Member JackEllis490
MemberForum Replies Created
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I don't own that caliber or model so these are shots in the dark.
Are you sure it's the rifle and not the shooter? I have had that problem in the past. How large are your groups at 200 yards? If you're hunting, 3″ is all you need to kill the game you'd be shooting at that distance. If you're competing, different story.
I hand load for a Tikka in .223 and another one in .243. My groups run around 1 to 1-1/4 inch. The .223 doesn't like Aguila's .223 made with once-fired cases and there was one other type that it shot badly. How many different rounds have you tried in that rifle? How are the groups at 100 yards?
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I had this problem with PPU ammo in .243. Apparently Tikka chambers are cut pretty tight and I believe PPU uses once-fired cases for their budget ammunition.
There's really nothing you can do. I've had the same problem with once-fired .243 cases bought from a reputable dealer and .223 range pickup. I have to full length resize any cases I want to use in my Tikkas when I reload.
Do NOT try to force the bolt closed. See if the ammo vendor will take it back. SG Ammo did this for me.
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I was halfway through trying to develop a load for my .30-06 with H4350 (and learning about reloading at the same time) when I couldn't find any more locally or on line at something resembling a reasonable price. Oh well, IMR4064 did the job and I can use the same powder for my .243.
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Another anecdote with a different .30-06 and different components. Bullet is Hornady 150 GMX, powder is IMR4064, brass is Remington once-fired, primers are CCI Large Rifle. Hornady tests with essentially the same rifle as mine but they use Hornady or Frontier cases and Winchester Large rifle primers.
Hornady says you can load to 55.6 grains and expect 3,000 FPS. I got 3,000 FPS with 52 grains. At 55 grains, which their load data says is acceptable in THEIR tests, my primers were flattened and cratered. In fact, I finally settled on 52 grains and still get a bit of flattening and cratering.
Even with monolithic (copper) bullets, which have to go fast in order to open, I'll take accuracy over speed any day. I stick to shots less than about 200 yards, so even a 200-300 FPS MV loss is acceptable so long as the load is accurate.
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I've killed caribou, kudu, oryx, zebra and wildebeest with Remington Core-Lokts out of a Winchester .30-06. All are either big (kudu and oryx) or tough (zebra and wildebeest). *I'd* probably use a heavier bullet for moose and elk if I was hunting them, but for everything else 150 grain Core-Lokts have been fine. My good friend and hunting partner uses Core-Lokts in his .300 win mag and swears by them.
Another option most people will not consider but I have to is using monolithic (copper) bullets. The Barnes TTSX appears to be an excellent performer and you don't have to worry about lead particles in your meat. I live in California and will be switching over to copper shortly, though I'm going to give the Hornady GMX a try.
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Depends on what you plan to do with it. A .243 would not be adequate for most of the larger plains game in Africa or elk, moose, mule deer and bear in the US. For lighter game, it's fine. I have one for coyotes and I'd use it on similarly sized predators anywhere.
For target shooting, probably depends on the distance but it's not much smaller than the 6.5 that's becoming very popular.
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Some of the reasons I purchased the t3 lite the trigger was good, the stock was rigid,the action smooth,and an accurate barrel.I could have got another 700 rem and replaced the trigger and stock as usual butt that doubles the price right away doesn't make sense anymore.The only change on the tikka was a limbsaver recoil pad.They are good to go out of the box.
My thinking as well. I have a T3 Lite in .223 and a T3 Lite in .243. Both shot one inch groups at 100 yards out of the box and I am not a benchrest shooter by any stretch of the imagination. Mine are for hunting so 1 inch is plenty good and I've been able to shrink that a bit with hand loads.
I realize 1″ might not be nearly good enough if you're a competitive shooter.
I also have a Winchester 670 in .30-06 that I was about to get rid of because it didn't group well. After fitting it with a recoil pad and a better trigger (apparently the originals have a reputation for being stiff), and them making sure the barrel is CLEAN, I can shoot 2″ groups from a portable rest (tripod or sticks). A dirty barrel will really mess you up.
The moral of the story for me was, adding recoil pads and fixing stiff triggers are worth doing. If the rifle still doesn't shoot well, eliminate every other variable before messing with stock, action or barrel.
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I bench shoot and I shoot 1/2″ groups at 200 yrds. I just want to dress up my rifle
In THAT case…
It's not a waste of money if you want to dress up your rifle and you can afford it. Just like it's not a waste of money to own rifles because you want them without necessarily planning to shoot them. I wasn't trying to be a jerk and I probably shouldn't have rambled on as much as I did.
I'm also quite envious because I don't think I can shoot my .223 as well as you shoot yours.
If you decide to replace the stock, post pics.
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You will have to play with setting depth…But this is what I normally do for my 223…
That pretty much did the trick for varmint rounds. With 50 grain VMAX projectiles over 28 grains of Win 748 and an OAL of 2.265, 4 of 5 shots were touching and the fifth shot was displaced vertically by about 3/4 inch. For the group of 4 that were touching, the vertical spread was 3/16 inch. They're going squirrel shooting this weekend.
Changing seating depth didn't help a lot with the FMJs, but by the time I got around to testing those batches, a slight breeze had come up. Still, the groups were just over an inch.
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Why do you want to change out the factory stock? Is your objective one hole groups or something close to that goal? What distances do you shoot? Are you planning to compete? I think some more information would help others provide useful advice.
All of my shooting and reloading is centered on hunting. If I can get one inch groups out of my .223 and .243 (both Tikkas), I'm happy. I'm planning to experiment with different combinations of bullets, powders and seating depths to see if I can improve things, but right now the shooter (that's me) is the weak point in the rifle system.
If you want a challenge, try shooting from sticks (not a bipod) or a tripod that's not fixed to your rifle from standing, sitting and kneeling positions. If your range allows it, use small gongs instead of paper targets. Spray paint the gong and bullet strikes will be obvious.
I'm probably an outlier because as I learned very painfully with a .30-06 (not a Tikka), I could spend a lot of money on things like a new barrel, a new stock, a new trigger, having a gunsmith look it over, and other aftermarket improvements but at the end of the day the shooter is pretty important. That and a clean barrel. The '06 I could barely get to hit an 8″ target at 100 yards with factory ammunition from a bench now puts rounds in a 1.5″ group from a Vanguard T62 tripod. The only aftermarket improvements are a better trigger (gunsmith told me the originals were notorious for being stiff) and a recoil pad. The ammunition is Wolf's steel-based cheap stuff.
My short answer is, right now you'd be wasting your money unless you want to change the appearance of the rifle.
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Thanks for that advice. I have a Hornady headspace gauge but I've found it's very difficult to get accurate, consistent measurements.
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I load so they just fit the factory mag…another sub moa load for my rifles…
With 55 grain VMAX and 748, 24.5 grains was actually slightly better than 26 but I loaded them at 2.25. Your results suggest it might be better to load them a little longer. Sounds like the same holds true for the Hornady FMJs.
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I've run into problems with used brass that hasn't been full-length sized in two different relatively recent Tikka T3s. My .243 wouldn't chamber any of 200 rounds of Prvi Partizan .243 made with once-fired cases. It wouldn't chamber Remington brass that had been fired once. My .223 won't chamber one in three Aquila .223 FMJ rounds, which are also made with once-fired cases.
That's one data point. I'd be interested in hearing what others have to say.
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I have no experience with copper rounds although I plan to start using them this fall with mule deer. Everything I've read suggests they are better than lead if you're within about 300 yards. Too far and they'll be too slow to open up properly. You can use a lighter weight bullet (150 grain ought to be GTG for elk) for a slightly flatter trajectory and you get the lead out of your diet to boot. YMMV.
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That's basic reloading practice , if it's been fire formed in another rifle to resize the brass
True, but lots of newbies like me will buy factory ammunition without thinking about whether the cases it was made from are new or used, and they will expect the stuff to work.
The story about the .243 cases is sad and stupid in more ways than one.
