Tikka upgrades?

[in2anity]

Yeah there’s not a whole lot you can do about a crappy barrel is there. The new remis are overrated. Meanwhile Ruger centerfire barrels punch above their weight IMO.

[TassieTiger]

I - like I guess many ppl - immediately look to barrel issues when a gun is not consistent but I ve learned a lot, on here, clubs, etc - it seems to be a pretty rare thing these days, when diving down the burrow, to find that the modern barrel is responsible.
And it does have to be said / some tikkas have their issues. BIg fella scot on here can’t get his to group and lost confidence. A friend who owns a lot of tikkas has a 300 that would shoot an inch is now struggling with it...

[Bill]

You should post up the images you saw Tassie tiger

I'm sure the everyone would appreciate it.

I use an old skool German made hysteroscope for looking down barrels, certainly shows who bothers to finish a barrel well.

[gunnnie]

Will be picking up a new T3x 6.5x55 Varmint SS in a few weeks. Have never owned a Tikka before, mainly as I'm not a fan of the hype behind certain brands, ie Remington, Sako etc.
Anyway, main reason for buying this rifle was the chambering & barrel length. Cost wise it was cheaper than buying a donor action and fitting a 26" bbl. This rifle is a new rifle but sold as 2nd hand unfired & $500 cheaper than the pre price hike price. I'm keen to see what the trigger is like but certainly interested in a trigger spring kit as for this type of rifle I'd prefer a 1-1.5lb trigger.

[TassieTiger]

You should post up the images you saw Tassie tiger

I'm sure the everyone would appreciate it.

I use an old skool German made hysteroscope for looking down barrels, certainly shows who bothers to finish a barrel well.

I didn’t take stills Bill but it’s not a bad idea to show the difference in bores - I might see if I can get some time later tonight or tomorrow to showcase, it’s pretty remarkable.

Managed to get the tikka 260 out today for a few sight in shots with my new z5 scope. Was shooting into the bloody sun - even swarvo was making it hard. This was just on 200 yards, 120gn bt noslers, 48gns of 2209 pushing over 3000fps. Didn’t have a proper rest which might account for some shots (key excuses here!)
The red dot is 15mm across for reference.

[rossfrb]

Will be picking up a new T3x 6.5x55 Varmint SS in a few weeks. Have never owned a Tikka before, mainly as I'm not a fan of the hype behind certain brands, ie Remington, Sako etc.
Anyway, main reason for buying this rifle was the chambering & barrel length. Cost wise it was cheaper than buying a donor action and fitting a 26" bbl. This rifle is a new rifle but sold as 2nd hand unfired & $500 cheaper than the pre price hike price. I'm keen to see what the trigger is like but certainly interested in a trigger spring kit as for this type of rifle I'd prefer a 1-1.5lb trigger.

Give the trigger as it comes, a try first.
The trigger on my T3x 6.5x55 Varmint SS was so schmick out of the box the gun smith who was bedding it into a boyds stock for me asked me what I'd done to it.

[gunnnie]

Will do mate. Wont hurt to see what it's like eh!
I'm happy to stick with the factory stock as is. Once I've spent some time with it I may consider a chassis system for LR work. But that's ways down the track.

[tomtom889]

Hi!

As a person that hunts with a Tikka chambered in .338 Win Mag, I find a small upgrade to the bolt can actually improve the safety of the firearm. The safety switch on the Tikka only allows you to engage it with the bolt fully forwards and locked down, this also prevents you from moving the bolt. sure you can argue that you don't have a round chambered and that you "know" it won't go off because there isn't a round chambered and the safety is on. But just for piece of mind I had my smith drill an extra hole in my bolt so that the safety can be flicked on with the bolt fully forward but not locked down and in battery, this also locks the bolt in place... pictures attached to show!

Edit: Another bonus is you don't need to leave your bolt open and you can prevent dirt and grit getting into the chamber!

[TassieTiger]

That’s pretty darn cool and showing initiative Tom. Does dirt / dust get into the hole in bolt ? Is it weakened as a result?

[tomtom889]

That’s pretty darn cool and showing initiative Tom. Does dirt / dust get into the hole in bolt ? Is it weakened as a result?

Hey Tassie, so far it seems like there's no drawbacks to this, dust and dirt might get into the hole but it can be easily cleaned out as the firing pin assembly on the inside is tight enough so that dirt can't get further than the holes that you can see in the bolt. as war as weakening is concerned I'd assume it's just like the other hole in the bolt the rifle initially comes with and any weakening that may occur would be negligible.

[SCJ429]

Nice bolt fluting.

[JimTom]

Mate did you end up bedding your T3X? Thinking of doing mine however it will be a new experience for me.

[RoginaJack]

This is an early 5 shot group shot over 100yds at Belmont. - Rifle 243 Tikka lite with a 4-12x44 Vortex Scope in Tikka mounts. I've got no complaints.
PS. polled the 5th shot, got a bit excited.

shoot.01a.jpg (371.64 KiB) Viewed 3875 times

[JimTom]

Nice group mate

[marksman]

Nice group mate

+1
still a head shot though

[in2anity]

Best factory barrel

[RoginaJack]

Thanks, Yep rifle is "as issued"...

[BigB1]

This is an early 5 shot group shot over 100yds at Belmont. - Rifle 243 Tikka lite with a 4-12x44 Vortex Scope in Tikka mounts. I've got no complaints.
PS. polled the 5th shot, got a bit excited.

shoot.01a.jpg

Same model and 243 calibre that I'm looking at for my first rifle. Which Vortex did you get? Copperhead or Crossfire II?

[Am88]

I had 4 in the past, .308, .243, a .223 and .222 Varmint. all shot great, really great, I don't know what it was a bout them, but they were all just....... so boring to shoot, they shot well don't get me wrong. But nothing about them ever excited me, the the triggers are great, can put a spring kit in and they come up nice. I upgraded the bottom metal on 2 of them to Ally ones instead of plastic. That's what got me in the end, plastic pieces. I hate plastic but that's just me.

[in2anity]

The medium and heavy contour tikka barrels are bloody consistent. Outside of fully supported shooting, out of the box, they will far outshoot all but the very best. Jeeze you blokes are fickle in upgrading the Tikka triggers though - try shooting as-issued Service Rifle! - then you'll appreciate the factory Tikka trigger! jokes to each their own

[RoginaJack]

BigB1 - Crossfire II, BDC reticle, plus lifetime warranty . Nothing fancy but does the job.