Eddiethegun Posted May 21, 2007 Report Share Posted May 21, 2007 Hi, my first post. I have just pirchased my first centre fire .223 Tikka T3 light synthetic stainless. The free float gap on the barrel/stock in the manual states that a piece of paper 0.5 mm thick should clear all the way up the barrel. How far is all the way as mine is only clear on the straight part of the barrel and stops being clear as the barrel starts to taper towards the action. Hope I have explained this correctly. Also with factory ammo what should I get at 100 yards ? I can only get 1 1/2 inch to 2 inch groups. Cheers Eddie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oly Posted May 21, 2007 Report Share Posted May 21, 2007 Many other makes of rifles are sub 1" out of the box, or claim to be. I know mine certainly were. Only have heavy weight barrels on mine that don't taper! However, I would still expect that it should be floated all the way through to the action though. If you have a pressure point it could quite likely effect the harmonics of the barrel and put the point of aim off. Depending on whether it's new etc you could either take it back to the dealer, get it modified, or get it properly bedded. Congrats on your first post too!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dunkield Posted May 21, 2007 Report Share Posted May 21, 2007 Eddie, Firstly welcome to PW. There are many things that will improve accuracy, free floating the barrel may be one of them, but I wouldn't jump to any conclusions just yet. What ammo are you using and what other brands have you tried? What scope do you have, and how thick are the cross hairs? How are you supporting the rifle when you shoot it? Has anyone else tried to shoot it? Do you let it cool down between shots? How clean is the barrel, or is it brand new? Have you run the barrel in an any way, or did you not bother? Sorry for all the questions, but it is hard troubleshooting remotely Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddiethegun Posted May 21, 2007 Author Report Share Posted May 21, 2007 Eddie, Firstly welcome to PW. There are many things that will improve accuracy, free floating the barrel may be one of them, but I wouldn't jump to any conclusions just yet. What ammo are you using and what other brands have you tried? What scope do you have, and how thick are the cross hairs? How are you supporting the rifle when you shoot it? Has anyone else tried to shoot it? Do you let it cool down between shots? How clean is the barrel, or is it brand new? Have you run the barrel in an any way, or did you not bother? Sorry for all the questions, but it is hard troubleshooting remotely Brand new fired about 60 shots by me. Ammo Fed power shock 55 gr soft point and American Eagle (only got 10 of these) AE are better 1 1/2 group. S & B 8 x 56 scope thickish crosshair. MTM predator gun rest ( plastic job from sportsman) Just me shooting it. Cleaning the barrel with a bore snake. Run the barrel in no sorry fired 10 shots and clean. No moderator on yet its at the proof house ( A-TEC) my local dealer will not sell these without proofing, by the way a lad round here had an A10 mod blow on him last week, not a bullet strike but pressure, dealer phoned supplier and they said they had one or two done this ? Cheers for any replies I will never get in the olympic team but I would like to know if Ill hit a fox at 150 yds before I try it. Eddie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mry716 Posted May 21, 2007 Report Share Posted May 21, 2007 Welcome Eddie, Personally when I float a barrel and bed the action I leave 1/2" of bedding under the barrel in front of the action. This in my opinion leaves no chance of flex at the barrel thread. The rest of the barrel is floated (the wood removed) to allow a 30thou gap. I use 30 thou because if shooting off a bipod you don't want the stock to flex and tap the barrel when fired as it destroys accuracy. If I find I cannot get the rifle to shoot reasonably well I then start building a pressure point at the muzzle end of the barrel. I start with making tape - adding sufficient to give a 'touch' on the barrel (30 thou is generally 6 thicknesses.) Then try the rifle to see if there is an improvement. Try again with additional layers until the best result is obtained. If it is better than free floated fine if not remove. DO NOT add tape to the end cap only the wood as the end cap could easily shear off. If the pressure point is proving beneficial count your layers of tape. Then using one layer of tape around the barrel to stop the compound from sticking build two 'walls' approx 1/2" apart where you had the pressure point with both walls using the same tape layers as the remaining number of layers of tape removed from the pressure point. Fill with compound (Devcon 5 min Epoxy is fine) and fit the barreled action. Leave to dry and then remove barreled action and clean all up. Seal the inside of woodwork and thats it. Good shooting and don't forget to keep cleaning your new barrel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oly Posted May 21, 2007 Report Share Posted May 21, 2007 As it's new I would take it back - depending on what Tikka say about their accuracy "out of the box" of course! Why should you as a customer who's just laid out a wad of cash pay for their poor build quality?!? EDIT Just looked through their website, unfortunatly I can't find any out of the box accuracy garentee info, only that it provides "true value" & "incredible out-of- the-box accuracy"...shame they daren't put any figures it that statement! The dealer you bought it from may be a little more understanding though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MC Posted May 21, 2007 Report Share Posted May 21, 2007 Oly, That's a bit of a bold statement, My .22 Anschutz is capable of keyholing shots at 100yds but I am not. I am positive that there is nothing wrong with the rifle or ammunition. I would suggest more practise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oly Posted May 21, 2007 Report Share Posted May 21, 2007 That's a bit of a bold statement, My .22 Anschutz is capable of keyholing shots at 100yds but I am not. It is a little bold, but lets remember it's being shot off a rest, and as such 1" groups at 100m should not be a problem IHMO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dunkield Posted May 21, 2007 Report Share Posted May 21, 2007 Hmm I think we can rule out ammo. I had an S&B 8x56 and the cross hairs obliterated anything under about 1.5" or so at 100 yards Are you aiming at a dot or do you have some other sort of target? I printed off some targets with 4 squares and that helped a lot for zeroing. I can upload a picture if you want, it may help more than my description (sorry if these are basic questions, just trying to build up a picture) As for barrel clearance I wouldn't get into that just yet, a PW member has a Tikka with the wood touching all down one side of the barrel and that one holes at 100 yards Making an Oly style bold statement I will stick my neck out and say a bore snake doesn't clean well enough to remove all/most fouling, you should be using a rod/jags/solvent Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oly Posted May 21, 2007 Report Share Posted May 21, 2007 Making an Oly style bold statement Am I getting a reputation!?! 'Bout bloody time too! :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddiethegun Posted May 21, 2007 Author Report Share Posted May 21, 2007 Stuart, yes a 1 inch dot target and yes the cross hairs cover that. The target upload would be good thanks. Just been into my dealer and he has another rifle on the shelf with the same clearance so it must be standard gap. He also said to try different ammo as he found the Fed ammo in his own rifle was poor. He has a second hand set of loading gear in I might try that soon. Eddie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oly Posted May 21, 2007 Report Share Posted May 21, 2007 He has a second hand set of loading gear in I might try that soon. Tidy secondhand loading gear is quite hard to get hold of, if it's a good price and tidy it would be worth buying now. (Just bought my own reloading gear, ended up buying new after search high and low for decent used gear). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddiethegun Posted May 21, 2007 Author Report Share Posted May 21, 2007 The gear is in as new condition, poor guy died and his wife handed all the gear into the shop to sell for her. Eddie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oly Posted May 21, 2007 Report Share Posted May 21, 2007 The gear is in as new condition, poor guy died and his wife handed all the gear into the shop to sell for her. Do you know what make & price it is?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddiethegun Posted May 21, 2007 Author Report Share Posted May 21, 2007 LEE press and dies and all the trimming tools primer tools etc. I know its not the best gear but I will not be loading that many. I have loaded shotgun cartridge for 12g, 10g and 8g for many years so I have all the scales etc. Rifle ammo loading will be new to me but I think Ill manage OK. £100 for the lot. Eddie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oly Posted May 21, 2007 Report Share Posted May 21, 2007 Your right, it's not the best gear, but OK. Considering you can buy all the gear and dies over here for £125 new that's not the best price. Order the same from the US and you'll get all that gear, inc. postage etc for very near half that price currently. Might as well bide your time as you suggested initially. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steyrman Posted May 21, 2007 Report Share Posted May 21, 2007 i have a lee press ,brand new rcbs dies in .223, primer tool,case trimmer, powder trickler,digital scales ,powder funnel, approx 150 once firede cases,case lube, loading data manual if anyones interested in buying them?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddiethegun Posted May 21, 2007 Author Report Share Posted May 21, 2007 What price ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steyrman Posted May 21, 2007 Report Share Posted May 21, 2007 not to sure what it is worth make an offer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dunkield Posted May 21, 2007 Report Share Posted May 21, 2007 not to sure what it is worth make an offer 20 quid, there you go that's an offer Eddie, Try something like this, my one is pretty much the same but less cluttered, but it is in excel format so a bit of a pain to upload http://www.dto.com/images/hunting/download...e_sightin85.gif or http://www.remington.com/pdfs/target2.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddiethegun Posted May 21, 2007 Author Report Share Posted May 21, 2007 Cheers, I'll give them a go. Thanks Eddie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steyrman Posted May 21, 2007 Report Share Posted May 21, 2007 not to sure what it is worth make an offer 20 quid, there you go that's an offer are you joking? Eddie, Try something like this, my one is pretty much the same but less cluttered, but it is in excel format so a bit of a pain to upload http://www.dto.com/images/hunting/download...e_sightin85.gif or http://www.remington.com/pdfs/target2.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharlieT Posted May 21, 2007 Report Share Posted May 21, 2007 Tikka have a very good reputation for out of the box accuracy........mine certainly is. As has been stated give it a good clean with a rod so that you know you are starting with a clean dry barrel. Try and rig up a sand bag type rest to ensure you are stable Try different makes of ammo...............what weight are you using ? Mine prefers Norma and then Federal 55gr. Use those new targets. Good luck Charlie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisv Posted May 21, 2007 Report Share Posted May 21, 2007 Eddie, Keep us posted on how you get on. A lot of T3s touch the barrel slightly, but still shoot well like that. I picked mine up last week and it touches slightly. I've only shot it once so far, but with homeloads it was easily sub inch. I would consider changing your rest. I think MTM stuff is usually good, but I would much rather test a gun off a bipod, it's what you'll be using in the field anyway. People at the range I use turn up with all sorts of rests/boxes to shoot off, but never seem to do any better than a Harris bipod. Chris (EDIT, Obviously I'm not slagging off the proper Benchrest type rigs, they're a whole other beast altogether) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dunkield Posted May 21, 2007 Report Share Posted May 21, 2007 Bob raised a good point there, what bullet weight? As it is a .223 what twist rate are T3's? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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