Range Report Tikka T3x Tac A1 Factory Ammo Test: Berger 130, Prime 130, Berger 140, Hornady 140 ELDm, Federal FGMM 140 SMK, Black Hills 147 ELDm

[clcustom1911]

Ok, a few days ago I had a talk with my new-to-me T3x Tac A1 chambered in 6.5 Creedmoor. The conversation was one sided and went something like this:



There was a mutual understanding she was going to get run hard and put away wet. Today was my first real range outing other than getting zeroed with 10 shots the other day.

I accumulated several flavors of factory ammo, listed in the title of this thread, to figure out what works and what doesn't. Everything did really well, some exceptionally well.... except for one which I'll detail as this thread drags on.

I intend to bore you with details such as cartridge overall lengths, best to ogive lengths, atmospheric conditions, blah, blah....

For each brand of ammunition, I fired one group of ten shots with my magnetospeed attached to get all the good velocity data (avg. Velocity, SD, ES).

I also fired a mess of my reloads and compared Federal 210M against CCI BR2 primers (spoiler: no real difference).

I'll get up all the assorted data I gathered tomorrow. It's A LOT of info to transcribe from my chicken scratch range book to here.

Catch you guys (and gal or two) tomorrow ?

 

[clcustom1911]

Ok, so....

Conditions:

Temp: 53f
DA: 1650

Range goes from 100 yard paper out to 600 with 4MOA steel every hundred yards.

Here's my setup: Tikka T3x Tac A1, 6.5 Creedmoor, Vortex Viper PST Gen II 3-16x44, EBR-2c Mil/Mil

One 10-shot group for each brand of ammo down the pipe. Velocity, SD's, and ES's are on the Ballistic-X label. Enjoy.

More stats on the factory ammo coming later this evening, or tomorrow, as well as loads I made which worked well.

 

[Tim_WNC]

Did you shoot for groups with the magnetospeed strapped on? Or, did you remove the chrono for groups?

I ask because I’m getting substantially better groups with my Tac A1 than what you’re showing, with the same ammo. Hornady 140 ELD for example is easily .5-.6 all day long in my rifle.

 

[clcustom1911]

Did you shoot for groups with the magnetospeed strapped on? Or, did you remove the chrono for groups?

I ask because I’m getting substantially better groups with my Tac A1 than what you’re showing, with the same ammo. Hornady 140 ELD for example is easily .5-.6 all day long in my rifle.

With magnetospeed on. This was just for mainly the velocity data. I'll shoot the same gig again in a couple weeks without it mounted.

 

[clcustom1911]

As promised, measurements of factory ammo OAL, BTO using Hornady Comparator tool, and amounts of powder in each (but not 130 Berger, I shot all of it because I was having too much fun at 600 POA/POI.. amazing ammo)

FACTORY AMMO INFORMATION:

Original Prime 130gr:

OAL: 2.765"
Base to Ogive: 2.178"
Powder: Average 43.9 (43.82, 43.84, 43.86, 43.94, 44.04)
Large Rifle Primer

Berger 130 Hybrid:

OAL: 2.81"
Base to Ogive: 2.198"
Small Rifle Primer

Hornady 140 ELD-M:

OAL: 2.81"
Base to Ogive: 2.191"
Powder: 41.84 (41.74, 41.8, 41.86, 41.86, 41.92)
Large Rifle Primer

Berger 140 Hybrid:

OAL: 2.80"
Base to Ogive: 2.117"
Powder: 41.84 (41.86, 41.64, 41.96, 41.82, 41.9) 99% sure its H4350
Small Rifle Primer

Federal Gold Medal 140 Sierra Matchking:

OAL: 2.715"
Base to Ogive: 2.20"
Powder: 38.85gr (38.98, 38.94, 38.88, 38.66, 38.78)
Small Rifle Primer

Black Hills Gold Hornady 147 ELD-M:

OAL: 2.772"
Base to Ogive: 2.132"
Powder: 41.42 (41.48, 41.54, 41.52, 41.42, 41.12)
Large Rifle Primer (and crimped ? )

 

[XTREM HTR16]

What was velocity on the Berger 130? Thanks!

 

[clcustom1911]

What was velocity on the Berger 130? Thanks!

2810, SD 13, ES 39. The BC on the box is absolutely correct. I transitioned immediately to 600 and everything was point of aim-point of impact. That's the first time that's ever happened to me with the BC provided by the manufacturer. Go Berger!

 

[Gregor.Samsa]

Nice! Thank you for taking the time to document this. 24” barrel correct?

 

[clcustom1911]

Nice! Thank you for taking the time to document this. 24” barrel correct?

Yessir. 24" 1:8 twist factory barrel with probably less than 500 rounds through it.

 

[stello1001]

Seems like so much inconsistency an all ammo types.

 

[clcustom1911]

Seems like so much inconsistency an all ammo types.

As long as the same ammo is consistent from box to box in your gun, that's all that matters. Every manufacturer has their specs they load to. When you think about it, all these different factory ammo brands and bullets working pretty well out of most guns is pretty awesome.

 

[nine9drams]

Is there more data coming? I’m curious to see the chrono data for the remaining loads and down range (100+ yds) performance. Gotta love the Tikkas!

 

[clcustom1911]

Is there more data coming? I’m curious to see the chrono data for the remaining loads and down range (100+ yds) performance. Gotta love the Tikkas!

Ask, and ye shall receive....

Distance: 203 yards
Temperature: 54 degrees F
Density Altitude: 5050 (+/- 25 or so)
Station Pressure: 25.54 inch
Humidity: 34%
Winds: 0-3mpg from 4 to 6 o'clock

Overall, a clear and sunny day. Ideal for poking holes in paper to see what my new shiny Sierra 142 grain pointed Matchkings, my 130 Berger Hybrid with 42 of Reloder 16, and Sierra 130 Tipped Matchkings would do....

Looks like .030" jump (2.88" OAL) and 41.3 of H4350 on Prime/Norma brass, and 41.5 in Hornady brass does well with either Federal 210M or CCI BR-2 primers..... if I could just stop pulling that 1 shot per group, things would be just so much better!

 

[clcustom1911]

Got the seating depth test rounds loaded for... maybe tomorrow if I can swing it. 10 rounds of each depth. 5 for a group no magnetospeed, 5 with magnetospeed mounted to the barrel to see if there's a difference in group size (there's always a point of impact shift of 0.6 mils up with this rifle)....

 

[clcustom1911]

Shot the Berger 140, Hornady 140 ELD Match, Federal Gold Medal 140 Matchking, and Black Hills Gold 147 at 201 yards today. No magnetospeed attached.

Temperature: 51f
Density Altitude: 4950
Relative Humidity: 35%
Station Pressure: 25.46

Winds: 3-6mph, gusts up to 12 from 4-6 o'clock.

Berger 140:

Hornady 140:

Federal Gold Medal 140 Matchking:

Black Hills Gold 147 ELD Match:

 

[nine9drams]

Honestly it looks like all of these loads are running great. 142 SMK, 130 Berger and 140 ELDM seem to be REALLY good. Have you noticed the factory barrel limiting the speed? I’ve heard reports of Tikkas being slow but I have not chrono’d my CTR. Only having 20” isn’t helping me either.

 

[Katahdin]

Are you shooting the new PRIME 130 or old?

 

[clcustom1911]

Honestly it looks like all of these loads are running great. 142 SMK, 130 Berger and 140 ELDM seem to be REALLY good. Have you noticed the factory barrel limiting the speed? I’ve heard reports of Tikkas being slow but I have not chrono’d my CTR. Only having 20” isn’t helping me either.

What's interesting is all the factory stuff seems to be a little slow, but nothing too crazy. But my 142 SMK load with 41.5 H4350 was running at 2740 or so out of my Proof Research 24" barrel, and its running at 2725 out of this Tikka.

Another example, original Prime 130 was usually about 2915 out of my Proof, but its 2840 out of this Tikka.

@Cheeseburger1976 this is the old Prime Ammo from 3 or so years ago.

 

[clcustom1911]

Are you shooting the new PRIME 130 or old?

Old Prime.

 

[clcustom1911]

Sierra 142 SMK Seating Depth thread. . Lots of opinions on seating depth......

 

[GBMaryland]

What did you end up with as your go to load?

 

[clcustom1911]

What did you end up with as your go to load?

Prime brass, 142 SMK, 47gr Reloder 26, 0.090" jump. 0.002" neck tension, 210m primers.

Stupid accurate and speed. I could go higher on speed, but accuracy is top priority. 2875 with 20ES is plenty good for me.

 

[GBMaryland]

Sweet!

Now I just need to find a Warner Tool 121gr starting load...

 

[beetroot]

What scope rings are you using in the first pictures?

 

[clcustom1911]

What scope rings are you using in the first pictures?

UTG Pro 30mm High. The UTG rings made in USA.