tikka lite 243

280win

New member

Are the tikka lite free floated to the the action or
4 inches before . im having a hard time getting mine to
group any more than 2 shots . i can slide a dollar about
4 inches before the action is this normal?
 
they claim its "free floated" but my t-3 lite in 22-250 does the same thing,
dollar bill stops at the same spot as yours.
I went back to the gun rack where it was purchased and all of the t-3's stopped at the same spot.

My groups were real "goofy" from the start... 2 shots next to each other then 1 way out.... some ammo 3 shots tight then 3 shots in 3". started running a bore snake down the tube after every 3 shots.. This seemed to help.. and the groups are more consistant lately.... And i was trying the good ammo Hornaday,,, Win Supreme, Remington Premier......

Some claim the Tikka's get better after 200 rounds.... Im getting close to that mark now....

But as far as the claim they make in the manual about the "free float" all the way to the action... Thats not true......I'm not a "smith" by any means and i dont know what is causing that "contact" point 4 inches up from the action...
ANYBODY KNOW or solved this issue?????????
 
They are before the action.Give us some details is this a new gun? what ammo are u using and what have u tried?how many rounds down the tube so far?Good shooting mechanics and a solid rest? My T3 lite 243 stared comming alive after the first 60 rounds and shoots best dirty it takes 5-7 fouling shots to bring her back after a good cleaning.Make sure the mounts are tight and check the action screws dont worry she will come alive.

bkauz,
there is a bridge just before the reciever i was going to take it out when i filled my stock but the gun shot good so i left it be here is a pic.



 
Last edited:
I have agood rest a leupold 4x12 ammo has been rem 100 corlocts honandy 95 sst and win 80 grn . I have about 60 rnds down the pipe. I guess it should do better than what
i have seen. so far I can do better with my vangaurd in 300 wbm
 
The stocks on those rifles are pretty flimsy. So you need to be careful where you place your front rest. Even though the barrel is "floated", if you place the rifle on the rest in the wrong position, or hold the rifle incorrectly it will still put pressure on the barrel. That will yield sporadic results.

The closer you place your front bag to the lug area, the more consistent your rifle will shoot. Try moving your front bag back to the lug, and always put the front bag in the exact same spot. That will help.

"Free floating" a barrel has become a buzz word for the mfrs. Years ago the mfrs. took the time to "bed" the action and barrel lug properly. And some even bedded the barrel, or placed proper pressure points on "light whippy" barrels(which is the best way to properly bed a light barrel(IMO)). Now they just pour some plastic in a mold, tighen up the screws, and call it a "rifle stock". I guess that is the price you pay for progress. Tom.
 
Last edited:
Hmmmm, first I've seen of one of the Tikka's not shooting lights out.

I also have the T3 Lite in .243 and it really likes the Hornady 58gr V-max moly and the Remington Power-Lokt 80gr hollow points.
 
I also have a T3 Lite in .243 and it shoots the 62gr Barnes Varmint Grenades, 87gr V-Max, and 70gr. Sierra Hollow points very well. My stock also has the pressure point about midway down the barrel channel. I was going to sand it down to completely free float the barrel but mine shoots well enough that I'm leaving mine the way it is.
I will give one suggestion though. Have you had the action and barrel out of the stock? If you have, make sure that when you put it back in the stock that you have the recoil lug seated correctly. It can be a little tricky. I have heard that if you don't have it correctly seated that it can cause sporadic accuracy issues.
 
Originally Posted By: WebopperI also have the T3 Lite in .243

Me too.
Mine likes the factory "Custom" Hornady 75 gr. hollow points, #8040 on the end of the box.
 
it seems like i get a lot of copper out when i clean it ,
today i took the stoct off and remounted it se what happens
i guess
confused.gif
 
I have the camoed 243 T3 lite with stainless barrel and so far it really like the barnes varmint grenades and the 75 V-max. Prints out little clover leafs at 100 yds. Havn't reloaded anything else for it yet but so far have been very happy with it.
 
Sounds like most factors have been touched on. Maybe your gun is not broke in yet and that you have several small procedures to check. Once you get it truly clean then a fowler shot is good.
Tikkas tighten up after some shooting. Just for elimination have you checked your scope for parallax? I had a new Leupy screw me up on a new Tikka for a while. Of course they fixed it. Another thing I always do is lighten the trigger. It is the difference in good groups for me.
 
I know its its probaby a stupid question but did you scrub all the preservative out of the barrel before you started? I don't have a tikka but I know cz's its a nightmare to get it all out. Literaly took me over 100 patches. It may seem clean but then use solvent and you get more out. After the solvent i used clenzoil and got even more.

Next time I will try NON-CHLORINATED break cleaner. remove action from stock. and try to keep it off any plasitc or wood. Lotsa folks say it works good. Didn't matter my cz shot sub moa even before I got all the gunk out.

Your troubles are not common from what i can tell. Most everyone says their t3 is a serious tack driver. If i was getting a .243 it would be right at the top of my list!
 
Last edited:
Good read HOGGHEAD. Thats why I like a fully floated barrel channel, so i dont have to be so dang picky on bag placement. Besides, out in the feild we normally dont have that luxury.

cngerms, I've never heard that before. My two Tikka's shoot great right from the 1st shot. I just cant see grinding in all that residue for very many shots. After my barrel is clean I run a patch with 3 or 4 drops of Lock-Ease through to give it a simulated fouler shot.
 
I wonder why some Tikkas will not pass a dollar bill all the way to the Action? Is this only in the larger calibers?
My Tikka .223 T3 lite has no such problem.

OK Guys I didnt wanna do it, But I just pulled the Rifle out of the stock, and I remembered why the Barrel my not be full floated. " At least in my rifles case". When you put the action back into the stock, Make sure it fits in tight, and tighten the rear screw first.! If you tighten the screws down evenly you will lose the free float. Im no gunsmith, but I think that this could be the case. The action will pivot in the stock and still allow the screws to tighten thus preventing full float. This could be the case with some of the other rifles that are having problems. When I adjusted my trigger when new it happened to mine. I took it back apart, and waa la.. Free float again. It cant hurt to try. Good Luck !
 
Last edited:
See edit on previous Post about putting the Tikka back into the Stock. Hope it helps. Here are a couple Pics. You can see the $5 bill at the action, Id have used a $20, but its that Obama thing. In the other pic you can see the gap between the fore end and the Barrel. Sure the barrel will still flex But I dont ever have any evidence of it making contact with the stock. Again this is only a .223 But, all things being equal it could help on different calibers.
TikkaStock001.jpg
TikkaStock002.jpg
The gap between Stock and Barrel are approx 0.245

And yeah she needs a new paint job too.
 
Back
Top