Tikka T1X

[littlepod]

Googling up stuff around firing pin / random flyers, I came across this article --

Got Vertical Flyers? An Ignition Issue Could Be the Culprit « Daily Bulletin

Top to bottom - Remington firing pin assembly with ISS, Tubb SpeedLock alloy-composite system without ISS (current versions have dual, opposite-wound springs), and Remington short action firing pin assembly without ISS. Each Wednesday, the U.S.

bulletin.accurateshooter.com

 

[Eoddave27]

Littlepod, I was about to have the factory barrel pulled off my T1x so I decided to clean it and see what happened. I normally just pull a bore snake through it after I each range session. This time a gave it a pretty good cleaning instead just to see what happened since I knew the barrel was coming off in a few days anyway. I have several thousand rounds through it so I figured it would be a good test. Holy crap! The accuracy went to crap. It went from shooting fantastic tight groups to looking like a shotgun at 100 yards. I put about 75 rounds through it and it was starting to tighten back up a little but nowhere near what I know the rifle is capable of. I think if I ever do remount the factory barrel I may need to go out with a brick of CCI ammo just to get some build up back in the bore again. I have seen a rifles accuracy fall off a little after cleaning but it usually comes right back after a few fouling shots. This was not the case with the tikka. The lesson to me is to stick with my bore snake method and not clean my rimfire. Has anyone else seen this dramatic of change in accuracy after cleaning a T1x?

 

[littlepod]

Littlepod, I was about to have the factory barrel pulled off my T1x so I decided to clean it and see what happened. I normally just pull a bore snake through it after I each range session. This time a gave it a pretty good cleaning instead just to see what happened since I knew the barrel was coming off in a few days anyway. I have several thousand rounds through it so I figured it would be a good test. Holy crap! The accuracy went to crap. It went from shooting fantastic tight groups to looking like a shotgun at 100 yards. I put about 75 rounds through it and it was starting to tighten back up a little but nowhere near what I know the rifle is capable of. I think if I ever do remount the factory barrel I may need to go out with a brick of CCI ammo just to get some build up back in the bore again. I have seen a rifles accuracy fall off a little after cleaning but it usually comes right back after a few fouling shots. This was not the case with the tikka. The lesson to me is to stick with my bore snake method and not clean my rimfire. Has anyone else seen this dramatic of change in accuracy after cleaning a T1x?

A lot of people swear that cleaning the rifle should never hurt the accuracy, but both times I pulled out the bore guide, rod, patch, and CLP to clean the rifle it ended up shooting pretty crappy afterwards. Now it wasn't all my shots, like I'd get 3-4 ones in the same place, but then 1 of the shots would fly randomly high. And it wasn't the 5th shot... I maintained cheek weld, and it would be like shot #2 or 3 that would just be like WTF just happened... It could be that there are "rough" spots in the rifle, and shooting it a thousand rounds fills in those rough spots... so it gets tighter and tighter, and when cleaning it, removes all that smoothing out that happened. I really don't know. I cleaned my bolt too, took a small little pick and removed all the carbon that was around the extractor and firing pin.

The other thing to note, is my first 50 rounds of my known lot of Eley Target, actually shot fine... I shot 5x5 groups and they all were consistently about 1-1.2". The Club/Match showed weird behavior. But I have to say, I've never had a 2" flyer before at 100 yards in the last 2000 rounds, so really no idea. And this time it happened like 4 times.

 

[billmeek]

I have a theory that initial barrel quality may have something to do with cleaning causing accuracy issues. A mass produced barrel may need a lot of fouling rounds though it before hitting the sweet spot. Whereas a custom, hand-lapped barrel may only take a few rounds before reaching it's full potential. Maybe that's why you see the bench rest shooters and Olympians cleaning their 22LR barrels so often. They start off with a high quality barrel in the first place.

 

[Eoddave27]

I’ve always been one of the die hard don’t clean your rimfire guys. This just reinforces that stance. I think a bore snake through it after every outing is enough. When I originally bought my T1x after 400-500 rounds I noticed that my groups tightened up quite a bit. With Eley Edge or Center x it would shoot .75-1 MOA pretty consistently at 100 yards. I would hate to have to put another 500 rounds through it to see that kind of accuracy again.

 

[littlepod]

When you run your boresnake through it, do you put any cleaning agent on the snake?

 

[Eoddave27]

When you run your boresnake through it, do you put any cleaning agent on the snake?

I put a Lille bore cleaner on it and pull it through twice. On the last pull I put some oil on the tail end and it has worked well so far for all my other rimfire rifles.

 

[IntenseImage]

My T1x has been in desperate need of an optic and ive always heard great things about the Ares BTR and Midas Tac ... well the Midway sale kinda sealed the deal. Ares BTR 4.5-27 MIL with Vortex Pro Series low rings inbound. Hopefully I made the right choice here

 

[Eoddave27]

Here is an update on the new Feddedsen 10/22 barrel I was having put on my rifle. For starters the three set screws that lock the barrel on were basically impossible to remove. The one in the front came right out no problem. The other two were not quite so easy. They were in so tight that my smith couldn’t get a wrench that could remove them. After snapping one torx wrench and nearly snapping another he had to just drill them both out to remove them. I checked out my sons rifle and it was the same way. The one up front spun right out. The next one I snapped the wrench of in and it was not a cheap Chinese made wrench. Luckily when I flipped it over I was able to tap it and get the broken piece of the wrench to fall out.

After the set screws came out the barrel came right out. Here he ran into another problem though. The tenon on the 10/22 barrel is 0.05” smaller than the inside of the receiver on the Tikka action so it was basically impossible to do the conversion without cutting the barrel down and rechambering it. I ended up calling Feddersen and ordering a new blank with an unfinished end. My smith will be using that to rebarrel the rifle.

At any rate it sounds like the conversion can’t be done unless you cut the barrel down and cut a new chamber if you want a rifle with any kind of accuracy. I’m not sure how the previous guy in this thread did it but if he did it without cutting the barrel and cutting a new chamber I would like to see some targets shot after.

I will update this again in a few weeks once I get my new barrel and have it mounted. I guess I will get to see just how many rounds it takes to get the rifle to settle back in after cleaning after all if I plan to use my rifle in my upcoming match.

 

[littlepod]

Here is an update on the new Feddedsen 10/22 barrel I was having put on my rifle. For starters the three set screws that lock the barrel on were basically impossible to remove. The one in the front came right out no problem. The other two were not quite so easy. They were in so tight that my smith couldn’t get a wrench that could remove them. After snapping one torx wrench and nearly snapping another he had to just drill them both out to remove them. I checked out my sons rifle and it was the same way. The one up front spun right out. The next one I snapped the wrench of in and it was not a cheap Chinese made wrench. Luckily when I flipped it over I was able to tap it and get the broken piece of the wrench to fall out.

After the set screws came out the barrel came right out. Here he ran into another problem though. The tenon on the 10/22 barrel is 0.05” smaller than the inside of the receiver on the Tikka action so it was basically impossible to do the conversion without cutting the barrel down and rechambering it. I ended up calling Feddersen and ordering a new blank with an unfinished end. My smith will be using that to rebarrel the rifle.

At any rate it sounds like the conversion can’t be done unless you cut the barrel down and cut a new chamber if you want a rifle with any kind of accuracy. I’m not sure how the previous guy in this thread did it but if he did it without cutting the barrel and cutting a new chamber I would like to see some targets shot after.

I will update this again in a few weeks once I get my new barrel and have it mounted. I guess I will get to see just how many rounds it takes to get the rifle to settle back in after cleaning after all if I plan to use my rifle in my upcoming match.

You were able to get the original barrel installed back? Smith have a bore scope to compare the barrels?

 

[Eoddave27]

The original barrel will be going back on until my new one comes in. Feddersen is going to call me tomorrow with the final cost and approximate delivery date. I haven’t put a scope thought it but I’ll be taking it to the range with a brick of CCI tomorrow to see if I can get the barrel back to shooting like it did before cleaning. I’m confident once I get enough rounds through it, it will be fine. I can say this. I will not be cleaning my sons T1x. After seeing once what it did to this one I will not be making that mistake again. In my defense though I never would have cleaned it if I hadn’t been having it removed. Unfortunately for me the barrel swap was postponed due to the barrel I had not fitting. I guess I will be putting a nice shinny new Feddersen barrel up on the PX in the next day or two.

 

[Quarter Horse]

Has anyone else seen this dramatic of change in accuracy after cleaning a T1x?

I did the same thing recently with completely different results. About two weeks ago I realized I had 900+ rounds through my T1X without cleaning of any kind. No boresnake, no oiled patch, i mean no nothing. Before cleaning it, I removed the barreled action from the stock because I wanted to lighten the trigger a bit. I had it at about 2.5#s and reduced it to about 1.5#s. These are estimates, most of my precision rifles are at 3#s. On to the cleaning. Lyman Borecam showed lots of crud in the barrel and in the chamber a very visible carbon ring. Barrel was scrubbed with a nylon brush and No9 and soaked three times. The barrel was checked with the Borecam and it looked clean as a whistle.

Next I attacked the chamber ring. I first used a .20cal brush, wrapped a patch around it, soaked it with Hoppe's, put it in the chamber and let it soak. I then took a .22 bronze brush, on a Pro Shot pistol rod with a non rotating grip, and spun it in the chamber. Three rounds of that process and the ring was gone in about 85% of the chamber and the remaining 15% of the ring was simply a faint gray line. I quit at that point.

The next morning I dry patched the barrel and shot it. The first thirty rounds were a 6X5 shot quickly and without any particular effort to be precise. The cold-clean bore shot was one inch right of POA and about .25" high. The remaining groups were about what I would expect with essentially a three magazine dump. The next 6X5 was .377".

This is what I shoot off of and has been since I got here about eight years ago. It never has more than three legs on the ground, weighs about five or six pounds and when shooting I literally load the table as one would the bipod. In addition I'm old. Like Kraig or Greg old. I am not making excuses for myself I'm trying to indicate the rifle's potential performance. Buy the way, no FTF or FTE in the sixty rounds. The rifle has never been fed anything but Center-X.

 

[poke_53]

I'll be interested hear what you get back from them.

Well, got it back today with a generic answer as well. “Adjusted stock fit” test fired 30rds of whatever with no issues. If you continue to have issue try a different ammo. Lol

I got it installed back in my Bravo, ran 60rds of SK+ through 6 mags with 3 FTF. Seems better as I installed the Tikka into the Bravo at 30 in lbs compared to 65 originally. So, we shall see if it continues to work.

One thing I didn’t think about until now is that I should have tested SK+ in the original stock when I got it back. Now I’m beating myself up about that part.

 

[Just Chuck]

Yeah, I wouldn't beat too hard on yourself. I was careful not to move the stock when I got mine back and it made no difference at all. Still jammed on every mag of Std +. I don't get the impression they put a lot of effort into these deals.

BTW, I've been using Center X - two different lot #'s, and no jams. Looking at the bullet profile of Center X vs SK Std + ; the Center X has more tapered shape.

One thing I did was to use a small round jeweler's file to just 'break' the top edge of the barrel chamber. My thinking is that the sharp 90* edge of the barrel receiver was grabbing and cutting the bullet nose. I don't know - we'll see when I try Std + again.

 

[Prebanpaul]

Mine functions are flawless with the SK standard plus. And Sk rifle match. I have never had any feeding problems. I shot Standard for the first time today. I shot 5 five-shot groups, and it averaged .394. I shot a total of 8 groups and my best was .224 group.

 

[littlepod]

Anyone ever try a barrel tuner to see how much more they can push their stock barrel? Right now I love my T1X in it's Bravo, ergos are great for me (though I haven't compared really behind an MPA chassis). I notice that when I shoot suppressed, I generally am getting about 20-30% tighter groups. So somewhere the suppressor is probably changing the barrel harmonics.

I was considering shooting unsuppressed for a while, and trying to have similar positive barrel harmonics -- so that means a rimfire tuner, or this thing -- https://limbsaver.com/products/sharpshooter-x-ring-barrel-dampener

Which I found from reading - https://www.precision22lr.com/post/improve-accuracy-with-a-barrel-dampener

Curious if anyone has had any experience playing around with tuners of some sort.

 

[jharms80439]

@littlepod,

Personally I haven't shot with one. However, I watched a 22LR bench rest shooter with one the other day practicing for a match.

As he adjusted the tuner while he shot groups at 50 yards, I saw him adjust his groups from 1/4"-3/8", up to ~1/2"-3/4", and back to 1/4"-3/8". His explanation was that it adjusted the barrel harmonic nodes.

I was a bit curious so did a bit of research when I returned home. In what I read, there is a bit of gunsmithing required for the tuner to exactly match the taper of your barrel - and there are issues of weights attaching/fitting the specific tuner that you buy.

Unsure if such an animal exists for a threaded barrel - that might be the ticket for one who just wants to try a barrel tuner/weight system out.

Curious topic though. I look forward to hearing what others have experienced - perhaps a 22LR bench rest shooter will chime in too!

John

 

[jharms80439]

UPS guy finally showed up! .308/22LR Fraternal Trainer Twins!

Pardon the front skewed front scope caps, I didn't notice until I went to edit the pic. Scopes are both MIL/MIL Vortex Viper PST FFP, but the Tikka is wearing the larger glass.

Installed the Area 419 30MOA while I was at it and adjusted the additional 4.44 (went 4.5 Mils) from the original 15 MOA rail. I'll re-zero tomorrow as I'll be shooting & chrono'ing new to me SK Long Range ammo.

Still missing the support side flush cup on the Tikka/XLR, but that'll be here soon enough - one is already on the other side. Missing a pic rail for the tripod, but I may end up going with an Arca Swiss rail on both eventually anyway - for now I'll stay with my Pig Saddle.

Bought a ODG drag bag like my black one so I'm sure which rifle I'm grabbing. For now, they are pretty darn close!

John

 

[littlepod]

UPS guy finally showed up! .308/22LR Fraternal Trainer Twins!

View attachment 7143123

Pardon the front skewed front scope caps, I didn't notice until I went to edit the pic. Scopes are both MIL/MIL Vortex Viper PST, but the Tikka is wearing the larger glass.

Installed the Area 419 30MOA while I was at it and adjusted the additional 4.44 (went 4.5 Mils) from the original 15 MOA rail. I'll re-zero tomorrow as I'll be shooting & chrono'ing new to me SK Long Range ammo.

Still missing the support side flush cup on the Tikka/XLR, but that'll be here soon enough - one is already on the other side. Missing a pic rail for the tripod, but I may end up going with an Arca Swiss rail on both eventually anyway - for now I'll stay with my Pig Saddle.

Bought a ODG drag bag like my black one so I'm sure which rifle I'm grabbing. For now, they are pretty darn close!

John

I got a 2 rifle drag bag, and carry my twinsies everytime I hit the range to practice fundamentals on both I also upgraded my scopes to be identical and gave my smaller scope to my fiance's rifle. I have yet to go do a PRS match yet, but it looks like the biggest thing around twinsies is to make sure they're balanced the same... so I'd need a much beefier barrel on my T1X.

 

[jharms80439]

@littlepod,

Yep, I'm with ya on a heavier barrel. They're not really "identical" yet and may never actually be, so more "fraternal" than "identical" twins. But they are close enough for me right now.

I'll know more about what (if anything) I'll want to change after I shoot them tomorrow. The new XLR Element (Rev 2.0?) has the option for adding weights to get them closer in weight - that is if I don't change out the barrel as originally planned.

I do have a FFP & SFP (otherwise) identical Vortex Viper PST scopes - bought the SFP version for a song a while back - but I almost wish I'd have waited for a FFP version to come available. I may still pick up another FFP and put the SFP on my hunting gun, guess I could sell it too.

I'll likely swap out the bigger glass in time (and put it back on my 6.5) when I build a Vudoo trainer for my 6.5. But that will be sometime next year (or longer). I'll keep looking for a G1 Vortex that matches what I have as they do come available as others upgrade to better glass.

For now, but I need to let my pocketbook recover. Remember, it's a marathon, not a sprint.

John

 

[quikcolin]

Hey guys, there are so many pages here I'm not sure I have enough hours to sift through them all. I was hoping someone could tell me what T1x bolt handles are available? I'm looking for something larger, to make things a little easier.

 

[littlepod]

Hey guys, there are so many pages here I'm not sure I have enough hours to sift through them all. I was hoping someone could tell me what T1x bolt handles are available? I'm looking for something larger, to make things a little easier.

Just get the Sterk swept back bolt handle. By far the best bolt handle out there. If you really don't want to pay/wait for it, then I'd say get the DIP one.

 

[poke_53]

Headed to confirm dope on my rig tomorrow. We will see how many malfunctions I have with the SK+

 

[Jefe's Dope]

Hey guys, there are so many pages here I'm not sure I have enough hours to sift through them all. I was hoping someone could tell me what T1x bolt handles are available? I'm looking for something larger, to make things a little easier.

Sterk. If it's not available, put your name on a list or two and wait. It's well worth it.

 

[littlepod]

Headed to confirm dope on my rig tomorrow. We will see how many malfunctions I have with the SK+

Just got a new lot of Eley Target... this one has a lot more lube/wax on it than my old lot. I've gotten 4 FTE in 100 rounds. I'm good enough now to react to an FTE, so it really only costs me like 5s, which isn't the end of the world but it does suck. I pull back and notice nothing flew out and catch myself cycling, flick the empty shell out, and continue on. If I already mid cycled, then basically drop the mag, which will drop the spent casing, and a fresh casing, and pop mag in and continue. Yes I'll be short a round but that's what spare mags are for... I guess maybe costs me more like 10s in that case.

I guess a CZ 457 might've been better... if I can get Bravo for it...

At this point, I think I like the oily based SK/Lapua ammo more than the waxy Eley ammo, since the Eley ammo tends to get waxy stuff all over my magazines and breach.

 

[poke_53]

I’ll see how tomorrow goes. I may be swapping my barrel sooner than expected.

 

[littlepod]

Dope for for Eley Target for me is .2@50 1.9@100. 7.2@200. Zero at 25.

.224
40gr
.150 BC
1090 fps

 

[jharms80439]

Range day is over! Tikka/XLR did GREAT. Re-zero’d & chrono’d ammo on the 100 yard range, then moved to 200 yards.

Closer up goodness.

Sexy side glamour shots.

This is as far as my camera would zoom. 2” 5 pot steel on the left of the “7” lane marker and my DIY KYL rack on the right.

What it looked like with the naked eye.

——————

Here’s what I can tell about the Tikka/XLR - it’s far more accurate than I am, wind at distance is a bear, and I need to practice.

I cleaned the KYL rack at 50 yards so many times today that I actually got a bit bored with it and moved it to 100 yards. If I watched the wind carefully, I’d clean it there too 9 out of 10 times. Had a few people just watching me shoot a 1/4” spinner at 100 yards - at times, I felt cooler than I likely am. The Tikka/XLR made it that easy today.

HOWEVER, shooting 2” steel at 200 yards is HARD! More like HUMBLING.

In light gusting winds, I was hitting them ~50% of the time and not missing by much - mostly wind read errors on my part too.

Boy, what a fun day at the range,

John

P.S. Yes, most everything today was shot from a bench or prone. Today was really seeing what the rifle could do without me getting in the way. Next up is standing, kneeling and sitting. Crawl, walk, run - remember it’s a marathon, not a sprint.

 

[quikcolin]

Sterk. If it's not available, put your name on a list or two and wait. It's well worth it.

I’m on the list for the Sterk . Getting the thread protector as well. Thx guys

 

[Eoddave27]

Hey guys, there are so many pages here I'm not sure I have enough hours to sift through them all. I was hoping someone could tell me what T1x bolt handles are available? I'm looking for something larger, to make things a little easier.

I have a Sterk on one of my rifles and one from DIP on the other. I like both of them but they give two totally different feels. Either is a huge improvement over the stock bolt. The Sterk is beautifully done and is very ergonomic for fast cycling of the bolt. A lot more though obviously went into it. That said it is hard to find in stock and if you want something right away the Dip knob is in stock and only $30.

 

[Jefe's Dope]

I’ll see how tomorrow goes. I may be swapping my barrel sooner than expected.

Will a barrel swap fix the FTF? I think it's the mag/ammo issue as CCISV was 100% reliable for me. Center X

Range day is over! Tikka/XLR did GREAT. Re-zero’d & chrono’d ammo on the 100 yard range, then moved to 200 yards.

View attachment 7143764
Closer up goodness.

View attachment 7143765

Sexy side glamour shots.

View attachment 7143766View attachment 7143767

This is as far as my camera would zoom. 2” 5 pot steel on the left of the “7” lane marker and my DIY KYL rack on the right.

View attachment 7143768

What it looked like with the naked eye.

——————

Here’s what I can tell about the Tikka/XLR - it’s far more accurate than I am, wind at distance is a bear, and I need to practice.

I cleaned the KYL rack at 50 yards so many times today that I actually got a bit bored with it and moved it to 100 yards. If I watched the wind carefully, I’d clean it there too 9 out of 10 times. Had a few people just watching me shoot a 1/4” spinner at 100 yards - at times, I felt cooler than I likely am. The Tikka/XLR made it that easy today.

HOWEVER, shooting 2” steel at 200 yards is HARD! More like HUMBLING.

In light gusting winds, I was hitting them ~50% of the time and not missing by much - mostly wind read errors on my part too.

Boy, what a fun day at the range,

John

P.S. Yes, most everything today was shot from a bench or prone. Today was really seeing what the rifle could do without me getting in the way. Next up is standing, kneeling and sitting. Crawl, walk, run - remember it’s a marathon, not a sprint.

Any feed or ejection issues?

 

[poke_53]

The barrel swap isn’t dependent on the failures. It’s gonna spend on accuracy and then it depends on if I decide to perform lot testing with this barrel or the one I have in the closet.

 

[Eoddave27]

I’ll see how tomorrow goes. I may be swapping my barrel sooner than expected.

Have you found anyone making a barrel yet? I’m having mine rebarreled but I have a blank coming in and having my Smith fit it. It turned out to be a lot more complicated than either of us anticipated.

 

[poke_53]

How you found anyone making a barrel yet? I’m having mine rebarreled but I have a blank coming in and having my Smith fit it. It turned out to be a lot more complicated than either of us anticipated.

No, not yet. I’ve got a Winchester 52 barrel from 1938 that I’m gonna have cut up and press fit to my action at some point.

I’ve been tempted to sell this thing and buy a 457.

 

[jharms80439]

Will a barrel swap fix the FTF? I think it's the mag/ammo issue as CCISV was 100% reliable for me. Center X


Any feed or ejection issues?

Nope.

Fired ~250 rounds today and no FTF/FTE.

When the day was about done, I ran a bore snake ~4 times down the barrel and across the feed ramp, then removed the built up gunk on the bolt face. Then fired 10 more rounds.

No problems, but then again , I’ve only had 1 round FTF since I’ve owned the rifle. Did the above when I did have the FTF and it again ran like a sewing machine.

FWIW, I also torqued the XLR supplied action bolts to 40 in/lb this time around. Shot tighter than it did in the original stock torqued at 30 in/lb. Fewer flyers too.

Seems like my Tikka runs well when ran dryer than my Rem 700 (Pierce action). There is enough lube on the ammo and it builds up quick.

At ~100 rounds, there was quite a bit of black gunk/residue on the bolt face. A 2” torn corner of a paper towel wiped it out quickly. Could have used a toothbrush too, but I couldn’t quickly locate it in my range tool bag.

John

 

[poke_53]

Sounds like I got a turd of a rifle with the issues I’ve had so far. At least when it comes to shooting SK +

 

[chopit]

Shot my t1x for the 1st time time today. Cci sv, mini mag, and rws r100. All shot good and when i got home my bravo chassis was delivered. So i will go back tomorrow.

 

[jharms80439]

Sounds like I got a turd of a rifle with the issues I’ve had so far. At least when it comes to shooting SK +

Could be. Know that I considered a CZ At-One when I bought my Tikka. Also thought about a Vudoo, but my budget wouldn’t let me do it. Tikka was the better fit/action over the only CZ I touched and I knew I’d upgrade over time.

As for ammo, I started with CCI SV and it shot 2” groups at 100 yards. I also tried a bunch of different brands along the way - also tried lubing my own. BTW, my FTF was with my own lubed CCI SV ammo - and the chamber/bolt face/feed ramp at the time looked like a black oil well.

Look, like most, I’m still figuring it out - when to clean / how much to clean / how much to lube too. The bore snake at the end of a shooting day, then firing 5-10 rounds has been the ticket so far. Cleaning at ~250 rounds seems to be the ticket too - especially with lubed ammo.

I do keep an eye on the bolt face, chamber/feed ramp at ~50 rounds. It there’s gunk, I wipe it clean. Can’t say it helps, but it hasn’t hurt me yet either. Because there is quite a bit of lube on much of the ammo I’ve tried, I’m running the bolt quite dry too.

Today was my first day with SK Long Range ammo. Fed/ejected fine and was accurate too.

Anyway, I/we all hope you get the problems sorted. I’m thankful mine runs great.

John

 

[Just Chuck]

Same here. I’d at least like to know the root cause. I shipped all 6 mags back with mine.

Sounds like I got a turd of a rifle with the issues I’ve had so far. At least when it comes to shooting SK +

Mine was still jamming in feed rounds after going to Beretta. So I took matters in my own hands - at this point what have I got to lose? To me the problem was the sharp edge of the barrel receiver. I took a small round jeweler's file and just broke the top edge where the bullet nose would scrape during feeding. Then smoothed with a little 400g wet/dry .

I went to the range yesterday and shot 100- 150 rounds of different types ammo - CCI SV, SK Std +, Center X. I had zero mis-feeds! That would have been a miracle before!

I'm not claiming this is the fix-all, but it has worked for me. I wouldn't recommend you try this - that's for you to decide, your results may vary.

Probably the correct way to do this would be to take it to a smith, pull the barrel and have them brake or chamfer that edge of the barrel receiver.

 

[Just Chuck]

@jharms80439 Thanks for posting the photos. That Tikka takes on a whole new persona! ?

Buffalo Creek is a beautiful place to shoot - just wish it wasn't so far away and hard to get to - the last 7-8 miles are pretty slow and rough.

 

[jharms80439]

@jharms80439 ...the last 7-8 miles are pretty slow and rough.

@Just Chuck

Thanks! Last item is an Arca Swiss rail for the bottom. Just need to figure out the length.

Yep, I get it. BCGC roads used to be very poorly maintained. However, now it’s much better. Yesterday I drove there in my Golf.

A few stretches have washboard after the hail/rain we had on Friday. Of course there were trucks & SUVs in the short range parking area, but there were a few small sedans too.

John

 

[poke_53]

@Just Chuck

Did you notice anything different about your rifle when you got it back?

Mine came back with a clean bore which is fine. But, they adjusted my trigger to a heavier pull weight.

 

[Just Chuck]

@poke_53 Ditto! On both counts. I re-adjusted the trigger - backed out the screw until it hit the round screw. It came back at about 2 1/2lbs.

 

[poke_53]

@Just Chuck

Ok now my faith is restored in the Tikka. Ran about 200rds through it today with 3 FTF with SK+ but no issues with Eley contact or Gemtech ammo.

Accuracy was good and I worked steel targets from 130 - 210 and then worked them back. Shooting next to me was my buddy with ma Vudoo. The steel was shot after some rounds on paper. See below

Assuming I can get images to work. Seems my pics are too large now

 

[Just Chuck]

@Just Chuck

Ok now my faith is restored in the Tikka. Ran about 200rds through it today with 3 FTF with SK+ but no issues with Eley contact or Gemtech ammo.

Accuracy was good and I worked steel targets from 130 - 210 and then worked them back. Shooting next to me was my buddy with ma Vudoo. The steel was shot after some rounds on paper. See below

Assuming I can get images to work. Seems my pics are too large now

Sounds like a big improvement. Look foreword to seeing the pics.

 

[Boltman82]

Range day is over! Tikka/XLR did GREAT. Re-zero’d & chrono’d ammo on the 100 yard range, then moved to 200 yards.

View attachment 7143764
Closer up goodness.

View attachment 7143765

Sexy side glamour shots.

View attachment 7143766View attachment 7143767

This is as far as my camera would zoom. 2” 5 pot steel on the left of the “7” lane marker and my DIY KYL rack on the right.

View attachment 7143768

What it looked like with the naked eye.

——————

Here’s what I can tell about the Tikka/XLR - it’s far more accurate than I am, wind at distance is a bear, and I need to practice.

I cleaned the KYL rack at 50 yards so many times today that I actually got a bit bored with it and moved it to 100 yards. If I watched the wind carefully, I’d clean it there too 9 out of 10 times. Had a few people just watching me shoot a 1/4” spinner at 100 yards - at times, I felt cooler than I likely am. The Tikka/XLR made it that easy today.

HOWEVER, shooting 2” steel at 200 yards is HARD! More like HUMBLING.

In light gusting winds, I was hitting them ~50% of the time and not missing by much - mostly wind read errors on my part too.

Boy, what a fun day at the range,

John

P.S. Yes, most everything today was shot from a bench or prone. Today was really seeing what the rifle could do without me getting in the way. Next up is standing, kneeling and sitting. Crawl, walk, run - remember it’s a marathon, not a sprint.

Love the set up!

 

[littlepod]

@Just Chuck

Ok now my faith is restored in the Tikka. Ran about 200rds through it today with 3 FTF with SK+ but no issues with Eley contact or Gemtech ammo.

Accuracy was good and I worked steel targets from 130 - 210 and then worked them back. Shooting next to me was my buddy with ma Vudoo. The steel was shot after some rounds on paper. See below

Assuming I can get images to work. Seems my pics are too large now

So what exactly did they do to fix your gun? Just clean it?

When you guys say FTF, do you really mean FTF, like the round is pointed up and won't feed? I had only maybe 2 FTF in 2500 rounds, and that was the last round in a magazine where the bullet wasn't seated all the way back I think. I've had numerous FTE, where the spent casing didn't eject from the chamber causing things to get blocked up.

Weirdly enough, my last 500 rounds of a lot of Eley Target, had 0 FTE, but this new lot of Eley I've had 3 FTE in the last 100 rounds. I have 1 box of the old lot left so I'll compare the next time I go out to see if there's a measurement difference.

On the flat nose rounds, (Eley Tenex, Match) I have a lot of FTE as well. I'm not sure what causes it yet... SK Standard +, no FTEs in the last 1000 rounds. I guess if the brass casing of those ammos are slightly thicker/heavier, maybe the spring doesn't launch it that far. So that's why bending the spring is better, or putting in a heavier ejection spring behind it? Maybe those brass casings have more lube too so it flings out of the chamber faster? No idea...

 

[poke_53]

For me FTF = Round tries to feed just above the breach. It’s happened in several different locations in my mags. Doesn’t matter if it’s the first rd or the last.

I think the biggest thing that helped mine was to go from 65in lbs to 30in lbs in my KRG Bravo.

 

[littlepod]

But you don't have any FTE? Only fail to feed? Yeh I've never had an issue with feeding. So that makes sense then to lower the torque down to 30 lbs. I bet they only put theirs into the standard Tikka stock at 20in/lbs.

I still haven't bent my spring for my Tikka. I wish the rounds would eject better... all my rounds fall out right next to my rifle on my shooting mat. The rounds not on the mat, were me pushing them off after a strings. My center fire Tikka T3X flings the brass really far.

If the rounds would fly out further, then I'm guessing I'd never have an issue with FTE with the casings stuck in the chamber due to a weak eject. I think the Ruger RPR flings out the rounds much further...

I did a competition, and the only brass sitting next to the shooter was me lol. I did finish first though, and had 2 FTE during the match. We had a KYL rack stage, 5 shots within 15s timer and I cleared it in 7s. That was pretty fun.

 

[littlepod]

Just ordered 1500 rounds of CCI SV and 500 of green tag... We will see how this goes. For nrl22 competitions I've never had to shoot sub moa so it seems like all this money on tenex and match was kind of wasteful...

Anyone else here just run like CCI SV for comps? I guess if I'm shooting out past 200 yards then CCI SV is not great but for anything 100 and less I don't see any reason to go higher priced ammo. I bought the green tag to see if maybe it's similar to eley club vs match. Or SK+ vs rifle match. If it is then that is great. 5c/shot for practice and 15c for matches.