Thread: Tikka’s .243 Win change…. 1:8” twist!

Well after however many years of Forum members banging on about fast twist .243s, Tikka has actually gone and done it. I read elsewhere that they have changed their .243 Win twist from 1:10” to 1:8”.

I checked on the website and this is indeed the case for both standard and varmint contour barrels.

It’s about bloody time really. I don’t think there’s ever been a mainstream manufacturer that has gone with the 8 inch twist. Remington was always 1:9⅛, Savage 1:9¼ and Kimber 1:9, but the Europeans doggedly stuck to 1:10”.

Pretty sure a lot of this decision will have been based on the switch to copper bullets in Europe, which to meet various jurisdictions’ regulations need to achieve either a certain muzzle energy or be a certain minimum weight (or both). So with copper bullets being longer for a certain weight class then a faster twist is required.

There is also the relatively recent release of longer and heavier for calibre copper jacketed lead bullets, which have become very popular in competition shooting as well as hunting. What puzzles me a bit is why Tikka didn’t go slightly faster because if you look at the 6mm Creedmoor for example, the barrel twist is 1.7½ to handle the really long and pointy Bergers and so on.

But no complaints. It’s overdue and a welcome change up. A Tikka T3x SuperVarmint in .243 Win with a 1:8” barrel shooting 103gr ELD-X or 108gr ELD-M would make a wicked long-range varminting rifle that will comfortably take red deer out to 400 odd, easy peasy.

Will be interesting to see if any of the other manufacturers do the same. The 6mm Creedmoor didn’t really take off and I think Howa dropped it after only a year or two? Last time I checked it wasn’t in the catalogue anymore. But the .243 Winchester will always sell.