Thread: New Tikka .308 zeroing issues

Originally Posted by Woody

Does' nt make any logical sense that it groups under 1moa at 100 ; thus meeting warrenty; but shoots wildly at 200. .
There is another "remote" possibility, as follows:-- If tbe aiming mark is blotted out by the x hairs at longer range the sight / hold error can increase substantially. Shooter can easy miss-aim by +or - an moa very easily which could equate to at least a 5 inch group at 200. Best solution for this is to use a larger ring around a white bullseye within which the shooter can better centralise his aim. Might seem a weird solution but it works very well in my experience. Too small an aiming mark can create major sighting errors.

Hey Woody,

Thanks for the feedback. This is a very good point, i will give this a go next time. My eyes were starting to struggle a bit towards the end. We go to the point where we didn't know what to do next and there was no point trying to adjust the scope only to chase our tail. so I figured i would finish the box for practice

Originally Posted by Micky Duck

was the bipod ON the table??? eg legs connecting with table top directly??? or did you have something between table top and bipod,like jacket/carpet so it didnt bouce...
were you holding onto the forend or hugging yourself to control the heel????
did you change position of shooting between the 100 yard group and the 200???or were both pretty much the same????
federal blue box is NORMALLY boreingly consistant in 99% of rifles....its the benchmark for factory ammunition in many circles.
if this is brand new rifle and you have just fired 40 rounds WITHOUT ANY CLEANING...... I would suggest you need to clean it seriously and then fire three shots and do so again...then repeat.....then repeat.....so you make sure any crap is being removed from barrel and its smoothing itself out nicely.

Hey,

Thanks for the feedback. Yeah the bipod was just sitting on the wooden table with a sandbag under the butt of the stock. Mostly shot with a hand resting lightly on the top of the scope or around the butt. I did wonder about the bipod so will give this a go next time.
Re cleaning, i wasn't sure how fussy i needed to be, as others have noted i need to be a bit more meticulous especially while zeroing.

All good advice above, 1st port of call is super slender t3 light barrel when heats up, especially in summer will wander, much to most owners denial. That's why the manufacturer guarantees 3 shots for the t3 and 5 shots for the varmint contour.

2nd, as mentioned shooting tight groups at 200m is much harder than 100m and requires practice and getting a solid technique.

3rd, shooting a 308 Tikka from a bipod can be asking for trouble as plastic stock not really rigid enough. Not much weight there to absorb recoil so can bounce around a bit also. I shoot my 223 varmint off bipod but not my 270 for this reason as had trouble. Could also likely be causing other issues mentioned in other posts, even though sounded like shot fine at 100.

Try shooting the 200m first up next time, low and prone off front and rear bags. Take your time, let rifle cool, call your shots honestly if didn't feel right.

dont discount the problem being a weird scope error. I have seen this 'blame the rifle' trap befall very experienced shooters. Perhaps someone can lend you a proven target scope for a range session. And as above dont shoot a Tikka with standard stock off a bipod, the stock bends and the three pressure points in the stock bounce the barrel. So I would check the rifle barrel is clean, check the mounts are inline and swap the scope. Then at 200 shoot with the aim point 'bracketed' in one corner of the crosshair or get some of the targets that have a diagonal squares or a target that someone here on the forum has found works for that distance

It's just got to hot and needs a good clean in between shots if breaking in a barrel

Make sure its in the stock properly, have seen many a tikka owners frustration with a tikka that wont shoot. Only to find that they (or someone else) assembled it wrong and bolted it down on top of the recoil lug instead getting the lug in the slot

Originally Posted by JimmyJames

Hey,

Thanks for the feedback. Yeah the bipod was just sitting on the wooden table with a sandbag under the butt of the stock. Mostly shot with a hand resting lightly on the top of the scope or around the butt. I did wonder about the bipod so will give this a go next time.
Re cleaning, i wasn't sure how fussy i needed to be, as others have noted i need to be a bit more meticulous especially while zeroing.

BINGO........ bipod directly on table will bounce....LIGHTLY on top of scope is lukewarm,neither here nor there,the bipod isnt loaded,rifle can still bounce,other hand on butt...yip hug yourself....so before others who like to hug themselves get all hot under the collar...YES this works as long as its consistant and everything else is the same each time....
my advice,for what it is worth....next time,put bit of carpet or floor mat off ute under bipod legs to give a bit of cushioning AND hold onto forend with offhand,and hold if firmly.....chances are in hunting situation you will be shooting this way,not often I find a table in right position after finding a deer....
see what happens. pretty much certain your issues will magically just go away.

How much you want for this piece of shit tikka?

I've never been a fan of so called breaking in a new barrel. Never found it made the slightest difference. With a Tikka it has already been shot 3 times at the factory plus an additional 2 shot proof loads. Nevertheless, it can't hurt. The fluted Sako and Tikka barrels (same) heat up very quickly so I always allow at least 2 minutes between shots if checking for accuracy. Shooting off a bipod on a hard surface is asking for trouble with most rifles and 200m shooting is much harder than 100m even with a very accurate mild shooting rifle.

A lot of Tikkas perform much better once the 2 little nubs on the barrel channel are removed, but that's a last resort as it will void the warranty.

Originally Posted by Micky Duck

BINGO........ bipod directly on table will bounce....LIGHTLY on top of scope is lukewarm,neither here nor there,the bipod isnt loaded,rifle can still bounce,other hand on butt...yip hug yourself....so before others who like to hug themselves get all hot under the collar...YES this works as long as its consistant and everything else is the same each time....
my advice,for what it is worth....next time,put bit of carpet or floor mat off ute under bipod legs to give a bit of cushioning AND hold onto forend with offhand,and hold if firmly.....chances are in hunting situation you will be shooting this way,not often I find a table in right position after finding a deer....
see what happens. pretty much certain your issues will magically just go away.

THIS as MD mentions ... I cannot shoot my lightweight carbon 338 lap off the bipod on anything resembling a hard surface or the rifle jumps all over the place like a flea on steroids . Even just using grass as a surface makes a huge difference as the softer surface helps dampen down the recoil and reduce the jumping significantly .
One of the reasons I always try and sight in under the same circumstances as I would be shooting under in a hunting situation , Ie I try to avoid using a table for a rest or sandbags under the rear stock as that is not how it is done out hunting .
I think a hunting rifle should be sighted in the manner it will be used in an effort to keep it consistent (within reason...) .
I have even been known , after sighting in off a bipod or whatever , to take a few shots without bipod using other hand as rest , standing , sitting , kneeling crouch , off my pack etc so as to prove to myself it / I am still accurate enough in those more likely to use out bush bodily positions . Probably going several steps to far but , as they say , practice makes perfect ....

Originally Posted by 10-Ring

I've never been a fan of so called breaking in a new barrel. Never found it made the slightest difference. With a Tikka it has already been shot 3 times at the factory plus an additional 2 shot proof loads. Nevertheless, it can't hurt. The fluted Sako and Tikka barrels (same) heat up very quickly so I always allow at least 2 minutes between shots if checking for accuracy. Shooting off a bipod on a hard surface is asking for trouble with most rifles and 200m shooting is much harder than 100m even with a very accurate mild shooting rifle.

A lot of Tikkas perform much better once the 2 little nubs on the barrel channel are removed, but that's a last resort as it will void the warranty.

Breaking in barrels is a discussion that will likely not be solved in our lifetime. But and it is a big BUT...the break in procedure has another effect that is very helpful. And I do it with my second hand rifles too even though you cannot 'break these in".....

The process of one shot, clean and cool for a few minutes (while you clean) for the first 10 shots as you sight in means you take your time sighting in.

The next few groups are two or three shots , stop and clean and wait for a few minutes. then from the 20th or so round 3-5 shot groups, stop clean and wait. And by wait I mean wait until the barrel is well cold again. after a 5 shot group this could be 10 to 15 minutes or more. And it will cool much faster when you take the suppressor off. And removing and fitting the suppressor each group also prevents the suppressor working loose as it does not have time in 3-5 shots to do that.

This is a good way to get familiar with the new rifle. To get comfortable with it set up and to take calm 'cold bore' shots. It is also a good sight in procedure for a new rifle ans the time spent cooling is a good time to check nothing is working loose etc.

While I cannot speak to the effects of the break in itself I can say that every rifle I have done this to has been much easier to clean later in life.I had a couple of Howas, one that had this done when I got it new and the other that had not. The one that had been done usually took just a couple of cloths being pushed through to come clean the other took quite a few more..... Anecdotally there is also the idea that the slow application of heat to the barrel for single shot up through to the groups can help prevent barrel wander....sort of like warming up a car while everything beds in.

Greetings JimmyJames and all,
Reading through some of the responces and looking at what could only generously called groups it strikes me that something serious is out of whack. The fact you managed some decent groups to start and things went downhill once the suppressor was screwed on shows something has changed. I would suggest two things. First take the barrelled action out of the stock and give everything a good eyeball. Especially look to see that the recoil lug is properly located in its recess. Give everything a good clean. Place the barrelled action back in the stock and do up the action screws finger tight. Give everything a good wiggle. Make sure that the action is not sitting on top of the recoil lug. Tighten the action screws but not over tight. Check your scope base and ring screws. With a clean barrel and no suppressor take it to the range with a decent target. See if you can get hold of a few of the NZDA 100 metre targets or something with a white round or square centre that you can quarter with the crosshairs. Fire one fouler and then three shots. Don't get up from the bench between shots and do everything the same. Do apply light downward pressure on top of the scope, every time. Just sit there like you were made of stone for the three shots. This will tell you if the rifle can hack it.
Second have a good look at the suppressor. If it is a DPT pull it apart and look carefully at the leading edge of the baffles for any strike marks. Make sure that the barrel threads are lubricated. Screw the suppressor on until it comes to a hard stop. If the threads are tight you may need to run it in and out a few times to ease things but the suppressor must be screwed on all the way. Repeat the range test with the suppressor on.
By now something should have become obvious as to the cause of the shite accuracy. You may just find the action screw or screws loose.
Regards and best of luck Grandpamac.

iv found that fiochi ammo to be very average in my .308

Originally Posted by Yesmate

iv found that fiochi ammo to be very average in my .308

But the blue box federal is dearly loved by my 308 which sounds like the same rifle but in the correct left hand configuration .......
I realize not every same model rifle likes the same ammo but should be a reliable starting point though .

Stone COLD barrels.
Jimmy,next time you take yr rifle to the range,only take 6 bullets.That will make you think very carefully in what you are doing.
Good luck.