Thread: New Tikka .308 zeroing issues

Hi JJ I just zeroed new tika t3x lite 308 -18inch barrel,gun works suppresser,shot off the bonnet of my truck yesterday with a new jauger 1.5x6x42.Groups fine 1/2 moa at a 100yds.At 100yds i dialed up 10 moa to see what scope is like,seem ok considering a a windy hot day.
Iv had tika s about 10yrs,they heat up pretty quick and groups will wonder.Yesterday from getting on paper at 50yds to final 2 shot group last night i only fired 10 shots in 2 visits to the range.For your final 2 shot kill shots hunting,you gota have that barrel dead cold.For those big groups you shot,barrel even warm will spread,after about 10 shot give barrel a bore snake visit,yr suppresser only gota be slightly loose and your choice of ammo.My first four shots at 50 yds i was only using 147gr fmj to get on paper,went straight to 100yds using hornady 150gr ssts,groups close up.Bottom left 2 shot group i shot last night,stone cold barrel after bore snake.After this group i just dialed left 1 click,down one click and thats my final zeroed.
200yds you should be able to shoot a 2 inch groups with practice.Check every nut and bolt on yr rifle and use quality ammo.

Don't touch anything , get your target shooter to have a go . Shooting at 100 is one thing but shooting at a greater distance is something else , it is not as easy as some would have you believe .

When i buy a new rifle i take the stock off and file down the edges of the barrel channel on stock,file down the 2 ribbs in the bottom of the barrel channel so nothing is touch the barrel.After the first few shots at the range,i retighten everything around the scope and stock screws,befor final zero.Allways check suppresser.I allow at less 10 minuts between each group shot and put rifle in the shade between groups with bolt open to get that barrel cooled down.
More time between groups you will save ammo in the long run.Good luck.

I’d check that the recoil lug is sitting in the slot on the action properly.

Originally Posted by Trout

Hi JJ I just zeroed new tika t3x lite 308 -18inch barrel,gun works suppresser,shot off the bonnet of my truck yesterday with a new jauger 1.5x6x42.Groups fine 1/2 moa at a 100yds.At 100yds i dialed up 10 moa to see what scope is like,seem ok considering a a windy hot day.
Iv had tika s about 10yrs,they heat up pretty quick and groups will wonder.Yesterday from getting on paper at 50yds to final 2 shot group last night i only fired 10 shots in 2 visits to the range.For your final 2 shot kill shots hunting,you gota have that barrel dead cold.For those big groups you shot,barrel even warm will spread,after about 10 shot give barrel a bore snake visit,yr suppresser only gota be slightly loose and your choice of ammo.My first four shots at 50 yds i was only using 147gr fmj to get on paper,went straight to 100yds using hornady 150gr ssts,groups close up.Attachment 187846Bottom left 2 shot group i shot last night,stone cold barrel after bore snake.After this group i just dialed left 1 click,down one click and thats my final zeroed.
200yds you should be able to shoot a 2 inch groups with practice.Check every nut and bolt on yr rifle and use quality ammo.

All good advice. Cripes you have got good eyes Trout and you are an excellent shot. I can hardly see the dot on 6 power.

There could be an oddball factor like the mounts being out of line with the bore and then a parallax error at 200 - make sure everything is straight and in line as well as the other checks

I would not touch or file down the barrel channel on a brand new rifle. Its still under warranty.

Check all the logical things first.
Recoil lug,
Scope rings,
Scope?

If none of those take it back to the store you brought it. Check the requirements for the 3 shot MOA guarantee. It might be with Sako or some other specified ammo.
But even with less accurate ammo it should still group okay.

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.

Originally Posted by Nugget connaisseur

I would not touch or file down the barrel channel on a brand new rifle. Its still under warranty.

Check all the logical things first.
Recoil lug,
Scope rings,
Scope?

If none of those take it back to the store you brought it. Check the requirements for the 3 shot MOA guarantee. It might be with Sako or some other specified ammo.
But even with less accurate ammo it should still group okay.

And always confirm a new rifle's performance b4 lopping the barrel. So often I see new rifles lopped before even being fired. Once lopped forget about taking the rifle back to the shop if there are problems. Also if taking back to a shop, don't tell them you are using handloads. With some brands (Sako, Tikka?) this voids the warranty as well.

And new rifles can have issues. A mate's rifle had a weird mark in the chamber visable to the naked eye and more visable to a bore scope. That rifle was exchanged by the NZ agent.

Yeh I agree, I wouldn’t do anything drastic just confirm things are snug/tight and up the target a fraction as per suggestions made above.

Heat mirage would be terrible at the moment doing strings of shots so I’d work on two shot groups and let it all cool with bolt open.
I’d do extra work without the suppressor and then see how it goes.
It seems you know what you are talking about and understand parallax error etc which tbh I’d doubt with these scopes, so take your time and document set backs and progress made.

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.

^ bipod on a table (hard surface) can be the culprit. I always chuck something soft underneath (like a towel folded in half).

Originally Posted by Jaco Goosen

Sound to me like the added weight from the silencer on the barrel is causing the barrel to whiplash into the stock.

Remove the barreled action from the stock and look for any shiny spots. Enlarge the barrel chanel a little.

Next up: check the inside of the silencer - look for signs of the bullet touching the baffles.

Hi,

Not sure about that. I thought the suppressor might be causing it so took it off and ran 5-6 shots without. Still no consistency

Originally Posted by timattalon

Its a Tikka. Its second hand now so its worth about twice what it was in the shop. Pop it on trade me, double your money and buy something else....

All joking aside, when sighting in, I fire a shot, stop clean the barrel and give it about 5 minutes between each shot. The latent build up of heat can cause the barrel to perform differently when hot versus cold. And when hunting it is the first shot that has to count most.

Also by giving yourself 5 minutes to settle and sort yourself out you get into a more repeatable firing position. (Practise, practise, practise) When firing strings, if you dont take your time the rifle and you can move around a bit with the recoil as an additional variation from the heat.

Thirdly, how many shots between scope adjustments? I never adjust a scope after 1 shot unless I know it is getting very very small groups. For a sight in of a new rifle, I use a group of about 3 or 4 shots before I adjust the scope and I take the time to clean between each one. At 50m there is usually not enough variation for a "group" so one shot each time to get close is usually enough, but at 100m and 200m I use 3 or 4 shots over 20+ minutes before I alter anything. This will stop you 'chasing your tail" as your shots jump around as you adjust the scope. especially if you are a newer shooter and are really shooting a 2 or 3 inch group with your technique ...

Also some scopes can take a round or two to 'settle" into place after an adjustment. Normally cheaper scopes, but these are also what people tend to buy from chains stores with a 'combo' deal.

First off now, I would suggest returning to the range, start again at 100 with 3 or more slow and delibrate shots to see where it is set now. DO NOT ADJUST THE SCOPE yet. See what size group you get. STOP and wait for 5 to 10 minutes then do the same thing at 200m.. Now compare the two groups. If you are above centre at 100m you should be closer to centre at 200m but the group should be spread a bit further apart (double the size) but if not, repeat.

Hey mate,

Thanks for all this. I will defiantly use this method next time.

Originally Posted by Trout

Hi JJ I just zeroed new tika t3x lite 308 -18inch barrel,gun works suppresser,shot off the bonnet of my truck yesterday with a new jauger 1.5x6x42.Groups fine 1/2 moa at a 100yds.At 100yds i dialed up 10 moa to see what scope is like,seem ok considering a a windy hot day.
Iv had tika s about 10yrs,they heat up pretty quick and groups will wonder.Yesterday from getting on paper at 50yds to final 2 shot group last night i only fired 10 shots in 2 visits to the range.For your final 2 shot kill shots hunting,you gota have that barrel dead cold.For those big groups you shot,barrel even warm will spread,after about 10 shot give barrel a bore snake visit,yr suppresser only gota be slightly loose and your choice of ammo.My first four shots at 50 yds i was only using 147gr fmj to get on paper,went straight to 100yds using hornady 150gr ssts,groups close up.Attachment 187846Bottom left 2 shot group i shot last night,stone cold barrel after bore snake.After this group i just dialed left 1 click,down one click and thats my final zeroed.
200yds you should be able to shoot a 2 inch groups with practice.Check every nut and bolt on yr rifle and use quality ammo.

Thanks for the feedback mate. Yeah i would be happy with 2 inch group at 200.