Thanks for the reply John.

I think we're on the same page. Tikkas shoot well, have a nice trigger (though I did have one dud out of 5 with more creep than usual), and the magazine feeds great.

I didn't know that they lapped those heavy barrels! I had a Super Varmint that shot so well with Remington 55gr MC, of all things, that I don't think most people would believe me. But I sold that rifle without trying any other ammo or handloads.

I used handloads in 3 of those Tikkas, and the only thing I did with any of them was to set the trigger pull to the minimum by unscrewing the preload spring all the way out. The other rifles I mentioned, the RAR, 77, Savages, BAR, 760, etc. all shot just as well but did need minor tinkering as you mentioned. The RAR needed the stock stiffened and trigger tweaked, a Timney for the 77, while the BAR needed the fore-end sanded for a free-float but no trigger change. On the 760 I just removed the brush guard, but it could have used a new trigger. The Savages didn't need anything but I've never had one that fed as well as a Tikka. The Kimber trigger is better out of the box than the Tikka, in my opinion, but there's a big difference in cost between the two. My latest toy, a 700, needed a Timney.

Based on a your suggestion, I've been shooting a minimum of 5-shots per group for the past several years. And over the past 2-3 years I've upped that to 7-8 shots at 100, sometimes 10-shots. We shoot these hunting rifles out to 600 yards throughout much of the year and have a good idea of what really shoots consistently and what doesn't, for our uses. A good rifle, scope, load, and shooter should be able to hit a 6" target at 500. Usually looking for a group of 3, not just one hit. With low wind, or good wind call, we are pretty good on a 6"x8" plate at 610 yards. And not just one hit but 4 or 5 in a row. Maybe not good enough for competition, but pretty good for hunting rifles.

Based on my luck with Tikkas, a few buds bought their own. One shoots handloads well (8-10 shots at 100), but not until we floated the barrel. Before the float, it was less consistent. We floated another T3, but it remained mediocre. So at least one benefited from some tinkering, like those other rifles. All my Tikkas were older, and floated all the way near the shank, but not so with the newer ones.

A friend of a friend bought a Tikka, based on all the good luck, but his has a tight/short chamber. He doesn't reload, so he bought different brands of ammo and all are hard to chamber. He wasn't sure why, so we marked some cases...

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I'm not suggesting that this means Tikkas are bad. I suppose that a spec chamber on the short end, and spec ammo on the long end could be the culprit but I don't think that Tikkas are perfect either and a dud can slip past QC. But for the price, they do seem to offer a lot.

What I like best about Tikkas are the stocks and triggers. I think their plastic stocks are tough to beat for the money. And the magazines feed great, but I don't care for them sticking out instead of flush.

Jason