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New T3x in 7mm Mag
I just purchased my first Tikka, A stainless lite model in 7mm mag. This is to be used as a lightweight hunting rifle that I will be carrying a fair distance. I went to a Cabela's and my options were .308, 30-06, and 7mm mag. I already have too many .308s so my first choice was the 30-06. Unfortunately they only had one in stock and the barrel was badly off-center in the channel. So much so that it was making contact. I then asked the see the 7mm mag and while it was also off-center, it wasn't too bad and not making contact.
I happen to have a build going on at a gunsmith that will be a Bighorn action in an AICS AX chassis that will also be 7mm Mag so that will work out. That will not be a rifle I carry in the woods though as I expect it to weigh upwards of 20 lbs.
I was wondering what bullets I should try with the Tikka? It's a 9.5 twist so it severely limits my bullet options. I am looking for a high BC hunting bullet so I was thinking the 162 ELD-X, but am not sure if the 1-9.5 twist will stabilize that. Anyone have other bullet suggestions?
Thanks.
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9 Replies
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Guys hand loading have been shooting up to near a 180gr bullets with the same twist…you will have no trouble with a 162gr ELDx…
The Nosler LR AB 175gr (BC-.672) is supposed to be pretty slick out of a factory T3 barrel with the right load.
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Dog is correct, (lol no surprise), do the 7mm mag and work up the loads…
Of course you cannot use the new Berger 195 7mm ( or whatever the new long range 7 is)You need to look at a good bullet company and what will stabilize in your barrel.
Any other questions that we can answer? -
Thanks for the help.
I loaded some rounds with the 162 ELD-X to try out. Shot about MOA 3 shot groups. I will do some fine tuning to see if I can get that down. I'm not expecting to shoot the 195 EOLs, that's what my bighorn with 1-8 twist Bartlein barrel is for.
I wasn't terribly impressed with the mountain tactical rail. With the screws torqued down, the recoil lug didn't actually make contact with the slot in the receiver, I had to bed it.
For carrying up and down the mountains, I think I would prefer left side sling mounts. I use left side QD cups on all my heavy guns and wouldn't mind the same here. Is there a good way to do that on the standard T3x stock?
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Hello, another 7mm Rem mag fan here. I'm not trying to hijack your post or anything and have been following the replies to gain somemore knowledge about the 7mag and any bullet/load combinations. I have a question about another caliber you mentioned. My question is about the “Bighorn” you mentioned, I've never heard of it, would you mind talking about it a little more if you have time please ? Thank You.
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I got the lightweight SS T3X 7mm Rem Mag for an Elk hunting trip as a backup to my 300WM. ( never know what baggage handlers and the TSA can do to a rifle). Unlike the non-X .308 T3 which got me 2 nice whitetail bucks, the X model is free floated and sports a metal bolt shroud. I added only an aftermarket bolt handle.
The rifle was sub-moa out of the box…actually 1/2 moa with factory Burger hunter VLD bullets by HSM. So 168 worked well. I did not have time to try heavier bullets or other brands. Hope this helps. -
I might order some of that HSM and give it a try. Although I'm pretty happy with the performance with 162 ELD-X so far. One issue is that I am at sea level so what stabilizes for some people may not stabilize for me.
The bighorn I'm referring to is a custom action. I am having a custom rifle built using a Bighorn TL3 custom action.
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I forgot, I did have one question. I am not a fan of DBM for a hunting gun. Does anyone make standard BDL bottom metal for tikkas?
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Ok to be clear we are talking about a tikka 7mm mag
With a 9.5 twist
The eldx's are new and we don't have definitive data on them.Look up http://www.ballisticstudies.com/ to get real world performance data on bullets
I think that is link, I'll check and correct soon
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So far the only bullet I've tried is the 162 ELD-x. Accuracy has been mediocre. About 1.5 MOA 3 shot groups with handloads. Factory hornady was closer to 3 MOA.
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