Grouping help needed

[Rick Richard]

The one B&C Medalist purchased as the replacement for the Tikka stock was of poor quality also. It had an approximately 10 degree offset at the stock butt, which was no big deal since I was going to cut and refit to my LOP. The point being is that it should not have passed quality control before being shipped.

 

[graywolf]

Maybe water under the bridge now, but the Tikka stock is excellent. Don't need to bed it. For a magnum caliber it is probably worth replacing the aluminum lug with a steel one but that's all you need.
One thing- ensure the action and lug are properly aligned if someone has removed the action from the stock. It is not easy to tell if the lug is seated correctly and if the action screws are tightened down without properly aligning and the gun is fired you can damage the lug.

 

[Snowbird]

so here's what the stocks have looked like. the first two are of the replacement stock made in '08. the last pic is from the 2013 stock.

the replacement stock is still no where near centered in the barrel channel. it is actually free floating, unlike the previous B&C stock. still, it's no where near ideal. i'm wondering if i should try to bed this stock to fix the off center issue? can bedding overcome this offset or am i on the wrong track?

 

[Snowbird]

Maybe water under the bridge now, but the Tikka stock is excellent. Don't need to bed it. For a magnum caliber it is probably worth replacing the aluminum lug with a steel one but that's all you need.
One thing- ensure the action and lug are properly aligned if someone has removed the action from the stock. It is not easy to tell if the lug is seated correctly and if the action screws are tightened down without properly aligning and the gun is fired you can damage the lug.

i did replace the lug but have lost confidence in the factory stock. for the average hunter it should be great. but i like to know where my first shot is going and if needed an extra one or two. what i have now is a flier every 3 to 5 shots. it could be the first shot or the last but i don't have much use for the rifle in its current state.

i do believe tikkas can be very accurate, as i have seen it. from what i understand, they are factory tested off of the stock and locked down in a vice. i just happen to have one of the few that don't shoot as well as they could/should in the factory stock.

 

[engineer40]

can bedding overcome this offset or am i on the wrong track?

If you wrap tape around this part of the barrel, it will stay centered in the forearm channel when the receiver is bedded.

 

[Wedgy]

My buddys Tikka is way off center and was touching on one side. He removed enough so it is no longer touching the barrel but it is horrible looking. Very smooth action but no QC on the stocks I guess.

 

[JoeS1044]

i did replace the lug but have lost confidence in the factory stock. for the average hunter it should be great. but i like to know where my first shot is going and if needed an extra one or two. what i have now is a flier every 3 to 5 shots. it could be the first shot or the last but i don't have much use for the rifle in its current state.

i do believe tikkas can be very accurate, as i have seen it. from what i understand, they are factory tested off of the stock and locked down in a vice. i just happen to have one of the few that don't shoot as well as they could/should in the factory stock.

Question regarding the bolded part how quickly are you shooting your 5 shot groups. My tikka whether it was in the original factory stock or the new B&C i put it in shoots .25 moa all day as long as I do my part the only time it wont do that is if I shoot my 5 shot groups to quickly and that pencil thin barrel gets incredibly hot. Maybe that is why you are getting the flyer is because the barrel is getting to hot. Im just throwing out ideas though.

 

[Snowbird]

I've tried all ways. I've shot every 5 minutes, 10 minutes and rapid. No real change in poi unless I leave the barrel hot and continue to shoot groups. By no poi change I mean that I still get fliers. I should at least be able to shoot a 2 shot group consistently. My last time out I had 4 shots that grouped consistently as two separate groups. It reminded me of a parallax issue which is possible but I typically am very careful with that.

 

[Longshotjames]

I have owned Tikkas for over a decade. I've shot 3 a M595 .223 two T3's a 6.5x55 and 7mag. I just got a fourth T3 in .243 I look forward to shooting soon too!

All are in factory stocks and all shoot sub .5moa

The most important thing I can share is the seating depth is crucial. All mine seem to prefer the bullet seated out long especially the 6.5x55 (seems very long throated) which will produce .25in groups @ 100m As long as the bullet is seated out long it will shoot well with almost every bullet and load I've tried. It will do it on the 1st shot or the 10th shot as it is not does not seem affected by heating.

Just saying not all Tikkas are poor quality

Happy shooting
James

 

[Snowbird]

The most important thing I can share is the seating depth is crucial. All mine seem to prefer the bullet seated out long especially the 6.5x55 (seems very long throated) which will produce .25in groups @ 100m As long as the bullet is seated out long it will shoot well with almost every bullet and load I've tried. It will do it on the 1st shot or the 10th shot as it is not does not seem affected by heating.

Just saying not all Tikkas are poor quality

Happy shooting
James

How much did you see your group size change from a typical starting Coal?

 

[engineer40]

How much did you see your group size change from a typical starting Coal?

From what I've seen with my limited reloading experience so far... Finding the correct coal for each bullet/rifle can be one of the most impressive things you can do to increase your accuracy.

I still think you should also bed the rifle yourself. It's cheap if you do it yourself. And that will help center that barrel in the forearm channel too.

 

[Longshotjames]

Snowbird,
Most of my experience is with my T3 lite 6.5x55. With the Coal at factory Oal I got 1.5" groups @ 100m. On my reloads with the length only a few thousands off the lands they shrink it .5

I am experimenting with a T3 in 7rem mag now.

The difference is I didn't have any fliers like you mentioned. That is dishearting to hear and I hope the solution is near!
Good luck
James

 

[Snowbird]

New stock tightened up the groups. I'll post a pic later but it started with a three shot vertical string and turned into two tight groups as I kept shooting. Plenty of cooling time.

 

[Snowbird]

I'm still scratching my head with shot number 1 and 3. with the factory stock i often had a cold bore that was an inch or two from the rest of the group at 100 yards. this one was about 4.5" from the center of the group. shot 3 was 3" below the group and may have been my shooter error, as i was shooting off the bags. shots 4/6, 2/7, while good shots, look similar to previous groupings that were much wider. those i have chalked up to parallax error. i don't seem to have that issue with my other rifles but they only have a max of 12x zoom. this rifle has a 4-16 pst on it.


of note:

have not yet bedded this action and the barrel is close to touching at the end of the stock.


i may be at the accuracy limit of the rifle but would feel better with a cold bore shot that was closer to the rest of the grouping. it certainly limits the distance i would feel comfortable hunting at.

any thoughts?