Why does my tikka Suck?

[Ffjmoore]

I bought a used tikka 7mm rem mag. Supposedly 40 rnd fired. I shoot some Barnes 139, 150 and 160 and was not impressed. nothing really close to MOA. So a did some load development with Barnes 145gr and still nothing good. Best i could get was good vertical dispersion but bad horizontal.


I took it apart removed the pressure point at the front of the stock and put it back together torqued to 45 in/lbs. Went and shot 3 round groups letting the rifle cool between each string. Still garbage shooting.


Im not sure where to go from here. I was going to hunt with it and then re barrel later to possibly 6.5 PRC but I may end up doing that sooner if I cant get the thing to shoot.

To me the variables are the copper bullets, the stock/recoil lug or the barrel. Thoughts?

 

[sdupontjr]

Any thought to scope issues? Something loose?

 

[nobody]

The top photo leads me to believe that the rifle actually shoots EXTREMELY well with that load, given the fact that there's virtually no vertical stringing, besides shot #5. There are two potential causes for the "wide" groups, in my mind.

#1, the spaghetti noodle barrel starts to string shots. There is really a high potential that this is the case. Tikka guarantees sub-moa 3 shot groups with good ammo, and outside that, the barrel heats up and starts to string and throw shots. I have a buddy that gets about MOA with 3 shots from his Tikka, then shot 4 is 1.25 MOA, shot 5 is 2 MOA, and so on. A hot cartridge like the 7mm rem mag burning lots of powder may just be heating up the barrel incredibly fast. Did you try waiting extended period of time between shots, like 5 to 10 minutes?

#2, the rifle is so light you may be flinching from the recoil. Nobody likes to admit when they're recoil sensitive, but I flinched until I was 24 and got my creedmoor and taught myself to shoot without any recoil. A Tikka is a light rifle, and even in mild cartridges it can kick alot harder than we realize. Are you torqueing the gun in anticipation of the punch? Is the trigger too heavy?

I will say, removing the "pressure point" in front of the chamber may have been a mistake. Tikka designed these guns to be shot with the pressure point, because the barrels are so thin, so you may have potentially done more harm than good by removing the pressure point. Someone else will probably know better than me, but those are my thoughts...

 

[BAKPAKR]

I have had a couple rifles that did not seem to like Barnes bullets. I would try another brand before I gave up on my the rifle. If you live in a state where you have to use mono bullets, you might try Hammers. If you don’t have that restriction, try Nosler Accubonds or Bergers.

 

[Outdoorsman12b]

My tikkas hate copper bullets. All three I have owned spray them like a handgun. One round that shot bughole for me with my tikka 7 mag was the 139 American Whitetail. I just bought it to get my scope on paper and rough zero but maybe worth a shot on the cheap. Another factory round that shoots amazing out of same rifle is federal tbt 160gr. I would try a few lead rounds out first.

 

[5MilesBack]

Sometimes it takes some work to figure out what a rifle likes. Weight of bullet......type of bullet.....both can have a profound effect on grouping.

 

[Ffjmoore]

Scope is torqued correctly and shows no signs of moving after that many shots.

Don't think it's barrel heating up. I shot video of the groups and they don't start small and then get bigger as the barrel heats up in the group.

As for recoil, that was my first thought as this gun was no fun to shoot! So I bought a recoil shoulder pad and I can shoot it now without flinching just fine.

I have ordered a new recoil lug.

 

[Ffjmoore]

I'll try a box of lead bullets I guess. I live in California so we have to be lead free but if I'm hunting something that needs a 7mag I probably will be out of state. It's worth a try. Thanks

 

[J Dubaya]

I have shot the Federal Fusion ammo from my Tikka and shoots lights out. Recently made a change to a copper bullet and it opened my groups up considerably. One thing for sure is after 4-5 rounds the barrel starts to heat up and then it would open my groups up as well. Am now shooting the Terminal Ascent bullets and so far so good, long as I dont shoot more then 5 and then let it cool down, I am good. (Using the T3x Superlite)

 

[Ryan Avery]

I also had a TIkka 7RM that would not shoot. I came to the conclusion that God hates 7mm.

HAHA! Sorry, that's not much help. To be honest I also had a Tikka 300 WSM that would not shoot under 2" with LOTS of different reloads, scopes and shooters. Sometimes you just get a crap barrel.

 

[mt100gr.]

I'd recommend a lot of dry fire practice and getting really comfortable with the trigger. I have a Tikka 7mmRM that I initially felt the same way about.

I knew that thing was going to thump me with every shot and the recoil/blast anticipation showed in my shooting. It took me a lot of burned powder to get comfortable behind the rifle. Mine is very accurate with the 168gr bergers - both the classic hunters and VLDs.

Shoot it often and get the barrel dirty - mine also shoots better with a fouled bore.

 

[Rob5589]

Try the TTSX. The Tikka twist rate is slow for heavy long monos. Even the 139 LRX shows marginal on the Berger calculator.

My 7RM shoots a straight from Barnes load 5 rounds into 3/4" @ 100 yds. I use a Barnes load in my daughters 7/08 with the 120 and get the same results.

Curious what your load combo is.

I'm also in CA so I feel your pain.

 

[CorbLand]

I have a 7mag as well. I am not an excellent shot by any means so take this all with that in mind.

Mine likes the Hornady Interlocks 139gr and the 162 ELDX but the best I can get out of them is 1.25 inch at 100. The weird thing about mine is that it will also shoot a 1.25 inch group at 200 yards. I know there is absolutely no validity in the "sometimes it takes a bullet time to settle" but try shooting out a little farther and see what it does. For me, it gave me confidence in the gun when I saw it doing that and told me that its probably me doing something wrong.

I will start building a load for it this winter and see if I can get it better than what its currently shooting. Keep us updated with what you find. I am hoping to use the ABLR or ELDX out of mine.

 

[Bubblehide]

Let me know when you are ready to part with it.

My Tikka 300wsm loves etips.

 

[Spoonman]

I had the same issue with a 7mm tikka t3x. I put a number of different rounds through it and it never shit better than 1.5 moa. Tried everything from light to heavy bullets and also different brands. It shot 2moa most of the time. I ended up getting a Browning xbolt pro and it’s sub moa all day.

 

[Deerfield]

My 7 mag Tikka likes the Federal 160 partitions and the 162 ELDX. The ELDX is sub MOA and the Partitions are quite a bit under that. I have not tried any monometals out of it so I can’t offer any insight on them but maybe give one of the other two a shot and see if that helps any.

 

[peterk123]

Another reason to reload

You just tweak and tweak until you get your desired results.

 

[mooretitan]

The one thing I would try if you have the components is to try a know powder and bullet that typical shoots well in a 7mag. Not saying that it will always work but thats one thing I do if I am having a hard time getting copper to group. If you can get a berger or accubond to group then at least you know its the bullet/powder combo and not the scope/gun combo. Copper is hard to reload but given enough time you can get them to group. I shoot copper in 4-5 different rifles and they all group under MOA same with friends. But it takes work

 

[Wapiti1]

I scrolled through all of the threads on here about Tikka and came to the conclusion that you should sell that rifle and use the proceeds to take up crochet. It's impossible for a Tikka to shoot poorly, both mathematically and spiritually. Then again..........

Or, you should start a process of elimination. Scope, mount, bedding, ammo. I'll state that some rifles never shoot well. I've fixed more than a few that suffered from this issue. Most were re-barrelled. Oddly enough, all of these, as I think about it, were purchased USED. Hmmmm.

Jeremy

 

[accurat]

I'd second the recommendation on the Barnes TTSX. The 150g Barnes factory fodder is very consistent out of my rifle and is my go-to hunting load.