What should I expect from my Tikka?

[IdahoSpud]

I'm still struggling with load development.

TLDR; Should I be happy with 3/4MOA on a stock Tikka using hand loads? Tikka T3x Varmint with a heavy barrel chambered in .223, Varget with 75 grn Berger VLDs in Lapua brass.

Longer version:

I still haven't successfully developed a load to stick with. I started by loading just under max mag length and shooting groups through a chrono adjusting change weight while only focusing on groups at 100. Then someone here then showed me Cortinas method and I switched to that.

I never found a charge weight that had an SD anywhere near what he considered good, but I attributed that to my shitty Pro Chrono. So I stuck to the "best" SD charge load that seemed promising and then started working down on seating depth in .003 increments.

My groups yo-yo'd from 1.2 down to 0.4" at 100y. Great. Only once I loaded up more rounds, that 0.4 became 0.7-0.8 for some reason.


I only shot one 4 round group to get that 0.4" group. Was it probably just luck? This load seems to be consistent at 0.75ish now. Should I just call it good, start over, keep working down seating depth? I'm really tired of range trips just to check loads and want to get to trying some long range stuff... Just about ran through my 100 rounds of Lapua brass.

 

[PFG]

This load seems to be consistent at 0.75ish now. Should I just call it good?

Yes.

Tikka are good rifles, but they are not magic. From a factory tube, rock with that load...

 

[TheOfficeT-Rex]

If you're just out to bang steel, 3/4 should be fine to get started. How does factory ammo do, by comparison?

Also, be honest with your expectations - not everyone measures to the kernel, and there are days where I just can't hold as good as the rifle system can shoot.

 

[IdahoSpud]

Thanks for the replies. After screwing around for too long I realized Erik is probably reloading for something a little more high end than a factory Tikka.


With the way things are right now the only factory ammunition I had to put through it was bulk garbage frontier/M855. I remember it sucked. I think it was somewhere around 1.5 or more.


I just wanted something cheap to practice load development and fundamentals on so I don't make costly errors learning on my 300WinMag....again. And to be able to smack coyotes at 450+. For some reason there seems to be a magic force field right at 450 that they never cross here.

 

[KeithStone]

Play around with a few different bullets not sure what COAL your at with mag length but I would assume it’s a decent jump and Berger’s should favor that but your barrel might just be wanting old 77smks and if that doesn’t work drop a little weight and try a 69smk and go from there

 

[Changed]

This is my Tikka in .223 with 77SMK's with 24.4 grains of Varget. (Work Up to this).

What seating depth are you working with? Berger says jam the VLD ten thousandths and work out. VLD's are notoriously difficult to tune the seating depth on (that's why they have the hybrid now).

I would encourage you to load from 23.0 up to about 24.7. Find your lands and jam 0.010. Understand that this will cause more pressure than being out of the lands so look for those pressure signs early. If you are still having issues, then switch to a 77 SMK or 75 ELD. The throats are so short on the Tikka's you will not be able to run 80's.

Powder valley has 77's in stock right now. As does midway. Also, the 77 Grain OTM Berger would be worth a shot.

Can you consistently shoot five sub half MOA groups with any gun?

I've sent you a PM. I am not an expert, but you can certainly call me to chat about reloading.

 

[Deadman Pointers]

Most of what I've seen with those rifles suggests potential of around .5moa with quality factory match ammo. I would expect a bit more playing around could yield similar results to @Changed. Anecdotally, Tikka seem to favor some of the older bullet selections with some exceptions out there. Personally, I'm fine with .5-.75moa for a small rifle round. I'm not stretching the .223 out to far since it is more difficult to see impacts and splash than say .243 or more. Getting old is a bitch.

 

[st1650]

This is my Tikka in .223 with 77SMK's with 24.4 grains of Varget. (Work Up to this).

What seating depth are you working with? Berger says jam the VLD ten thousandths and work out. VLD's are notoriously difficult to tune the seating depth on (that's why they have the hybrid now).

I would encourage you to load from 23.0 up to about 24.7. Find your lands and jam 0.010. Understand that this will cause more pressure than being out of the lands so look for those pressure signs early. If you are still having issues, then switch to a 77 SMK or 75 ELD. The throats are so short on the Tikka's you will not be able to run 80's.

Powder valley has 77's in stock right now. As does midway. Also, the 77 Grain OTM Berger would be worth a shot.

Can you consistently shoot five sub half MOA groups with any gun?

I've sent you a PM. I am not an expert, but you can certainly call me to chat about reloading.

View attachment 7570002

Whats your coal with 77 smk ?

 

[Changed]

Whats your coal with 77 smk ?

I sold that rifle some time ago. So I do not recall. I think I started 10 off and never moved after shooting this.

I moved on to a 28" .223 Impact. It loves 80.5 FB so much it's hard to pick a load. On this rifle, I used the cortina seating method.

 

[st1650]

That's very nice. I was under the impression that the 77 SMK or the Lapua Scenar-L 77 was designed more to be jump friendly at the 2.26 coal but I'll probably experiment seating at 10 thou-20 thou. I believe the throat on the Desert tech 223 match chamber is quite a bit longer than the Tikkas.

 

[Changed]

That's very nice. I was under the impression that the 77 SMK or the Lapua Scenar-L 77 was designed more to be jump friendly at the 2.26 coal but I'll probably experiment seating at 10 thou-20 thou. I believe the throat on the Desert tech 223 match chamber is quite a bit longer than the Tikkas.

It really depends on your limitations. In the case of a bolt rifle, my limitation was the throat not the magazine.

Without going to a custom reamer, the best you can do is an .080 or 090 "Remington Match" freebore. Those are pretty standard.

I will say this, my new rifle hated 80 ELD's. I've mentioned this elsewhere on the hide. I mean it absolute hated them. It was so bad I started to doubt my own ability to load and shoot. I happened to try some 80.5's I had laying around an they work just fine. I also have 77 SMK's, but they are dedicated to other rifles.

 

[DownhillFromHere]

I had a T3X Varmint in .223; it never did worse than 3/4" @100 with any decent load I put in it (that doesn't include 55 grain bulk ammo, which might spew 1-2" @100). Factory 69- and 77-grain SMKs were typically 1/2" plus or minus a tenth at 100; handloads with same bullets did about the same.

I never tried Bergers in my Tikka .223. Just wondering if the 1:8" twist is enough for them. Fwiw, I sold that rifle to fund a custom .223 build, which honestly was a royal pita to get to shoot well. Finally got there. Just took awhile.

Do you have your rifle in the original rubber stock? I do wonder if that affects consistency... especially if you've had the action out of the stock and put it back. Maybe try tinkering with the screw tensioning...? I took mine out of the box and put it in an MDT LSS-XL Gen-2 chassis immediately so I have zero experience with the factory stock.

Good luck.

 

[charliehorse27]

I just picked up a Tikka T3 Varmint in 223 and following along in the thread...

 

[Mudflap621]

I just finished load workup on one of these I’m running 24gr of varget in LC brass with 77smks. After seating depth it ended up liking 5 thousandths off the lands the best but also showed promise at 15 thousands off. All targets are five shot groups. I have no experience with the Berger’s but will say that mine seems to like the SMKs.