Tikka T3x Varmint Stainless .223 Ammo Recommendations

[quikcolin]

Hey guys,

I'm a new shooter, and just took delivery of my first rifle - a T3x .223 Varmint in Stainless barrel. As a new shooter, I was hoping for a little insight/advise on some ammo options I should start testing with? The rifle is a 1/8 twist - which I understand has something to do with the cartridge grains? (yeah I'm new). I know every rifle is different, but a baseline of options would be helpful.

Any suggestions on a handful of options to get me started? I'm literally in the dark.

Thanks in advance,
Colin

Here she is

 

[Wulf]

Are you loading or buying ammo

 

[Codiekfx400]

Any ammo 50 grains and heavier on the shelf should shoot good out of that 1-8 Tikka. Try some Hornady black.

 

[quikcolin]

I'm definitely not loading... I'll be buying (for now). I've been watching Ozzie Reviews and every 223 Tikka he reviews seems to really like Hornady V Max 55g cartridges.

 

[t8500shx]

My Tikka T3x 223 Varmint also likes the Hornady 55 gr V-Max. But the Australian Outback 55 gr with the Sierra BlitzKing does almost as well as the V-Max.

 

[quikcolin]

My Tikka T3x 223 Varmint also likes the Hornady 55 gr V-Max. But the Australian Outback 55 gr with the Sierra BlitzKing does almost as well as the V-Max.

View attachment 7065122View attachment 7065123

Thanks so much for sharing! That’s some great shooting. I think the Vmax 55g seems like a no brainer. It’s not cheap, but for the results it seems worth it

 

[t8500shx]

Thanks

The Tikka definitely shoots better than me ?

There’s a lot of shooter error involved. Still trying to work on the basics. Sometimes I don’t always get the same sight picture, I don’t shoulder the gun the same during a 5-shoot group....

I do a lot of practice with my 22lr to work on the basics.

I typically get my new Hornady V-Max on GunBroker for less than $0.60 per round. I buy at least 200 rounds at a time. Global Ordinace has some of the Australian Outback ammo buy 1 get 1 free. You can get 400 rounds for under $200.

Enjoy your Tikka 223 ???

 

[quikcolin]

Thanks

The Tikka definitely shoots better than me ?

There’s a lot of shooter error involved. Still trying to work on the basics. Sometimes I don’t always get the same sight picture, I don’t shoulder the gun the same during a 5-shoot group....

I do a lot of practice with my 22lr to work on the basics.

I typically get my new Hornady V-Max on GunBroker for less than $0.60 per round. I buy at least 200 rounds at a time. Global Ordinace has some of the Australian Outback ammo buy 1 get 1 free. You can get 400 rounds for under $200.

Enjoy your Tikka 223 ???

Like you, I’m sure I’m going to have a lot of shooter error. I’ve literally never shot before. I have a T1x in .22LR being delivered this week, which will get the most seat time - great for practicing the basics.
The T3x is something I’ve wanted for over a year... I think they’re beautiful. Sounds like their shooters for sure.

I’m going to have to do some research on bulk ammo pricing here in canada. Haven’t had any luck hunting around yet. We’re paying $28.99 plus tax for 20 cartridges

 

[308Gunner]

There is a wealth of information on this site I would advise to subscribe and go through the articles that Lowlight has done, and welcome you are about to go down a very dark and expensive hole. Luckily for you there is a support group for it.

 

[quikcolin]

There is a wealth of information on this site I would advise to subscribe and go through the articles that Lowlight has done, and welcome you are about to go down a very dark and expensive hole. Luckily for you there is a support group for it.

I couldn’t agree more. Lots to learn and this site is an invaluable wealth of knowledge

 

[pineoak]

Using the same gun with a factory barrel, mine likes 77gr DTAC ammo the best.

Federal Gold Medal Match would be a very good one to try for groups as well. I like that you can get it anytime anywhere and it's pretty consistent even between batches for me.

For factory loads, those would be my best recs. Prime wasn't bad but my gun preferred the two above.

Try an assortment of 77gr SMK or 75gr match loads (the Pvri isn't a match load); some of the 69gr group well, but I've had the best results past 500 using the 77s.

These will fit in the factory magazine.


If you're new to rifle shooting:

1. let your barrel/throat cool between strings of fire- shooting non stop is fun but will kill your barrel in short order

2. start with cheap 55gr bulk ammo (Wolf Gold or American Eagle... not Wolf/Tula/Bear crap) and work on the basics; when you can group consistently, THEN go to the more expensive 77gr ammo - difference of 3-4x in cost

3. if they still have a Snipershide online school- do that before you put a lot of rounds downrange, will answer a lot of ?s for you

4. don't skimp on the picatinny rail for your gun- get a 20MOA rail NOT 0 MOA

5. whichever scope you get, get a quality one- doesn't have to be expensive, but get one that is highly rec on the Hide

6. whichever scope you get, get quality rings. Seekins or Vortex branded Seekins are best for the $$$ IMO; used rings are almost always good if they are factory looking because they are protected by the much more delicate scope and don't really move much

7. Given that you don't have a cheek riser, a $7 ACE bandage (black) can be used to soften/cushion/build up your cheekrest to the height you desire.

8. If you plan on doing this a LONG time, start looking at suppressors. Shooting will rob you of your hearing over the years. A good suppressor will last you 20 years easy. Thunderbeast Ultra in .30 cal (for bolt guns ONLY - best for bolt) or Silencerco Omega in .30 cal (great for bolt but can be used on a semi auto as well). The paperwork takes a while so consider starting that timer soon.
*I'm not current on the latest suppressors, these are just 2 that I have and recommend

9. Get the standard Harris that everyone has with the swivel with a locking knob or the Atlas PSR for bipod. I have both, both work well- I prefer the PSR.

10. use a rear bag

11. Have fun. Emphasize the shooting and skillset. The equipment shouldn't be the focus.

12. Don't run out and get a new gun/caliber. You've got a great gun. Have fun with it and learn, enjoy the sport.

 

[quikcolin]

Using the same gun with a factory barrel, mine likes 77gr DTAC ammo the best.

Federal Gold Medal Match would be a very good one to try for groups as well. I like that you can get it anytime anywhere and it's pretty consistent even between batches for me.

For factory loads, those would be my best recs. Prime wasn't bad but my gun preferred the two above.

Try an assortment of 77gr SMK or 75gr match loads (the Pvri isn't a match load); some of the 69gr group well, but I've had the best results past 500 using the 77s.

These will fit in the factory magazine.


If you're new to rifle shooting:

1. let your barrel/throat cool between strings of fire- shooting non stop is fun but will kill your barrel in short order

2. start with cheap 55gr bulk ammo (Wolf Gold or American Eagle... not Wolf/Tula/Bear crap) and work on the basics; when you can group consistently, THEN go to the more expensive 77gr ammo - difference of 3-4x in cost

3. if they still have a Snipershide online school- do that before you put a lot of rounds downrange, will answer a lot of ?s for you

4. don't skimp on the picatinny rail for your gun- get a 20MOA rail NOT 0 MOA

5. whichever scope you get, get a quality one- doesn't have to be expensive, but get one that is highly rec on the Hide

6. whichever scope you get, get quality rings. Seekins or Vortex branded Seekins are best for the $$$ IMO; used rings are almost always good if they are factory looking because they are protected by the much more delicate scope and don't really move much

7. Given that you don't have a cheek riser, a $7 ACE bandage (black) can be used to soften/cushion/build up your cheekrest to the height you desire.

8. If you plan on doing this a LONG time, start looking at suppressors. Shooting will rob you of your hearing over the years. A good suppressor will last you 20 years easy. Thunderbeast Ultra in .30 cal (for bolt guns ONLY - best for bolt) or Silencerco Omega in .30 cal (great for bolt but can be used on a semi auto as well). The paperwork takes a while so consider starting that timer soon.
*I'm not current on the latest suppressors, these are just 2 that I have and recommend

9. Get the standard Harris that everyone has with the swivel with a locking knob or the Atlas PSR for bipod. I have both, both work well- I prefer the PSR.

10. use a rear bag

11. Have fun. Emphasize the shooting and skillset. The equipment shouldn't be the focus.

12. Don't run out and get a new gun/caliber. You've got a great gun. Have fun with it and learn, enjoy the sport.

I can't thank you enough for taking the time to share the above. It's a big help for someone jumping into this sport head first (running a bit blind). It's too funny, I literally have done many of the things you're recommending.

I've ordered a Mountain Tactical 20 MOA Picatinny rail
I have a Vortex Eagle Strike 4-24x50 scope for the build
I'm mounting the scope with Vortex Pro Series rings
I have the Harris 6-9 swivel/notched bipod on it's way
I bought an Armageddon rear squeeze bag/rest

I will take all your other suggestions and try to enjoy the learning curve.

Thanks, Pineoak!

 

[ChipC7]

I have the same rifle, mine loved factory ammo "Federal Premium Gold Medal Ammunition 223 Remington 69 Grain Sierra MatchKing Hollow Point Boat Tail's"
If you ever plan on reloading save your brass, my rifle loves Federal brass, CCI Small rifle primers and Berger 80gr. VLD's bullets.
It's a great rifle!!!

 

[quikcolin]

I have the same rifle, mine loved factory ammo "Federal Premium Gold Medal Ammunition 223 Remington 69 Grain Sierra MatchKing Hollow Point Boat Tail's"
If you ever plan on reloading save your brass, my rifle loves Federal brass, CCI Small rifle primers and Berger 80gr. VLD's bullets.
It's a great rifle!!!

Thanks for the heads up!

 

[260284]

If you want to take advantage of the 1-8" barrel, you need to install AICS bottom metal so you can shoot the 75-80 grain bullets. My varmint likes the 75gr ELDM loaded 2.49" COAL. I haven't tried any factory loads in mine, but it shoots the 53gr V-Max decent too.

 

[Changed]

I'm running the blued version of this rifle. It's a night and day difference between this and other "Factory Rifles". I hand load ammo, and the gun seems to love 77SMK with or without Cannelure.

 

[spife7980]

The rifle is a 1/8 twist - which I understand has something to do with the cartridge grains?

Just like a football the bullet needs to stay spinning/rotating in a tight spiral to fly well. If its not spinning fast enough than any bit it gets off of its center axis of motion will cause it to tumble through the air which will fly about as well as a wounded duck. Keep it spinning though and any discrepancies get spread around evenly and that keeps it pointing true and flying accurately.

The longer the bullet the faster it needs to be twisted. Since you are limited by the bore diameter restricting the width of the bullet the only way to gain mass with lead and copper is by a making it longer. The longer the bullet, the further off the center of gravity material is being placed and as such you need to to spin even faster to resist tumbling.

Why do you want to add mass to the bullet? More mass = more momentum which means that the bullets stay flying better further out. Light bullets will bleed off their velocity and start becoming unpredictable at distance, the heavier bullets will keep on trucking along. So you want weight for distance and accordingly you will want a faster twist barrel for those heavier bullets.

The 8 twist is great for 223s, its slow enough that you can shoot the lighter bullets without issue of over rotating them (centrifugal force from spinning too fast can rip the light bullets apart. Lighter bullets can accelerate faster: Bullet RPM = MV X 720/Twist Rate (in inches) ) and its fast enough that you can stabilize most bullets up to 80 grains. Its an excellent compromise for a 223, especially with factory ammo.

 

[tho98027]

Where did you get the stainless version? Are you stateside?

 

[patriot07]

Really depends on what you want to do...work at 100 on your form - then any factory ammo that shoots decent will be fine. Mine liked 75 ELDM Hornady ammo and also liked reloads with that bullet as well.

Mine also liked the Federal 69 SMK loaded ammo like someone else said above. Probably the best-shooting ammo out of mine was the Winchester 69 grain match ammo, but all of those are expensive. I tried hard to find a cheap ammo that mine liked and couldn't, and eventually sold it for a CTR in 6.5 Creedmoor. But if you get into reloading, I'd find some decent brass, put some H4895 behind a 75 ELD and find the sweet spot. Lots of folks have had good luck with that combo. I tried Varget with mine with very mediocre results, and actually had better luck with CFE223, but that powder was really not stable with temp swings, so that's when I ended up selling it. Would like to have tried the 4895 before I did, but that's life.

 

[quikcolin]

Where did you get the stainless version? Are you stateside?

I purchased it in Ontario Canada - there are a handful of them around... harder to find in .223 here in Canada.

 

[quikcolin]

Really depends on what you want to do...work at 100 on your form - then any factory ammo that shoots decent will be fine. Mine liked 75 ELDM Hornady ammo and also liked reloads with that bullet as well.

Mine also liked the Federal 69 SMK loaded ammo like someone else said above. Probably the best-shooting ammo out of mine was the Winchester 69 grain match ammo, but all of those are expensive. I tried hard to find a cheap ammo that mine liked and couldn't, and eventually sold it for a CTR in 6.5 Creedmoor. But if you get into reloading, I'd find some decent brass, put some H4895 behind a 75 ELD and find the sweet spot. Lots of folks have had good luck with that combo. I tried Varget with mine with very mediocre results, and actually had better luck with CFE223, but that powder was really not stable with temp swings, so that's when I ended up selling it. Would like to have tried the 4895 before I did, but that's life.

I'm starting to get the impression that reloading is a good idea... It would be something I'd love to get into - but have no idea where to start. What kind of investment do you anticipate to get started? How much is the equipment? I'm sure like anything there is high end, low end and mid range... what would the "primary arms" equivalent be in reloading equipment? Great product, affordable pricing

 

[5RWill]

Buddy of mine is running 77gr FGMM out of his and it does well. I've been loading for mine.

 

[ratton]

I run my Tikka Tactical (20" barrel) Blackhills (Bluebox) remanufactured 77 grain. It shoots awesome.

 

[patriot07]

I'm starting to get the impression that reloading is a good idea... It would be something I'd love to get into - but have no idea where to start. What kind of investment do you anticipate to get started? How much is the equipment? I'm sure like anything there is high end, low end and mid range... what would the "primary arms" equivalent be in reloading equipment? Great product, affordable pricing

I'm into reloading at the "low end" price point. My equipment facilitates good ammo, but slow loading. So it does take me awhile to get a good amount of ammo put together. If time is a consideration, that's something to think about.

As for "what does it take to get into it"...the cheapest I'd suggest is an RCBS Rock Chucker kit (around $250) plus dies ($40) and shell holders ($30). That gets you all the basics, but you probably won't go too long before you will also want a trimmer ($50-$100), case prep center ($50-$100), OAL gauge ($30), tumbler & media ($50-$75), bullet comparator ($20), de-primer die ($15), and other stuff I'm not thinking about. I just recently got an RCBS Chargemaster Lite (around $175-$225), which has really sped up my loading.

I will say that's about the low end, but if you're into it for the long haul, you'll save money and be able to shoot more, and more accurately. And I take a certain pride into loading my own ammo.

 

[XTREM HTR16]

My T3X varmint (blued) loves the factory Fiocchi 223 Extrema with the 50 grain VMax.

 

[SlimySquirrel]

Mine loved the 55 grain loads and they seem to be a sweet spot for both the 8 and 12 twist.
Hand loads were very successful at mag length with 69 tmk and single feeding 75 eldm.

 

[quikcolin]

Mine loved the 55 grain loads and they seem to be a sweet spot for both the 8 and 12 twist.
Hand loads were very successful at mag length with 69 tmk and single feeding 75 eldm.

Did you find any specific inexpensive 55g options that your 223 varmint liked? As a new shooter I’d like to save a bit of $ while learning to shoot - while not sacrificing a ton of accuracy

 

[Radioactiv]

Did you find any specific inexpensive 55g options that your 223 varmint liked? As a new shooter I’d like to save a bit of $ while learning to shoot - while not sacrificing a ton of accuracy

Not specifically my Tikka but other .223/5.56s I have had shoot basically any load with a 60gr vmax stupid well. My .223 lite just came in yesterday and that will be one of the first bullets I try it it. I know Fiocchi and some others sell a $50 round box of them for around ~$20-25 . They wont keep up with the 69s and 77s at range though.

 

[SlimySquirrel]

Did you find any specific inexpensive 55g options that your 223 varmint liked? As a new shooter I’d like to save a bit of $ while learning to shoot - while not sacrificing a ton of accuracy

Used the Outback ammo 55 and Hornady 55 vmax loads most of the time.
The Winchester bulk-box 55 grain soft-point also shot pretty well but wasn't consistent out past 300.
How far are you wanting to shoot?

 

[quikcolin]

Used the Outback ammo 55 and Hornady 55 vmax loads most of the time.
The Winchester bulk-box 55 grain soft-point also shot pretty well but wasn't consistent out past 300.
How far are you wanting to shoot?

We’re only able to get out to 300 meters at our local range.

 

[SlimySquirrel]

That's plenty enough for now.
Worth investing in a trigger spring too. They work really well.
I had a Bell & Carlson stock on my Tikka .223 and it was a real tack driver.
They're getting harder to find down under with the spotlight on anything firearms related but worth it if you can find one for a good price.

 

[athanasios23]

Wish I could find a stainless steel tikka here in the US. I'll be following this thread as I'm in between buying one of these or building a 223 hunting rifle off a model 7 action.

 

[skyking9876]

I've since stripped my Tikka down to the receiver and rebuilt it but when it was a .223 carbon steel 24 incher, it liked American Gunner 55 gr by Hornady better than heavier match ammo. Not too expensive when you buy the 247 count cans. Got more half minute and better groups with American Gunner than anything else. It's also what I feed my RPR creed.

 

[HollowTip]

View attachment 7065122

How long did you wait between those shots and between those groups? Mine shoots sub moa for 1st 5 shot groups and just open up to 1 moa after that.