Tikka T3 Bolt hard to close

[rsj223]

First shots through my Tikka .308 stainless felt great until I was going through the different ammo's to find what shot best and had a problem closing the bolt.
It happened with Federal and PPU and only 1 out of 3 that was shot, the bolt would only go 3/4 down I asked the RO's and they said the Tikka has tight tolerance and dont like the cheap stuff.
What you thought s please.

[RoginaJack]

I've put Federal and PPU through my .243win, T3 and no problems, other than a bit dirty bore. Compare a few measurements against some Remington/Winchester etc 308 rounds - Q/L length, diameter, length to shoulder, neck etc. Very Interesting?

[Browning]

Exact thing happened on my BLR and also my mates Tikka T3... Guess what ammo it was.... PPU....
Guess what ammo neither of us use when using factory... PPU....
Just steer clear of it mate...

[rsj223]

Exact thing happened on my BLR and also my mates Tikka T3... Guess what ammo it was.... PPU....
Guess what ammo neither of us use when using factory... PPU....
Just steer clear of it mate...

And the federal?

[RoginaJack]

Good point, and the Federal?

t243p.jpg (317.76 KiB) Viewed 5239 times

1st 5 shots with PPU 243w at 100yds. 90g SP (it's the group at 4 o'clock..)

[juststarting]

First shots through my Tikka .308 stainless felt great until I was going through the different ammo's to find what shot best and had a problem closing the bolt.
It happened with Federal and PPU and only 1 out of 3 that was shot, the bolt would only go 3/4 down I asked the RO's and they said the Tikka has tight tolerance and dont like the cheap stuff.
What you thought s please.

I have a .308 CTR, it shoots anything I feed it, and I went through bunch of brands, including PPU.

[Kai]

Couldnt close the bolt on my howa 1500 308 on PPU, free packet when I bought the gun, I guess the only way to get rid of it is give the stuff away.

[rsj223]

Thats about right can't find my vernier found its case but, off to buy a new on on the weekend and post up what I find out.

[MalleeFarmer]

My Howa was hard to close on PPU but not ridiculous. Shot Well though. As good as anything else roughly MOA but stopped buying it. Reloads are much better.

[rsj223]

Just an update, took it to the shop where they removed the firing pin and ran a few rounds through it and all seemed fine I did also try one of the rounds that was tight and it was ok so maybe I need to harden up and push it a bit harder.
Next time out will see how it likes it or not.

[dogmatix]

PPU - ie Privi Partisan or the NNY headstamped Highland brand (both made at same factory, NNY is Cyrillic for PPU) are well known for this, its the headspace which seems to be the issue.
Once fired, I find PPU/NNY brass to be good for reloading.

[rsj223]

So if I was to get into reloading and full resized any brass would I still get this issue?

[dogmatix]

Nope. As you would have set up your F/L dies correctly to bump the shoulder back the correct amount, ie not too much and just enough to close the bolt.
I get my best results in my .308 with PPU brass. Better than when I used Lapua!

[Sydor]

My friend had similar issue in his T3 308. Had to push bolt down harder.
I have t3 in 223 and shoot PPU - no problem with bolt closing. Good brass for reloading.

[WayneO]

Just an update, took it to the shop where they removed the firing pin and ran a few rounds through it and all seemed fine I did also try one of the rounds that was tight and it was ok so maybe I need to harden up and push it a bit harder.
Next time out will see how it likes it or not.

As they used to tell us in Bisley, a rifle is not your girlfriend, you are allowed to use force when playing with your rifle

[Supaduke]

Just an update, took it to the shop where they removed the firing pin and ran a few rounds through it and all seemed fine I did also try one of the rounds that was tight and it was ok so maybe I need to harden up and push it a bit harder.
Next time out will see how it likes it or not.

As they used to tell us in Bisley, a rifle is not your girlfriend, you are allowed to use force when playing with your rifle

One large cup of cement please.....

[rsj223]

I got myself some of these to get into before the next shoot

[Supaduke]

Ha, made me laugh

[Mich]

So if I was to get into reloading and full resized any brass would I still get this issue?

That's what reloading is all about, making ammo for your rifle.

Full sizing would solve it.