Tikka Woes

[pharmfisher]

I would agree with you to a degree. Tikkas are nice but they aren't the end all be all. I think my Browning x bolt hunter is a nicer stock rifle, and it costed the same. But I think something that is underrated is reliability. Tikkas very rarely have feeding issues (not that ive ever had an issue with my Browning). It's sad how many guns can't feed. A Ruger American is an amazing shooting gun that I'll never hunt with again. Most of the products recommended here are because of reliability. There are clearer scopes than nightforce for the price, but they do not have good reliability records. Which is fine because you aren't bird watching, you are hunting. Anything better than 1moa is highly unlikely to affect your kill percentage.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

I would agree with you to a degree. Tikkas are nice but they aren't the end all be all. I think my Browning x bolt hunter is a nicer stock rifle, and it costed the same. But I think something that is underrated is reliability. Tikkas very rarely have feeding issues (not that ive ever had an issue with my Browning). It's sad how many guns can't feed. A Ruger American is an amazing shooting gun that I'll never hunt with again. Most of the products recommended here are because of reliability. There are clearer scopes than nightforce for the price, but they do not have good reliability records. Which is fine because you aren't bird watching, you are hunting. Anything better than 1moa is highly unlikely to affect your kill percentage.

I’m with you. I like my tikkas a lot but mostly just because there isn’t much in the way of stainless synthetic hunting rifles for the price. A Winchester extreme weather is 1800 bucks now, a Kimber Montana is like 2k, Remington makes junk, just not a lot out there for a stainless barrel/action in that price range. 1” 5 round groups are more than adequate for my uses.

 

[pharmfisher]

I’m with you. I like my tikkas a lot but mostly just because there isn’t much in the way of stainless synthetic hunting rifles for the price. A Winchester extreme weather is 1800 bucks now, a Kimber Montana is like 2k, Remington makes junk, just not a lot out there for a stainless barrel/action in that price range. 1” 5 round groups are more than adequate for my uses.

Exactly. And then add in the left hand filter (for me unfortunately) and your choice is made for you. Not that I'm complaining, my Tikka does everything I need it to.

 

[ID_Matt]

Ya got me, I guess it was Wednesday.

Your Elk Hunting Rifle

I used my 28 Nosler shooting Berger 195 EOLs to take my first bull. I had my 6.5 PRC with Berger 156 EOLs as a backup. We got drawn for late rifle in AZ and I'm thinking about using my 6.5 PRC as my primary rifle this year.

rokslide.com

post #277

Ohhhhhh boy

 

[Mulyhuntr]

What powder, bullet, brass, etc. are you using? Of the five tikkas I have not a single one won't shoot a .5" 5-shot group after some load development.

 

[General RE LEE]

Friendly reminder a consistent 1 MOA will be hitting a 10” plate at 1000 yards with some level of consistency if you have good form and make good wind calls.

 

[Timberline001]

Not really woes but…..

Bought a 7mm-08 t3x superlite kind of on a whim. Just wanted to see what the hype was about. So far…meh.

Round count is 137. I have a couple loads that shoot around 1 moa (5 round groups, I know).

Have an swfa 3-15 in a dnz low mount on it, and have the vertical grip on the way.

I’m not sure what I was expecting, but I’m just not really loving it. I absolutely hate the stock, but if it would consistently shoot better groups I would swap it. Is it too soon to punt? Is there something I’m missing?

I’m a new hand loader but I do load for a couple other guns with better results.

For me the tikka love has nothing to do with stock tikkas. Sure alotnof them shoot great but I love the modularity and how affordable they are to build a custom out of compared to other rifles. I would definitely put a higher end carbon stock on it before you give up on it. I won’t shoot a tikka in the OEM stock. Mostly just because I like a high cheek weld and vertical grip.

 

[NMRN]

What powder, bullet, brass, etc. are you using? Of the five tikkas I have not a single one won't shoot a .5" 5-shot group after some load development.

Best loads were with 139 grain lrx over 6.5 Staball and 150 grain ablr over h380

 

[swavescatter]

Have you tried any factory loads? Usually ELD-X shoots fairly well.

 

[NMRN]

Have you tried any factory loads? Usually ELD-X shoots fairly well.

I had less than half a box that I tried, but it was real early in life of the gun. I should probably revisit it.

 

[Mulyhuntr]

Best loads were with 139 grain lrx over 6.5 Staball and 150 grain ablr over h380

I'd definitely experiment with other bullets. Both of those won't be the easiest to get to shoot. Hornady eldm and berger classic hunter have always been better for me in tikkas.

 

[NMRN]

Thanks everyone for all the replies. I think I’m going to pull it all apart this weekend and start over with my most promising loads once the vertical grip gets here.

 

[NMRN]

I'd definitely experiment with other bullets. Both of those won't be the easiest to get to shoot. Hornady eldm and berger classic hunter have always been better for me in tikkas.

Yeah, I’ve definitely been thinking I need to pick up some match bullets. Maybe I’ll just start fresh with some eldm's after a put it all back together

 

[jimh406]

If you don't like the stock, it's probably not going to get better. Sure, you can adapt to it. Do you want to?

Kind of obvious, but the more you shoot it and work up a load for it, the more money you are putting into it that could be spent on a different rifle.

Fwiw, I haven't handled a Tikka and have no bias for/against them.

 

[Mulyhuntr]

A triad stock pack makes a world of difference on a Tikka.

 

[HighUintas]

@NMRN , did you free float the stock? Remove a bit more material from the channel on the sides of the foreend and remove the ribs that contact the barrel?

I had one and it liked 145 speers with h4350. Hot cor and btsp. I have read they like the 150eldx and 162eldm

 

[JGRaider]

So far I’ve shot a box of Norma whitetail for break in and a box of 120 grain ttsx. Loaded 139 grain lrx, 140 grain ttsx, 150 grain ablr and 139 grain sst. Powders were varget, 6.5 Staball, and h380.

I'd personally pick a different bullet than Barnes. They can be seating depth finicky, and the ABLR can as well. They seem to like more "jump". You ought to be good with that 139 SST and around 41gr of Varget at 2.800 OAL, IMO/IME

 

[nobody]

I think a lot of guys misunderstand the hype. A tikka isn’t some amazingly accurate 1/2 MOA factory rifle. What it is: high quality action and trigger, a good quality barrel, sufficiently accurate, lots of options for aftermarket, for around $700 for a stainless steel version if you look around. The whole package is what makes a Tikka attractive. I don’t think anyone is making the claim that they are the most accurate rifle out there. It’s bang for the buck. You can certainly buy or make a more accurate rifle (like the other one you have and mentioned), but I’m willing to bet it cost you a hell of a lot more than what you paid for the Tikka, and if you’re honest, probably not any more effective in the field.

This, 1000% this. This is why we love Tikkas here. They’re not magic, they’re not record setting, they’re not engineering marvels. They just. Flat. Work. In an era where there’s no material accuracy difference between a Savage Axis II and a full custom, accuracy is no longer the differentiator across different brands and price points. As has been stated ad nauseum on this thread and across Rokslide for a long time, a TRUE 1-1.5 MOA rifle and optic system will kill anything on god’s green earth from point blank range to well beyond any distance most shooters have any business shooting.

As Form has stated many times, we miss due to our greatest source of error. Rarely is that the baseline accuracy of our rifle. So if all rifles are accurate enough to kill, the differentiator becomes reliability in adverse conditions and durability over the long term. I had a Ruger American Predator in 6.5 CM for several years that was a straight up HAMMER in the accuracy department. But the trigger got progressively grittier and “creepier” the longer I had it, so it went down the road. I had an X Bolt Western Hunter in 6.5 Creed that was, to this day, the single most accurate rifle I’ve ever shot. But the bolt would bind from time to time if I didn’t run it right. The action was smooth and no grit, trigger was awesome, it was phenomenal. But I had doubts about its dependability if I ever needed to “rack and shoot” because I had to stop to think about how to run the action rather than just letting muscle memory take over and run the darn thing.

My Tikka T3X Veil Alpine in 6.5 Creed is a 1.25 MOA system. I can cherry pick lots of 1/4 MOA 3-round “groups,” but the accuracy of the system with large sample sizes is 1.25 MOA. The bolt runs smooth no matter what and I can’t ever get it to bind, the trigger is crisp, and the magazines are dead reliable. Even though my x bolt was objectively a more accurate rifle, the Tikka as a whole is a superior package.

@NMRN as far as testing accuracy, buy a couple hundred rounds of Hornady Precision Hunter. Shoot large sample group sizes (10+) and get a baseline for accuracy. I bet if you shoot that stuff, plus your reloads, I’ll bet you’ll see that everything shoots about the same level of accuracy. Then do the same with your other rifles and I bet you’ll be surprised to see what your rifle systems are actually shooting with statistically relevant round counts. I know I have been surprised.

 

[Pharmseller]

All my Tikkas
All my brother’s Tikkas
All my dad’s Tikkas
Shoot like the targets in the pics I posted.

Handloads, granted, but load workup was pretty easy.

7mm-08:
120 BT & TTSX
140 PT, AB, VLD-H
150 ELD-X

Pick your projectile. Big Game and a magnum primer, R-P brass.




P

 

[NMRN]

@NMRN , did you free float the stock? Remove a bit more material from the channel on the sides of the foreend and remove the ribs that contact the barrel?

I had one and it liked 145 speers with h4350. Hot cor and btsp. I have read they like the 150eldx and 162eldm

I haven’t. Pulling it all apart today