Tikka At Home On The Range

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I've pretty much finished load development for my Tikka S.S, Lite 30/06. I had it at the range today and made some final scope adjustments. Here's some target photos and load info.



These were my first three shots from a clean barrel. No fouling shots fired. The load used Sierra 168gr. MatchKing bullets over 57.0gr. of IMR4350 with a COL of 3.300". Three shots at 100 yards measured.40" center to center.


This last group used Sierra 180gr. bullets over 56.0gr. of IMR4350 with a COL of 3.300". This group measured .54".
All groups were fired at 100 yards. These were the only targets I shot today using the Tikka rifle.
Don

[DocHolladay]

These were my first three shots from a clean barrel. No fouling shots fired. The load used Sierra 168gr. MatchKing bullets over 57.0gr. of IMR4350 with a COL of 3.300". Three shots at 100 yards measured.40" center to center.

This would be my choice.

I bet the one on the right would be the first shot.

[juliang]

Good shooting Don! So apart from Sierra bullets, Tikkas and Dednutz scope mounts we don't have much in common! I started reloading Noslers, which are Ok. I tried Sierra one time and now load them for all my rifles, awesome bullets!

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juliang said:

So apart from Sierra bullets, Tikkas and Dednutz scope mounts we don't have much in common!

Well lets see, I'm also of British decent with a very British last name. I even have a collection of "Are You Being Served", "Grace and Favour", "Faulty Towers", "Good Neighbors" and "Vicar of Dibley"! LOL
I'm still puzzling over which Tikka to add to my safe. The .243 is a great all around cartridge, but the same could be said for the 6.5x55 and the .25-06. I still have a few weeks to work it out. I have a nice back pay check coming then.
Don

[juliang]

Any fan of Faulty Towers is a friend of mine!!! I'd go for the 6.55*55. I have a friend who has a 260, that is a nice caliber also. What is your last name? My last name is Gunney.......pretty fitting really.

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juliang said:

Any fan of Faulty Towers is a friend of mine!!! I'd go for the 6.55*55. I have a friend who has a 260, that is a nice caliber also. What is your last name? My last name is Gunney.......pretty fitting really.

The Beretta website no longer shows the Tikka available in .260. www.berettausa.com/product/product_rifles_main.htm Sako yes, but not Tikka. I've always looked towards need when trying to choose the appropriate chambering for a new rifle purchase. The problem is that I can't defend the purchase based on that criteria. My needs are fullfilled so I have to look towards wants for my answer. But that doesn't necessarily have to be a bad thing.
My favorite Fawlty Towers episodes are "The Germans" and "Kippers and a corpse".
My last name is Watkins.
Don

[juliang]

Well Don, I have certainly found a load for Sierra 60gr bullets. These are what I am thinking of using as a varmint load. I tried the 2 loads listed in the Sierra manual, Benchmark and Varget. The Benchmark was a pretty decent .65" group but the faster Varget load is what I will be using. I like it a lot. I am still working on the 85 gr Sierra, can't decide if it's shooter error or load at fault, just breaks an inch but not as good as the factory Federals I bought. I hope to get a decent 100gr load too. Anyway, here is the 42.4 gr Varget load, 3500+ fps.

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Great group! Once your groups get that small it's hard to tell if any fluctuation is due to the load or even your own pulse. I've always liked Varget for most of the .308 based cartridges. I would think that load would be between 3700 and 3800FPS. Hodgdon data shows 40.0gr. of Varget pushing that bullet to 3671FPS and the max. load of 42.7 pushing it over 3800FPS. I don't have 60gr. Sierra bullets, but I will be trying Hornady's 58gr.V-Max with Varget today if the rain holds off. What was your overall cartridge length?
I mounted a 2.5-10x40 scope on the .243 to eliminate some operator error during load development.
Don

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So much for range time today. I loaded up and went there only to find the range closed for an archery 3-D shoot. I think that makes twice already this year that they had that #@^&*$ range closed when I got there. Well I'm still on holiday tomorrow and the weather says afternoon sun.
I did a bit experimenting with the COL in the .243. Using Barnes 95gr. XFB-XLC bullets I loaded them long, but just short enough to function from the magazine. I loaded one in and pushed the bolt home driving the uncrimped bullet into the case. The COL measured 2.722". I then set the COL at 2.668, just a tad more than the Barnes recommended -.050" off the rifling. I'm hoping these Barnes bullets give good groups. Both the XLC and TSX bullets can be loaded to a higher FPS than ordinary bullets. They don't create as much pressure and can usually be loaded with 1-2gr. more powder. I'm trying these 95.0gr. XFB-XLC bullets over 47.0gr of IMR7828 for 3150FPS. They should be a very good for deer and hogs if I get the accuracy I want.
I tried the Hornady 87gr. BTHP bullets in the same fashion and ended up loading them to a COL of 2.702" or .020" off the rifling. Having a different shaped bullet ogive changes the maximum COL just a little bit.
Don

[juliang]

Don according to my Stoney Point gauge 2.65 is jammed in the rifling with both Sierra bullets that I've tried, I went with a conservative 2.64. Still a lot longer than the Federal factory ammo but I will experiment further. Weather yesterday was blowing a gale here, hope to get some more done soon but my mother arrives Wednesday and she will stay for a week. I could have my hands full for a bit!

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juliang said:

Don according to my Stoney Point gauge 2.65 is jammed in the rifling with both Sierra bullets that I've tried, I went with a conservative 2.64.

It goes to show that even if these rifles are the same caliber and made by the same manufacturer, there are still differences.
I hope your Mom has a great visit.
Don