Tikka Woes

[JeffRaines]

"around 1 moa". What does that mean? If you can shoot 10rds and all land within a 1.5" dot, it shoots pretty good.

We're in the golden age of firearms IMO. Even the cheap rifles shoot great these days.

On the flip side, being able to access the internet has spoiled a lot of peoples opinions about stuff... accuracy included.

Truth be told, 1 MOA 5 shot groups consistently is a damn good load for hunting inside 600 yards. Maybe it would lag in competitions, but then again you're not likely to be shooting a 7-8lb mostly stock rifle for competition, either.

If OP doesn't like his gun he doesn't like it and that's okay... but I wouldn't personally toss it out over it.

 

[BPAZ223]

Truth be told, 1 MOA 5 shot groups consistently is a damn good load for hunting inside 600 yards

1MOA can win a lot of long distance competitions if you get the wind calls right.

I'm surprised the guys is unhappy with 5 rounds into an inch from a lightweight off the shelf hunting rifle. Plus that caliber can hunt all sorts of things - coyotes, deer, pigs, elk with the right bullet. He has the perfect hunting rifle and wants to get rid of it

 

[NMRN]

1MOA can win a lot of long distance competitions if you get the wind calls right.

I'm surprised the guys is unhappy with 5 rounds into an inch from a lightweight off the shelf hunting rifle. Plus that caliber can hunt all sorts of things - coyotes, deer, pigs, elk with the right bullet. He has the perfect hunting rifle and wants to get rid of it

So once again, it doesn’t consistently shoot moa. It consistently shoots just under to just over with the loads I’ve tried. I already have a lightweight 308 that shoots consistently better in its stock configuration. Plenty of people on this forum throwing up pics of sub minute groups with factory ammo from their tikkas. Any reason I can’t expect the same?

 

[LeftyWilbury]

while i love my tikkas, if the rifle isn't making you happy and not doing what you want it to do, nothing wrong with selling it and trying something else. you already have a .308 that does what you want it to do. consign the 7-08, buy a different rifle. buy a sidearm. a better optic. buy nothing. life is short.

 

[Wyo_hntr]

Plenty of people on this forum throwing up pics of sub minute groups with factory ammo from their tikkas. Any reason I can’t expect the same?

You can wish in one hand and you know what in the other...lol.

But seriously, take a 1.5" orange dot and shoot 5 or 10rds at 100yds. If all of them are in the dot, you're golden. While the 7-08 is a fine cartridge, it's not the easy button with factory ammunition that the 6 and 6.5 creed are. Tiny groups are cool, but not necessary

 

[NMRN]

Well, I pulled it apart today. Filed down the barrel channel, lightened the trigger to right at 2lbs. Put it all back together and remounted the scope. Torqued action screws to 45, and scope base and rings to dnz specs. I’ll be shooting Monday so we’ll see how it goes.

 

[BPAZ223]

Any reason I can’t expect the same?

It's a 3 round into 1" guaranteed rifle, that's the standard, yours is working fine. If you want actual small groups a rifle like this will be a lot more fun on the range but not so fun to tote around, plus it costs more, that's the tradeoff:

 

[jzeblaz]

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

How come you are using a magnum primer? I haven't tried that in 7mm-08, but curious if you've found better accuracy or ignition or something else that I haven't thought of. I'm using GM210Ms in my 7mm-08 and haven't noticed any issues. I'm running it with H4350 as well. Liking the 120 HH most these days.

 

[Outdoorsman12b]

Well, I pulled it apart today. Filed down the barrel channel, lightened the trigger to right at 2lbs. Put it all back together and remounted the scope. Torqued action screws to 45, and scope base and rings to dnz specs. I’ll be shooting Monday so we’ll see how it goes.

Depending on the DNZ rings the ring screws need much higher torque than most people think according to them. You might already have that managed but just a flat in case you have not.

 

[westernarcher]

How did the groups do after filing the stock out? My gun was shooting 1.5 groups at 100 yards at first. 6.5 CM. Discovered that the forearm was touching the barrel in a couple spots. Filed it down and it went down to 3/4" groups.

 

[Jason Snyder]

How come you are using a magnum primer? I haven't tried that in 7mm-08, but curious if you've found better accuracy or ignition or something else that I haven't thought of. I'm using GM210Ms in my 7mm-08 and haven't noticed any issues. I'm running it with H4350 as well. Liking the 120 HH most these days.

Magnum primers are recommended for Hammers.

 

[jzeblaz]

Magnum primers are recommended for Hammers.

Yeah, I know that too, but didn't have them, so went with what I had and got great results, so IDK.

 

[Jason Snyder]

Yeah, I know that too, but didn't have them, so went with what I had and got great results, so IDK.

If they’re working don’t worry about it.

 

[NSI]

Tikkas are generally unfussily precise, but that's not really their main selling point here. I'm not sure those selling points really come across at the range, so I'm not surprised you're underwhelmed:

1) Great trigger. Crisp, light enough, can be made lighter, truly drop safe, more reliable than other designs in ice and dust.
2) Smooth bolt. Short lift, doesn't bind as much as other designs, generally considered to be as smooth as the lower end of customs.
3) Ease of build. Single action length, tight enough tolerances to use pre-fit barrels, bolt stop easily swapped, integral dovetail rail.
4) Great magazines. Light, reliable, single bottom "metal" length, optimal for medium cartridges preferred here (everything up to and including short magnums).
5) Value for components. For a good if not excellent barrel, great trigger, great action, and great bm/mag system, $800 is very hard to beat. Gives flexibility to trash components like the barrel and still come on top of other customs in price and field performance.

Hope this helps!

-J

 

[solarshooter]

In my 6 or so years of owning exclusively Tikkas (I own 3, and my friends and family now own a combined 4 more after shooting my guns), all with the original stock modified as others have described (vertical grip, flat fore end, cheek piece, massively free floated barrel channel) and factory trigger with lightweight spring, I have found there are some specific aspects of my shooting form that really improved my accuracy with the guns.

To be clear, I don't think these are necessarily specific to Tikkas, but I think they are recoil control tips applicable to any lightweight gun (which Tikkas are, noticeably lighter than MOST guns) shooting a medium to high recoiling cartridge (which most hunting rifles are, and most Tikka chamberings are).

First, I've found much better results giving the gun more shoulder pressure, ie preloading the rifle into my shoulder and making sure that the contact patch on my chest is uniform and firm (no gaps, angles, jacket edges, straps, etc). This helps reduce muzzle jump and overall gun deflection, and improves groups. And really, your whole recoil management "chain" needs to be carefully set for each shot, ie shoulders square, base (whether seated or prone) square to the gun, rest is firm and gun tracks straight back and forth. All of this helps to reduce and control the gun movement under recoil.

Second, I have actually gone the way of INCREASING my trigger weight from the minimum setting with the light spring. I'm talking a turn or two in from all the way out, which probably gets closer to the factory spring at it's lightest setting (but I still prefer the lightweight spring for overall trigger feel). I think there is such a thing as a trigger that is too light for a given amount of recoil, because at a light setting, when the gun goes off, there isn't enough force on your trigger finger to ensure proper follow through and keeping the finger on the trigger all the way through the shot. I think if you have good trigger pulling mechanics, a slightly heavier trigger shouldn't cause accuracy issues, and can help with follow through. Lots of dry fire practice will tell you if your trigger pull is correct or not. The crosshairs SHOULD NOT MOVE, not one bit, through the trigger pull.

And finally is the cheek weld/scope height/eye relief geometry. I think high recoiling rifles expose flaws in this ergonomic combination and getting a comfortable and repeatable head position from multiple shooting positions also means you get your upper body in a comfortable and strong position. If you are hunched or craning your neck at all to get your eye on the scope, your posture is weaker and your recoil management will be worse. I have personally settled on a cheek piece with roughly 0.25" rise and some negative cant (which mimics the factory Tikka Varmint stock cheekpiece), and medium height Talley lightweight rings (1.9" scope height over bore). I am a tall guy, and this combination helps me keep my head and neck in a more natural position, and helps me keep a good open/strong chest and back posture whether standing, seated, or prone.

 

[Macintosh]

I had a tikka I never got to shoot as well as i’d like. Yours is actually shooting better than mine did. Mine was a 7-08 with a wood stock, even after pillars and bedding, floating the barrel, 2 different scopes to make sure that wasnt the issue, trying different torque on action screws, and all of the different brands and models of ammo I was able to find locally, I was never able to get more than the very occasional 3-round group into an inch. My other tikkas all shot noticeably better. It happens, I dont know what causes it, but happened at least once. Lots of folks here post better groups than me. I currently own two tikkas and both put 10 rounds into an inch and a quarter or so, which for me translates into lots of sub-3/4moa 3-round groups. I may just not be as steady as I used to be, but my theory is that for every wicked tikka I see online that puts 10 shots into under an inch, there’s also probably one that struggles to keep 3 shots into an inch consistently.

My plastic-stocked tikkas have been a little more forgiving of forearm pressure from a bipod or shooting rest after floating them. The plastic stocks come touching the barrel in order to try to keep pressure consistent when people load it differently, since the plastic forearm flexes a little. It doesn’t take much to sand out the little nubs that make contact with the barrel, I found this to help a little, at least with consistency, if not with best grouping. Sounds like you already may have done this, but if not, could be something to try.

 

[JGRaider]

Magnum primers are recommended for Hammers.

The reason Pharm mentions magnum primers is because he's had such good luck with Ramshot Big Game powder. Ball powders often find better accuracy using a magnum primer and this is the case for me as well with a Big Game/7mm08 combo. Long time/highly respected outdoor writer John Barsness gave us that tip over on 24HCF years ago and he's proven to be correct.

 

[BPAZ223]

Some primers are hotter than others too:

Primer Flash Test Photos

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Any more when I get a new gun I'll buy some good factory ammo to establish a baseline. If it shoots well then I'll keep it, if not I sell it and get something else.

 

[Pharmseller]

The reason Pharm mentions magnum primers is because he's had such good luck with Ramshot Big Game powder. Ball powders often find better accuracy using a magnum primer and this is the case for me as well with a Big Game/7mm08 combo. Long time/highly respected outdoor writer John Barsness gave us that tip over on 24HCF years ago and he's proven to be correct.

What he said.

I’m a Big Game homer for the Mighty -08. I use WLRM, but only because they were plentiful back when I started reloading.





P

 

[NMRN]

How did the groups do after filing the stock out? My gun was shooting 1.5 groups at 100 yards at first. 6.5 CM. Discovered that the forearm was touching the barrel in a couple spots. Filed it down and it went down to 3/4" groups.

It was actually a little worse. I was concerned I didn’t get the recoil lug seated properly so I pulled it out again. Haven’t shot it since. I’ll be shooting Monday if the winds settle down.