7mm tikka bad accuracy

[Akoutdoors]

Hi All,

Iv got a 7mm tikka t3 light LH that's I've been having trouble getting any decent accuracy out of lately. I've shot cheap 175 federal from a lead sled into about 1", and I loaded up some 162 a-max that shot great with re119. Now using H4831 and 160 accubonds I am getting 5 inch groups. I thought maybe bullet weight could be wrong so I tried some 140 tsx and I got one good group but the rest were everywhere 8 inches. I then proceeded to shoot federal premium 150 ballistic tips and even they had about 4 inch group.


140 tsx were .050 off the lands as per Barnes recommendation.
160 accubonds were loaded .010 off

I know I'm not a great shot but I was shooting my stock ruger .243 with 105 Amax at the same time and getting 2in or better groups even working up a load.

So the question is this, is my scope/rings lose or bad? Or do I just need to keep playing with seating depth?

Thanks

 

[tomt]

Loosen the two action screws and re-torque to factory specs. My Mark V had an 8" x 12" pattern at 100 ygs (***). Re-torque action screws and got .75" groups at 100 yds.

 

[Akoutdoors]

Sometimes it is the simple things that make all the difference. Thanks for the advice I'll give it a try today.

 

[Pdvdh]

So the question is this, is my scope/rings lose or bad? Or do I just need to keep playing with seating depth?

Thanks

What are you using for scope rings? The aluminum ones supplied with the Tikka T3s aren't much good on the 7 mags and higher recoil rifles.

 

[Akoutdoors]

I have mark 4 rings and a egw rail along with a 4.5-14x50 mark 4 scope. I taken so good falls packing deer off a mountain but I know they have a reputation on being tough.

I'm going to re- torqu everything and loc tite it and see if there's a difference.

 

[Pdvdh]

Glad you're not using the Tikka supplied aluminum rings. Good luck trouble shooting your rifle.

 

[roninflag]

i would use a pedistal and rear bag not a lead sled.

 

[Akoutdoors]

Went through the gun cleaned the barrel, loosened the action screws and re torqued them to 35 in lbs changed to seekins rings and lapped them.

Shooting off Harris bipod and sandbag In the rear I got about 1.5 in group. I adjusted the scope up and left a bit to get closer to my point to aim. The next three shot group was 5 in vertical spread.

Noticed that the muzzle break has some rough spots on the crown, could this effect the accuracy this much?

 

[Pdvdh]

Rough spots on the crown of the muzzle could be a problem, but rough spots on the crown of a muzzle brake should not negatively affect accuracy.

 

[Akoutdoors]

Rough spots on the crown of the muzzle could be a problem, but rough spots on the crown of a muzzle brake should not negatively affect accuracy.

I suspected that was the case but didn't fully know. Looks like the search will continue with some heavier bullets. Thanks phorwath

 

[Pdvdh]

I own two Tikka T3s in 7mm Rem Mag. One shoots the 160gr Nosler Accubonds to about 0.75 moa. The other shoots the Berger 168gr VLD to about 0.65 moa. That's about the best groups from each of the two rifles.

Is there any possibility that your scope is acting up. A failing scope has cause me anguish and a lot of ammo in the past. They don't always fail suddenly. Sometimes it's a long slow process of failure/coming apart inside. You mentioned a muzzle brake, and muzzle brakes can be hard on scopes. Which scope are you using and do you have another known good scope you could try on your Tikka?

If your scope is good, I'd try some different bullets looking for one that performed well out of your rifle - certainly before I'd start trying different bullet seating depths.

 

[Akoutdoors]

I took the leupold scope off and replaced it with a Premier and it shot great. Looks like ill have to send my mark 4 back to leupold. Thanks for all the help.

 

[Pdvdh]

It's been a few months, but it's still nice to hear the end of the story. Thanks for posting.

Now you've got a nicer scope, in addition to a good shooting Tikka.