Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Should I be disappointed in my Tikka?

I like at least a 10 power, 14 is better for me.

Some actually blame bad groups on the target? SMH

g

Depends on what you bough it for.

If you bought it to shoot itty bitty groups, you might be disappointed shooting groups with a 6x scope at 100 or 200 yds.

If you bought it for a hunting rifle and are going to kill stuff bigger than chipmonks, maybe not.

How many times do you shoot 3,4 or 10 times at a game animal. Usually for me it takes one, sometimes two. Very seldom more.

You did not mention whether you shoot over a chrony to develp an accuracy vs a velocity correlation.

I do, and after I make a choice on the load I will hunt with, I'm particulary concerned with first shot out of a cold barrel that has been fouled in.

One could always take and shoot one round and if he was satisfied that he did his part, wait until the barrel reached ambient temperature, then fire a second round, then do the same, ad nauseum.

Or he could go on three different occasions and shoot the same target at the same distance. That might give you a better indication of what to expect from your "hunting" rifle!

Each target below, 1st shot out of cold barrel before the hunt.













I had an old insurance mentor that had a saying, when you know you know, and you know you know, confidence replaces fear.

ya!

GWB

With crosshairs or duplex or similar reticles, I recommend an X as the aiming mark, preferably one with legs on the X which are tapered. Something like this, although you can make a serviceable aiming mark of similar style with a Sharpie:



It is a great deal easier to hold consistently on the centre with this design than it is to try to hold on the centre of a circle or the corner of a square or diamond, and I've found it perfectly viable to shoot groups under 1 moa even with low-powered scopes. I've shot any number of sub-moa groups with aperture sights too, though with a different aiming mark - having the right aiming mark for the sights makes a big difference.

The other thing that you might try paying attention to is consistency in how you hold the rifle. I've found that holding a light rifle in both hands (ie weak hand on the forend) does have a beneficial effect on accuracy from the bench, as does maintaining consistency of such things as pressure of the buttplate against the shoulder. Make sure your trigger finger doesn't drag on the stock and swivels don't drag on the bags too. That may account for some of the stringing.

Thanks. Standard T3X , 4-12x LRHS.

Fake news! I shoot a 4x4 inch white square with nothing on it at all ranges with cardboard behind. It is like using the natural inclination of the eye to line up the front sight with the peep opening!

I 'borrowed' this pic of JG's target:


[quote=JGRaider




FWIW (?) At 100 yds I 'usually' use these target dots -- 2" dia.

FOR ME - I aim AT 6:00 PM. The whole circle is ABOVE my crosshair. I can tell when the gun goes off if I'm Hi, Lo, R, or L.
I normally use 8 X but have used less.

I don't like aiming at a large square or diamond - because there is so much room for the crosshair to BE IN or cover.
It didn't take me long to see the advantage of 6 O'clock hold.


Try it, you might like it.


Jerry

I’ve got one that strings horizontally a bit. Reloads have tightened it up a bit, but it still string horizontally. I expect that I’ll nail down the issue without too much trouble.

All these sob's will tell you their Tikka's shoot sub moa 10 shot groups all day long and they are the last guys to enter into the moa all day long challenge here. I'm thinking your superlite is doing just fine and probably about typical for 10 shot groups for most superlite tikka rifles. Mine was shooting about like that, until I glass bed it. Then groups shrank to a reasonable size. Keep in mind, your rifle is new and the barrel is still breaking in. You'll start seeing a little better accuracy after 100 rounds down the tube.

The ultimate Paper Tiger has spoken....

Just curious. We're you shooting from a bench, or an improvised device? Not trying to be a smart azz. Just curious. Folks like to start wrenching on rifles,before checking this very important box. Might be easier to address than changing a bunch of things on the rig. Tikkas can be challenging to assemble. Look into that first. Scopes can be a real problem also. But if you aren't shooting from a solid platform,good groups will be hard to come by.

I currently have 3 T3s. I've owned 13 over the years. The worst was an 06. Stainless synthetic. It shot right at MOA. Take a hard look at your bench and technique first.

Not fancy or expensive,but it sure helps sort out accuracy issues.

Just curious, is the 45 in/lb recommended from the factory or is that based on your experience? I was wondering what they should be torqued to.

It's in the manual.

Here’s a clue dumbass. Most people don’t give a dam about your beloved challenge.

While you’re sitting at the bench ejaculating over groups, others are out getting it done with some 3/5 shot groups.

You ever dig up a pic of you with a dead animal?

🥴 those targets are sure tricky.








DUI is the cars fault. 😎

I'll have to count boxes, but that group was after about 80 rounds. I do think there have been quite a few suggestions that are worth looking at.

Concrete bench with sand bags on top. Pretty sturdy/stable.

Some targets just don't produce a good sight picture. It'll definitely make it harder to zero in a rifle.



I appreciate the input from everybody. Lots of good thoughts!

Yep. Some people just have to be smartasses.

I can use a 3/8" dot for a target with my high magnification, fine reticle scopes but it won't make for a good sight picture with a 6x and Leupold heavy duplex.

One of the links I provided should give you a good target for the SWFA 6x you're using.