Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Long Throated Tikka T3

Just recieved my second T3 lite. a 7mm 08. The 2 factory loads I have tried ( Winchester Supreme 140 ballistic st, 140 Federal Fusions)have been okay. Groups with both loads are in the 1-1.25 inch range. Starting my handloads,I notice the throat on this rifle is extremely long. Seating the bullets as long as possible to fit in the magazine they are still .140 to .160 thousands off the lands. Has anyone else noticed this on thier Tikka. My other Tikka ,a 270 Win, I can seat bullets much closer to the lands. I called Berreta and the rep told me that Sako doesnt support handloading. Is it possible that my t3's throat is cut longer than normal, or are they all that way? Thanks

This is my best group so far. 150 grain Nosler Solid Base. 44 grains H4350 2585fps

I think they are all cut that way, as you can see it doesn't seem to hurt accuracy "too" much.

No,it doesnt seem to be hurting accuracy , but it could be hurting velocity. As I understand weatherby rifles came with alot of "freebore" so they could pack in alot of slow burning powder without raising pressure to increase velocity. But a 7mm 08 doesnt have the case capacity to do this. maybe someone on the fire can explain the advantages or disadvantages of a long throat.

My 6.5x66 is long throated too. It was this T3 that really dispelled the myth that you had to be close to the lands for accuracy.

Several of My Rugers have long throats and I had the shorter throat on one of my .30-06s lengthened to match the longer one.

I like to joke that the bullets in my .257 Roberts couldn't touch the lands with a stick.

Doesn't seem to hurt accuracy at all.

My tikka .270 eats the 110 TTSX and the 140 Berger and delivers great accuracy with both regardless of the jump. I did a rough ladder test for velocity and got great accuracy across the charges, futher tweaking with OAL provided no discernable advantages.

This was one ladder done at 200yards. If I recall it was a full half grain between loads and I had to move the windage around because they were overlapping the impacts.

My 7 Mag can touch the lands at mag length.
My .308 can touch lands at mag length.
My .243 can touch lands at mag length.
Both my .223's can touch lands at mag length.
Same with 30-06, and 6.5 Swede.

I don't know what you got going on there, but I've not owned a factory 708, so I can't compare. I CAN tell you that Beretta, Sako, and Tikka reps that you talk to on the phone don't know their ass from a tea kettle. I've had to learn all the mechanics and measurements of all my Tikka's from trial and error. And...taking them apart, measuring, and putting them back together.

But, I bet you get that thing shooting! Keep looking for the right load, and you'll have a 1/2" rifle...just like almost every Tikka is capable of.

From what I've gathered, most all Tikkas throats are out a bit longer than what you can get to with a factory Tikka magazine.

I have a .223 and a .300 wsm plus I load for my Dad's .300 wsm. Both .300's I can load to 2.889" max OAL due to being able to fit into the magazine. With a 165 SST, they are a bit over 3" to the lands but I forget the specific number it is but it's well over .100" and probably close to .25".

My .223 is the same deal with the factory magazine length. I can load a 75 Amax bullet to 2.270" OAL due to magazine length. Measuring this bullet off the lands in a casing yields 2.524" giving a free bore measurement of 0.254".

You're not alone.

All Teekers have long throats because they suck...

Lol

You can alter the T3 magazine so that you can load to a longer COAL. Link to Rancho Loco'c post:

http://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/4799758