New Rifle - Tikka T3 Hunter Stainless Fluted .243

[Sam45]

Good choice on the .308 mate... Can't go wrong.. Next rifle get yourself a tikka 22-250.. Perfect pairing of two different calibres.. 250 for bunnies, foxes and roos. 308 for anything bigger and you can use the magazine from each gun on the other one as a backup...(of course you won't mix em up though lol)

Cheers mate, I was talking to my mate last night and he said exactly the same thing. He has a 22-250 and loves it. Looks like i will have to put in another PTA Yes i thought the .308 would give me the top end for Pigs, goats and the like. I hope i don't mix em up.

[Streamline]

Cheers mate, I was talking to my mate last night and he said exactly the same thing. He has a 22-250 and loves it. Looks like i will have to put in another PTA Yes i thought the .308 would give me the top end for Pigs, goats and the like. I hope i don't mix em up.

The guns or the pigs and goats?

You definitely don't want to chamber and in correct round in any rifle. .308 and 22-250 and cartridges are completely different though, you couldn't mistake one for the other looking at them.

The cartridge name is printed on the rifle as well if you ever really get lost. (not that you would).

[Sam45]

Cheers mate, I was talking to my mate last night and he said exactly the same thing. He has a 22-250 and loves it. Looks like i will have to put in another PTA Yes i thought the .308 would give me the top end for Pigs, goats and the like. I hope i don't mix em up.

The guns or the pigs and goats?

You definitely don't want to chamber and in correct round in any rifle. .308 and 22-250 and cartridges are completely different though, you couldn't mistake one for the other looking at them.

The cartridge name is printed on the rifle as well if you ever really get lost. (not that you would).

22-250 is one fat round, no mistaking it for a .308. or vice-versa If i did, i should give it up.

[deye243]

and if you think a 243 is loud just wait till you let a 250 rip it is a lot sharper

[Lorgar]

22-250 is one fat round, no mistaking it for a .308. or vice-versa If i did, i should give it up.

I have to be careful with mine.

I have a .308 backup which was once my primary rifle. Now I use my 7mm and I resized all my .308 brass to .284 for it.

So the base of all my 7mm ammo is stamped .308 Winchester and the different in projectile width is 0.024" so it's not really visible to the eye

I'm just glad the Nosler BTs come with colour coded tips

[Sam45]

22-250 is one fat round, no mistaking it for a .308. or vice-versa If i did, i should give it up.

I have to be careful with mine.

I have a .308 backup which was once my primary rifle. Now I use my 7mm and I resized all my .308 brass to .284 for it.

So the base of all my 7mm ammo is stamped .308 Winchester and the different in projectile width is 0.024" so it's not really visible to the eye

I'm just glad the Nosler BTs come with colour coded tips

Darn that would not be good

Well here she is! Picked it up today

New Tikka.jpg (125.94 KiB) Viewed 6430 times

[Boatman]

She looks real perty like

[wade06]

My Tikka T3 Lite Stainless 243 should be here later next week.

I will be buying factory ammo as I don't shoot a centrefire enough to justify reloading.... will keep the shells just in case.
Obviously the ideal way to get the best factory ammo is to but a box of everything and test it but I wouldn't mind a starting point.

What 243 projectile weight and type do you like best for hunting?
I will be mostly be shooting foxes, wild dogs and smaller deer. Searching the web, a lot of people are getting best results using 75-85gr in the T3.

I will probably start with two types of ammo and stick with the best one if it shoots well enough. Thanks

[RoginaJack]

I 1st put PPU ammo through my Tikka 243w Lite to run it in at the range and got Gold Coast Reloads to reload them with 75gr. Speer H.P. for feral dogs - the 95gr were too severe on 'em. Keep these for Fallow deer or try the100gr. The 95gr/100gr should handle goats and pigs with well placed shots.

Good hunting.

[wade06]

Thanks Rogina. I didn't actually realise that companies did reloads. Might give them a try if postage isn't too difficult. $30 per 20 is pretty good.
I'm probably leaning towards something like an 85gr BTSP to cover everything from foxes up to small deer.

Still interested if anyone else has factory 243 ammo that works well.

[RoginaJack]

No problems and I feel reasonably confident that the 85Gr. will handle foxes OK. The Speer 75Gr. HPs just about turn 'em inside out.
Cheers

[wade06]

Ideally I would have a 58gr round for foxes/dogs and a 100gr round for deer/small pigs... will see what happens

[wade06]

I 1st put PPU ammo through my Tikka 243w Lite to run it in at the range and got Gold Coast Reloads to reload them with 75gr. Speer H.P. for feral dogs - the 95gr were too severe on 'em. Keep these for Fallow deer or try the 100gr. The 95gr/100gr should handle goats and pigs with well placed shots.

Good hunting.

Gold Coast Reloads looked pretty good. Reloaded 243 rounds were about $30 per 20 + postage. Certainly no dearer than cheaper factory ammo.
I sent an email and didn't hear back. Called GCR and told them what I was after, they said they would email me postage costs & details... never heard back.

Going to start with factory ammo instead. 243 Tikka 90gr soft points are about $100 per 50. Will see how they go on deer and foxes and go from there.
Will keep the empty cases just in case I do reload. The gun comes with 243 dies.

[bigfellascott]

I did a trigger mod to mine today, I went to the local fastener place and bought a grub screw slightly shorter than the 10mm one that is standard on them and I honed that down (Hex head end) until it was around 7mm I guess (didn't measure it) but the slot for the allenkey was gone put it that way, then screwed it in until it just cleared the screw that mounts the trigger to the action, then I reinstalled the trigger to the action and tested and it worked a treat, I tested the pull weight using my pan tensioner tester and it was breaking around 1.5lb consistently so that will do nicely (feel slightly lighter than the max I could get out of it standard @ around 2lb) I was going to order a YoDave spring kit for it but no need now.

I also did a heap of diff bump tests including banging the stock on the floor, pushing hard on the bolt shroud, banging the action and slamming he bolt home fast/hard and also tested the safety (not that I use those) anyway all good, I'll give it a test in the field and go from there if it needs any adjustments but pretty sure it will be fine.

[wade06]