Tikka t1x rimfire

[ClaytonT88]

So I got the chance today to go down the range with a bloke who knows his way around rifles in a big way. He's a mate from work and really loves the sport of rifle shooting, has a few state titles in F-Class and is a fairly handy gunsmith himself. He gave me a nudge on Friday to give him a buzz Monday if I was around and had time to give the rifle a clean, sight it in and put some lead down range. He had a look with his bore scope and said the barrel on this T1X is pretty bloody close to a custom match barrel in quality and very impressive for a sub-$1000 rimfire rifle. He expected it to shoot well.
We probably shot close to 250 rounds in 10 shot groups and even thought the wind was a fairly gusty right to left around 10-12km/h we still have some pretty pleasing results with the little Tikka T1X in 100% standard configuration.
Complete with Shoehorn, un-adjusted trigger and standard bedding etc. we just nipped up the action screws by hand, fitted the scope at the right orientation (I had it 90 degrees out), bore sighted in the backyard and away we went.

We shot mostly off a rear bag and a front Caldwell height adjustable rest which was sitting behind the front sling stud. A few groups were off the bipod but they weren't as nice, we think the stock flexes quite a bit and was causing a bit of an effect. We also shot from the prone position at around 55 paces for all groups.

The range of ammo we had is in a post above.

Started with the 400pack of Winchester Super X. Hit the paper, did a tweak on the scope and went from there. We weren't trying to get a zero/point of aim just test a few types of ammo and see what it likes, this isn't too bad. The first group was the best out of the 4 to shot rounds with this ammo. I've got a box of....360 left so plenty of plinking to be had with this.

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Next was the CCI Standard, shot 5 groups of this one and they're all about the same, very good considering the conditions from a 22 with less than 100 shots down the barrel. The coach was very impressed at this stage. I pulled the bottom two shots of the best group which was disappointing

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Up next were the CCI Segmented HP Subsonics - I was hoping this would group as well or close to the CCI Standard as this is what I was hoping to use if I went rabbit shooting. These had a funny knack of dropping the first one a little short and then the rest of the group being fairly consistent. No other ammo seemed to do this.

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After these 2 groups we chucked on the bipod to see if it was any better or worse.

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SK Standard Plus was the standout of the day. 12mm 10-shot group even with the conditions. Do SK do a hunting ammo?! Pretty happy with this group in the conditions we had, the coach was chuckling to himself as the last 5 shots all went in the same hole.

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CCI Velocitor was next up, we tried it on the bag first

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Then the bipod - probably my go to hunting ammo at this stage...

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We had some power points too which were okayish but the velocitors slightly out performed them.

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All in all, an absolute ripper day apart from the wind, the back of my knees are sunburnt to buggery so I've learnt that lesson for next time. Hoping for a calmer day in the near future and we're looking at setting up a little rimfire range a bit closer to home so we can have a bit more of a play. The stock didn't feel too horrible in the prone position but with the bipod opening up the groups there is some definite fore end flex there. I've taken the shoe horn out of the stock when I cleaned it before putting it away and I'll get some lower mounts for the scop as well which should improve my cheek weld as I daresay the groups would have been tighter with less wiggling of my head on my part.

Cheers!

[solarpak]

Anything from SK or Eley in standard velocity shoot very well.
I have been testing the new Eley EDGE, Eley Standard Bulk Pak, and a few of the new SK's through my Weihrauch HW66 and CZ452 - 2E ZKM - all shoot very well indeed - 10 shot groups at 50 m all under 30mm!

The Tikka T1x is certainly a lovely rifle - but with its retail price around the $900 mark it competes head -on with the tried and trusted CZ models .

Personally i would invest a a bit more $$ and go for an Anschutz or Weihrauch in the 22LR .......but thats just me.
CK

[ClaytonT88]

I agree that it competes with the CZ price wise but I like the features it has. Footprint of its centrefire cousin. 10 shot mag that isn't too protrusive. Short bolt lift. Semi target barrel.

For $850 I think the features were pretty good. I'm very happy with it after today. I look forward to shooting it for many years to come.

[solarpak]

Great to hear your happy with it - thats all that counts!!

CK

[ClaytonT88]

Since the last time out I've removed the barrel bedding block and lightened the trigger a smidge. Being a calmer day we got the POI on the money and shot some groups.

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Another group with SK Standard + @50m. The white circle in the centre of the black ring measures 18mm.

Velocitors shot quite a bit better with the barrel block removed maybe a 1.5" group @50m. Would be good if they shot a bit better. Next up is buy a box of the same lot sk standard + and see how some power points go.

[Mattraff]

Always good fun finding the best round for a .22. I have tried 10 different rounds in my new CZ457 and so far CCI Stingers have been the best with 5 shot groups under 10mm @50m with perfect conditions. All other rounds I tried were fine for hunting but the Stingers really amazed me. CCI subsonic are also a good in all my .22rifles.

[bladeracer]

Always good fun finding the best round for a .22. I have tried 10 different rounds in my new CZ457 and so far CCI Stingers have been the best with 5 shot groups under 10mm @50m with perfect conditions. All other rounds I tried were fine for hunting but the Stingers really amazed me. CCI subsonic are also a good in all my .22rifles.

It's certainly good fun shooting thousands of rounds looking for the best in your rifle, but expensive and time consuming. Just buying one 50rd box of each type of .22LR we can find in Australia will cost over you over $1000, without including any freight. I bought at least 200rds of everything, and some I bought bricks and bulk packs.

That is stunning performance from the Stingers. Is that a consistent group size or just a one-off? Stingers haven't been great for me, generally holding around 10rd 2.5MoA out to 100m on a good day. I might occasionally see a 1.5MoA group, but it's too rare to be considered normal.

CCI Subsonic is pretty decent, but have you tried CCI Standard Velocity yet? It's been consistently the most accurate for me of everything I've tried.

I would also recommend doing another test after you have a thousand or more rounds down the tube, you might find some improvements.

[ClaytonT88]

Impressive results from the stingers, I've been swamped with homework these last couple of weeks but looking at getting out in the next fortnight with some more ammo, some lower scope rings and see what I can manage. I might get a few more hollow point ammos to try including power points and see how they go. My bulk buy box of Winchest Super-X doesn't feed very nicely but they do look like a poorly cast bullet.

[Mattraff]

Always good fun finding the best round for a .22. I have tried 10 different rounds in my new CZ457 and so far CCI Stingers have been the best with 5 shot groups under 10mm @50m with perfect conditions. All other rounds I tried were fine for hunting but the Stingers really amazed me. CCI subsonic are also a good in all my .22rifles.

It's certainly good fun shooting thousands of rounds looking for the best in your rifle, but expensive and time consuming. Just buying one 50rd box of each type of .22LR we can find in Australia will cost over you over $1000, without including any freight. I bought at least 200rds of everything, and some I bought bricks and bulk packs.

That is stunning performance from the Stingers. Is that a consistent group size or just a one-off? Stingers haven't been great for me, generally holding around 10rd 2.5MoA out to 100m on a good day. I might occasionally see a 1.5MoA group, but it's too rare to be considered normal.

CCI Subsonic is pretty decent, but have you tried CCI Standard Velocity yet? It's been consistently the most accurate for me of everything I've tried.

I would also recommend doing another test after you have a thousand or more rounds down the tube, you might find some improvements.

Last trip out l had perfect conditions and shot 4 groups under 10mm with the best at only 7.93mm. I am yet to try any other CCI rounds but gave just bought 100 pack of the new Hornady round.

[TassieTiger]

Thanks for popping up some pics with your accuracy claims Clayton, I’ve read with interest as this rifle and yourself have progressed. It’s Been interesting to see the groups tighten up with more experience/ work / preferred ammo - feels good yeah, to see it all coming together and now that confidence lives on...?! Nice!

[Cooper]

Last trip out l had perfect conditions and shot 4 groups under 10mm with the best at only 7.93mm. I am yet to try any other CCI rounds but gave just bought 100 pack of the new Hornady round.

Who had the the new 22lr Hornady ammo in stock? Wouldn't mind trying some. I just noticed it said you were in Victoria. PM is fine if you want. thanks

[Sawyers]

Last trip out l had perfect conditions and shot 4 groups under 10mm with the best at only 7.93mm. I am yet to try any other CCI rounds but gave just bought 100 pack of the new Hornady round.

Who had the the new 22lr Hornady ammo in stock? Wouldn't mind trying some. I just noticed it said you were in Victoria. PM is fine if you want. thanks

Im pretty sure its just rebranded CCI

[bladeracer]

Last trip out l had perfect conditions and shot 4 groups under 10mm with the best at only 7.93mm. I am yet to try any other CCI rounds but gave just bought 100 pack of the new Hornady round.

Who had the the new 22lr Hornady ammo in stock? Wouldn't mind trying some. I just noticed it said you were in Victoria. PM is fine if you want. thanks

Im pretty sure its just rebranded CCI

I was thinking that myself but I've ordered a brick of each for testing.

[ClaytonT88]

Thanks for popping up some pics with your accuracy claims Clayton, I’ve read with interest as this rifle and yourself have progressed. It’s Been interesting to see the groups tighten up with more experience/ work / preferred ammo - feels good yeah, to see it all coming together and now that confidence lives on...?! Nice!

Thanks Tassie. Yeah it's good to get some shots off. Looking forward to a break in Uni and trying to get some bunnies and cook em up.

[Mattraff]

I bought the Hornady ammo from Gunco at the hunting expo on the weekend, they were $15 per 100. From what I have been reading they are CCI but I don't know. The plastic box is different and they have "22" stamped on the base.

[PCHammond]

CCI Standards are my go to as well. They shoot better than I do.

That being said, my T1X seems not too fussy. The cheapie Highland subsonic ammo even shoots decently.

[ClaytonT88]

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Got some Sportsmatch LT031C rings in the mail yesterday. Much happier with this fitment now. Hopefully I'll get out today and have a play.

[Bill]

looks good Im trying to resist buying a stubby 16inch T1x as i have no 22lr for plinking in the safe

[ClaytonT88]

Why resist? Probably chucked 400 rounds through it yesterday lobbing shots at 100/150 yard targets. A plinking tree and some rocks at various distances practising holdover etc. I can see the appeal of holdover type reticles when doing this sort of thing.

Very fun way to spend an arvo though.

[ClaytonT88]

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I've got a few more types of Ammunition to try. I'm glad my local has the RWS as I've been after this for a while. The s+b looks of similar quality but won't know until I shoot them all.

Hopefully I can find an accurate HV HP out of this lot and the the Mini Mags I have coming...

[ClaytonT88]

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Got some more goodies on the weekend!
Got out for a little session with the wifey poo sussing out some of the HV HP varieties. It was a bit too windy to get any proper results but it looks like the RWS and Power Points may end up shooting equally well.

I'll have to get out on another nice day and have a play to do some proper groups. I've got some Mini Mag 36g HP to try aswell.

Thanks to the crew at SARA for their help with the rest and bag. I'm sorted now for quite a while!

[SCJ429]

I shot a T1x today in very windy conditions. Despite the wind the Tikka shot 0.4 at 50 and under an inch at 100. I was using the Eley High Velocity ammo, the black coloured one. Very impressive for a brand new rifle.

[ClaytonT88]

Nice. I'mIll fairly in love with mine for a first rifle. I'm hoping for some free time and a nice day to get back out with mine and finish some Ammo testing. I ended up with a bell and carlson m40 stock for mine as well.

[SCJ429]

Hopefully this cold front has passed through and the wind settles down. I will be interested to see how this T1 shoots in better conditions and with some subsonic ammo like Eley Match. Interested to see what works in your rifle.

[ClaytonT88]

I've done a bit of reporting but so far SK Standard Plus grouped about 14mm on quite a windy day at 50m. I'm hoping to get a scope with parallax adjustment so I can concentrate a bit more on my groups at 50m.

[Stix]

Hey Clayton...
Tou get all that Remington & S&B 22 ammo from the ssme place as rifle...?

[ClaytonT88]

Hey Stix,

Nah, I purchased that bundle from the bloke in Warnertown. He had a pretty good range considering. Mine only liked the RWS from that lot so far but I want to put 3 or 4 10-shot groups of it through before I buy a brick.

[Stix]

Ah ok cheers.
Ill have to pop in & grab some to try....if i ever get up that way...

If you're into subs & haven't tried yet,, give the rws sub hp's a crack too...

[ando967]

G'day all,

Ive just picked up my T1x and had it out on the farm today getting it on paper and playing around with some different ammo types and velocities. I haven't got a photo of it at the moment but I'm impressed, and the father-in-law couldn't believe how well it shot.

What I am wondering is if anyone has anyone has had to adjust the length of pull on it? I have the optics setup nicely and the eye relief is spot on but it isnt sitting firmly into my shoulder when prone, I was thinking some t3x spacers? Any suggestions other than putting it in a KRG Bravo stock which I already want to do hahaha

[Stix]

If the stock doesnt hit your shoulder, then the scope position for ideal eye relief isnt set correctly (edit here--not set for shooting from that position )....&/or, as you say it can be length of pull.

I find ideal eye relief will change significantly depending on shooting position.

So i like to set some of my hunting rifles up with the eye relief at a compromise between prone & seated at a table/bench.

So before you buy spacers you could try that...

Loosen off the scope & sit it where its comfortable for each position & have someone mark/take note of the difference (or carefully do it yourself), then set the scope in between the 2.