Apologies for the click-baity thread title. Running into an issue with a Tikka that won't go bang. I need help and thought I'd see if anyone here can provide insight. I've included as much detail as I can (even a few things that are likely irrelevant).
I purchased a Tikka T3 SS chambered in 270 Winchester from the used gun inventory on Cabelas.com.
When it arrived, I did not test fire it. I immediately pulled the barrel and replaced it with a stainless factory barrel from a T3x chambered in 6.5 Creedmoor. I torqued the barrel at 75 ft/lbs and checked headspace with a sized case and piece of tape. The bolt would not close on the tape, but closed on the case alone. I've swapped a half-dozen or so Tikka barrels and have followed this same protocol without issue.
On the first trip to the range, two of the three cartridges failed to fire. The primer strikes were very light and shallow. On the round that did fire, the primer was extruded. This was factory loaded ammunition from Nosler.
First, I double-checked the headspace with a set of Forster go/no-go gauges, and everything looked okay there. The bolt would not close with the no-go gauge. I even sent video of the test to a gunsmith friend, who confirmed that the headspace looked fine.
I then removed the firing pin and sprayed it down with brake cleaner, and sprayed the interior of the bolt body with brake cleaner. I also ran some patches into the bolt body to check for any sort of build up. Visually, the firing pin assembly looks fine.
After this, I tried firing two rounds, which both failed to fire. The primers showed the same shallow strikes as I saw in the first rounds. This time I tried one factory loaded round from Nosler as well as a handload from my other Tikka.
I then swapped the firing pin assembly with the firing pin assembly from a RH Tikka T3x (the malfunctioning rifle is the only LH Tikka I own). This, I hoped, would show that there was an issue with the original firing pin spring. Again, this time, one of three rounds failed to fire. Again, the primers look the same. The included photo shows the primers from the two fired cases and the one FTF.
When I remove the bolt and compare it to another with the firing pin released, the firing pin from the non-functioning bolt seems to protrude further from the bolt face than the firing pin from the functioning bolt.
My next step (and only other idea?) is to find a complete LH bolt assembly and try dropping that into the rifle. It seems as though the issue lies somewhere in the bolt body, firing pin hole, etc.
Does anyone have any theories, or suggestions as to what I'm experiencing or what else I can try? Alternatively, if you have a LH Tikka bolt with a .473 face somewhere in Bozeman, Billings, etc., I would appreciate the opportunity to test fire this rifle with your bolt assembly.
Thanks in advance for your thoughts.
I purchased a Tikka T3 SS chambered in 270 Winchester from the used gun inventory on Cabelas.com.
When it arrived, I did not test fire it. I immediately pulled the barrel and replaced it with a stainless factory barrel from a T3x chambered in 6.5 Creedmoor. I torqued the barrel at 75 ft/lbs and checked headspace with a sized case and piece of tape. The bolt would not close on the tape, but closed on the case alone. I've swapped a half-dozen or so Tikka barrels and have followed this same protocol without issue.
On the first trip to the range, two of the three cartridges failed to fire. The primer strikes were very light and shallow. On the round that did fire, the primer was extruded. This was factory loaded ammunition from Nosler.
First, I double-checked the headspace with a set of Forster go/no-go gauges, and everything looked okay there. The bolt would not close with the no-go gauge. I even sent video of the test to a gunsmith friend, who confirmed that the headspace looked fine.
I then removed the firing pin and sprayed it down with brake cleaner, and sprayed the interior of the bolt body with brake cleaner. I also ran some patches into the bolt body to check for any sort of build up. Visually, the firing pin assembly looks fine.
After this, I tried firing two rounds, which both failed to fire. The primers showed the same shallow strikes as I saw in the first rounds. This time I tried one factory loaded round from Nosler as well as a handload from my other Tikka.
I then swapped the firing pin assembly with the firing pin assembly from a RH Tikka T3x (the malfunctioning rifle is the only LH Tikka I own). This, I hoped, would show that there was an issue with the original firing pin spring. Again, this time, one of three rounds failed to fire. Again, the primers look the same. The included photo shows the primers from the two fired cases and the one FTF.
When I remove the bolt and compare it to another with the firing pin released, the firing pin from the non-functioning bolt seems to protrude further from the bolt face than the firing pin from the functioning bolt.
My next step (and only other idea?) is to find a complete LH bolt assembly and try dropping that into the rifle. It seems as though the issue lies somewhere in the bolt body, firing pin hole, etc.
Does anyone have any theories, or suggestions as to what I'm experiencing or what else I can try? Alternatively, if you have a LH Tikka bolt with a .473 face somewhere in Bozeman, Billings, etc., I would appreciate the opportunity to test fire this rifle with your bolt assembly.
Thanks in advance for your thoughts.
