Tikka T3X Failure to Fire

[Rugger7622]

The FTF is not caused by a tight chamber. You can also get an idea of the chamber length by covering the case head of a factory round with masking tape to see if the bolt will close on it. Usually they will but it will be tight. The base of the head not the sides.

Do you mean scotch tape or actual yellow masking tape?

 

[Dan Carey]

White/tan masking tape. If you actually have a tight chamber that a go gauge will not close on then a factory round will be hard to close on too. Resized cases are not accurate enough. Put the tape on the case head then trim the sides with a sharp blade.

 

[Rugger7622]

I shot 2 boxes of factory and no issues closing the bolt at all

 

[Dan Carey]

On your gauges, what does it say on the gauge?

 

[Dan Carey]

Pull the firing pin from the bolt and clean it. There is a shoulder on the pin that contacts the bolt body, any dirt between the two can cause a light primer strike

 

[Rugger7622]

I pulled the bolt/spring and clean with brake clean, prior to my last range session where I had 3 FTF’s. Here are pics of the gauge

 

[Dan Carey]

Gauge looks OK. Firing pin protrusion should be .055 min. I'm sure Tikka has a spec on that. You can check that with a mike or a set of calipers.

 

[Rugger7622]

Couple pictures of the bolt disassembled. Nothing stood out until I really looked at the shaft of the firing pin - it has a very slight circular ring around it. Any chance it’s hanging up occasionally?

 

[mtnbound]

I got my Forster Go/No Go gauges and the bolt won't close on the "Go" gauge! This seems weird to me since I'm having FTF's. Just to make sure something wasn't goofed with the gauge, I tried the No Go and it also wouldn't close on it. Would a tight headspace contribute to FTF? The gun shoot legitimate .75, 10 shot groups with both 75 ELDM's and TMK's with no pressure signs.

Do that make sense?

If the bolt will not close on the Go gauge, then I would assume there is some issue with the headspace. It shooting so well seems odd.

 

[Rugger7622]

Shooting awesome, with no pressure signs. I’m going to buy a box of factory tomorrow and do the tape on the case head trick to see what it tells me, but the two boxes of factory I shot had zero bolt closing issues at all and I had a FTF with factory.

 

[mtnbound]

Couple pictures of the bolt disassembled. Nothing stood out until I really looked at the shaft of the firing pin - it has a very slight circular ring around it. Any chance it’s hanging up occasionally? View attachment 938490View attachment 938491View attachment 938492View attachment 938493View attachment 938494

I have the same mark on my pin.

 

[Rugger7622]

This was Wednesday’s 5 shot, groups testing some different powders! I’ll load up some more and shoot some 10 shot groups, but I expect it to continue to shoot well

 

[Rugger7622]

Any other thoughts on next steps to try?

 

[Frozenlead]

Has anything changed on the rifle from the previous owner? ie: pic rail, bottom metal?

The tight headspace can cause light strikes issues, but it would be because the bolt is sticking slightly open if the case was a bit long. Factory ammo is usually a ways undersized from the go gauge, this could explain why you have less issue of ftf on the factory loads. My guess is that the barrel was headspaced with a factory round. You’ll probably see this when you put some tape on a factory round.

 

[Rugger7622]

I haven’t changed anything since I bought the gun from the previous owner, except mount the scope in the rail. I’ll post an update on factory ammo fit in an hour or so.

 

[tall]

Any other thoughts on next steps to try?

How about swapping the spring and firing pin from one of your other Tikkas that shoot reliably?

When you close the bolt on the go gauge, how hard are you pushing on the bolt handle? It takes some pressure to get the extractor claw over the rim of the gauge and into the groove.

 

[Rugger7622]

I just tried again with the firing pin out and with decent pressure I can get the go gauge to close, but it's super tight.

Also, a factory load will close with one piece of painters tape on the case head, can certainly feel heavy bolt pressure, but less than the go gauge

My resized brass is equal in shoulder size to factory with a comparator

 

[brockel]

Had the same problem with two different tikka 223s with factory hornady ammo. Cleaned the bolt completely and would still get a random light primer strike. Used federal primers and the problem went away.

 

[Rugger7622]

That’s the weird part, my primer strikes all looked decent, not too light. I’ll reload some with different primers and see what I get.

Another data point, with 2 pieces of painters tape, the bolt won’t close

I measured fired factory vs unfired factory and I’m getting .002-.0025 difference. Chamber seems a tad tight, but not too bad

I re-cleaned the spring and under it today as well

 

[Dan Carey]

The headspace is not your problem with FTF. I would replace the firing pin and the spring.