 shot strings max I would say or you will really open up.

Pressure - watch cheek pressure and hand torqueing - also, IME they shoot better using your left hand to either hold the front end, or place on top of scope with slight downward pressure - if you let these light rifles free recoil, they open up IME.

Ammo - hard in this day and age, but ammo makes a difference. I wouldn't call any of the tikkas I have shot "picky" but they all do have a load they like. I don't have a .308 and mostly handload, but a fried's .308 tikka really likes Hornady Superformance SSTs FWIW (165s if I recall).

Barrel pressure point - I Dremel off the little barrel pressure tab on my tikkas.... but my wife's still has hers and shoots great. IDK how much a difference it really makes, but pressure on the barrel just doesn't seem right to me.

Trigger control - obvious I know, but a really light gun is pretty sensitive to trigger pull. I love the factory tikka triggers and can adjust them down at or slightly below 3 lbs. usually which is as low as I want for a hunting rig.

Those are my .02.

Good luck!

 

[rileybassman]

Ive got talley. Nothing fancy but so you guys here approve? My buddy said we should lap them. I never done it but he is experienced.

I have talleys on a couple of mine - IME they come pretty well lined up and don't really need to be lapped... worth a try, but it's a messy process and the few times I have done it, I didn't notice a huge difference FWIW.

I did have a set crack on me once tho so keep an eye out for that.

 

[Harvey_NW]

I've had experience with a finnicky Tikka. Removing the pressure points in the stock actually made mine worse, but before that it shot most consistently when I took it apart and cleaned and degreased the action screws, made sure the bed and barrel channel were clean without debris, put the barreled action back in the stock and made sure the recoil lug was seated in the channel on the bottom of the action, lightly snug the action screws up and drop the butt against a table or floor to seat the face of the channel against the lug, torque to 35-45 in/lb. Also used blue Loctite on the screws. If it's an older one with an aluminum recoil lug I suggest swapping that to steel or Ti as well.

I run Talley's on everything and have never had an issue. I also install those with a process though. Clean and degrease screws and action holes, blue loctite and lightly snug them down, set the scope in and apply a little bit of down pressure and rotate the tube in the mounts to get any micro alignment possible, evenly torque bases to 25 in/lb, caps to 18 in/lb. You'll understand how important that even/incremental aspect of torqueing is if you have levels on while assembling.

If you REALLY wanted and don't own or have access to a lapping kit you could skim bed those rings with $10 worth of JB weld and some kiwi shoe polish. I've never found it necessary, when you pull a scope and see ring marks indicating pretty much 100% contact I believe that is the point of diminishing return.

 

[ID_Matt]

Men. Had my tikka few years now. Seem to have trouble consistently grouping shots. Gonna experiment here soon on getting it right. For the much more informed can you answer a few questions for me. Are all tikka t3x stocks interchangeable? Is a .308 win long action or short? And are there any legitimate/worthwhile aftermarket upgrades that come recommended? Thanks for info men! Cheers

.308 win is a short... if you are handloading, change out the bolt stop and load closer to the lands. Helped my 308 tikka out a ton.

All tikka T3X stocks should be interchangeable. Mags are the same and action length is the same. Stock is a huge upgrade... Mesa Precision makes a great one if you are concerned with keeping it lightweight.

 

[schmalzy]

I had my ultra reliable steady shooter tikka start to open up groups. Turns out a little bit of clp got in the rings and I didn’t hve them torqued correctly. Expensive trip to a gunsmith for something so basic but back to shooting under an inch with cheap cor lokts.


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[fighthedude]

Thanks everyone for suggestions

 

[Cant hit em]

Make sure the recoil lug is seated properly


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[Gila]

Action screws are 35lb/sq in of torque. It is important that they are torqued properly. I know that because I replaced the bottom metal on my new T3X. With the original factory stock the screws sre probably torqued correctly. My old T3 in .270 Win shot laser beams out of the box. Standard Leupold VX2 mounted with the rings Tikka used to supply with the T3 model.

The obvious is to check the level on the scope, torque on the rings, then check the bore sight. You didn’t mention what the spread is but my T3 was finicky with the ammo. I settled with Hornady but depends on what your rifle likes. I am a fan of steel rings. Burris rings for the tikka dovetail have worked for me in the past. I believe that the experts will tell you that all steel rings should be lapped. But then there are exceptions, depending on the make and model.

I believe the .308 has the short action bolt stop. Trigger is great....adjusted to 2.4lbs and crisp!