Tikka T3x Ejection Problems - 06/17/18
Greetings! I just took out my brand new 6.5 Creedmoor to the range to sight in my scope and, all told, shot four rounds (got it close for now but ran out of range time).
To my great surprise and utter dismay, all four rounds failed to eject properly. Each one would only fling out at an angle from the ejection port but remain grasped at the end of the bolt. This happened whether I slowly pulled back on the bolt (to try to catch the brass for reloads in the future) or if I cycled hard mimicking field application.
The rifle is a Tikka T3x Lite Stainless. I am using factory loads - Barnes VOR-TX 127g LRX. I also purchased some A-Zoom snap caps in 6.5 CM to become familiar with my trigger. The snap caps also exhibited the same behavior although less frequently, say, 8 out of 10 times versus every time with the Barnes cartridges.
After calling Beretta USA, they want me to send back my brand new rifle to have a technician look at it. How disappointing. Another suggestion they gave was to try another round. The only other two rounds I *might* even consider would be Hornady Superformance 120g GMX or Federal 120g Vital-Shok Trophy Copper but seeing as I just bought a case of the Barnes LRX after a bunch of research, I'd prefer to just stick with these factory rounds, if possible.
Because I am reluctant to send back my baby before even putting 5 rounds through it, I decided to tinker some more. I cycled the snap cap dozens of times, noticing each time that a new nick in the cartridge rim would appear after each ejection or failed ejection. The more times I cycled it through, the more "worn" the casing became. Finally, it just started ejection smoothly as I would expect with consistent speed, trajectory, angle, etc.
I decided to go back to the original 4 spent casings and grabbed one. After cycling the snap cap dozens of times and then trying to close the bolt using the Barnes casing - wow, what a difference. There was an incredible amount of resistance, relatively speaking, and it took a good amount of strength to get that bolt down. Pulling back the bolt, sure enough, that casing just "flicked out" at an angle from the ejection port but never properly ejecting. As I did with the snap cap, I started cycling that same casing over and over again. Sometimes I would get a proper ejection but most times not. Sometimes the case would eject only to fall back into the chamber. Sometimes it would spin 180 degrees and land back in the chamber. Other times, I would cycle it hard (because one Beretta tech told me that with Tikkas, you have to cycle it hard like in the field in order to properly eject the casing - what a bunch of bologna).
Anyhow, as I cycled it again and again, now dozens of times, I noticed the casing become rough around the cartridge rim then start to smooth out from the claw just raking the thing all over. Finally, proper ejection! Then another. Only after dozens and dozens of cycles could I finally get the thing to eject even while pulling back the bolt *ever so* slowly. It would flick out, spinning through the air ever so elegantly. Then sadly, on the next cycle - another stuck, angled out failure to eject. During each cycle, I could tell how muchsmoother and easier it was to chamber the round and cock the bolt. Smooth like butter. Instead of grasping the bolt handle firmly, a couple of fingers could do the trick.
So, I tried one of the remaining 3 casings that I fired at the range. Again, incredibly tight fit and difficult to get the bolt down. I pulled on the bolt and, sure enough, flick! But the casing remained stuck to the bolt end, sticking out of the ejection port at an angle.
I would like to add that after I experienced the FTEs, I disassembled the bolt assembly and sprayed it down with Brakleen and cleaned it really well (don't want any light strikes down the road). I'd prefer not to send the rile back to Beretta or switch to another factory load, if I don't have to. Does anyone have any suggestions? Is there any way to adjust either the extractor/ejector or anything? Should I leave this to a qualified gunsmith or Beretta to look at it?
I suppose I could take each cartridge and sand down the rim to see if that works before going out to the range or field - but how safe/realistic is that?
Many thanks in advance!
To my great surprise and utter dismay, all four rounds failed to eject properly. Each one would only fling out at an angle from the ejection port but remain grasped at the end of the bolt. This happened whether I slowly pulled back on the bolt (to try to catch the brass for reloads in the future) or if I cycled hard mimicking field application.
The rifle is a Tikka T3x Lite Stainless. I am using factory loads - Barnes VOR-TX 127g LRX. I also purchased some A-Zoom snap caps in 6.5 CM to become familiar with my trigger. The snap caps also exhibited the same behavior although less frequently, say, 8 out of 10 times versus every time with the Barnes cartridges.
After calling Beretta USA, they want me to send back my brand new rifle to have a technician look at it. How disappointing. Another suggestion they gave was to try another round. The only other two rounds I *might* even consider would be Hornady Superformance 120g GMX or Federal 120g Vital-Shok Trophy Copper but seeing as I just bought a case of the Barnes LRX after a bunch of research, I'd prefer to just stick with these factory rounds, if possible.
Because I am reluctant to send back my baby before even putting 5 rounds through it, I decided to tinker some more. I cycled the snap cap dozens of times, noticing each time that a new nick in the cartridge rim would appear after each ejection or failed ejection. The more times I cycled it through, the more "worn" the casing became. Finally, it just started ejection smoothly as I would expect with consistent speed, trajectory, angle, etc.
I decided to go back to the original 4 spent casings and grabbed one. After cycling the snap cap dozens of times and then trying to close the bolt using the Barnes casing - wow, what a difference. There was an incredible amount of resistance, relatively speaking, and it took a good amount of strength to get that bolt down. Pulling back the bolt, sure enough, that casing just "flicked out" at an angle from the ejection port but never properly ejecting. As I did with the snap cap, I started cycling that same casing over and over again. Sometimes I would get a proper ejection but most times not. Sometimes the case would eject only to fall back into the chamber. Sometimes it would spin 180 degrees and land back in the chamber. Other times, I would cycle it hard (because one Beretta tech told me that with Tikkas, you have to cycle it hard like in the field in order to properly eject the casing - what a bunch of bologna).
Anyhow, as I cycled it again and again, now dozens of times, I noticed the casing become rough around the cartridge rim then start to smooth out from the claw just raking the thing all over. Finally, proper ejection! Then another. Only after dozens and dozens of cycles could I finally get the thing to eject even while pulling back the bolt *ever so* slowly. It would flick out, spinning through the air ever so elegantly. Then sadly, on the next cycle - another stuck, angled out failure to eject. During each cycle, I could tell how muchsmoother and easier it was to chamber the round and cock the bolt. Smooth like butter. Instead of grasping the bolt handle firmly, a couple of fingers could do the trick.
So, I tried one of the remaining 3 casings that I fired at the range. Again, incredibly tight fit and difficult to get the bolt down. I pulled on the bolt and, sure enough, flick! But the casing remained stuck to the bolt end, sticking out of the ejection port at an angle.
I would like to add that after I experienced the FTEs, I disassembled the bolt assembly and sprayed it down with Brakleen and cleaned it really well (don't want any light strikes down the road). I'd prefer not to send the rile back to Beretta or switch to another factory load, if I don't have to. Does anyone have any suggestions? Is there any way to adjust either the extractor/ejector or anything? Should I leave this to a qualified gunsmith or Beretta to look at it?
I suppose I could take each cartridge and sand down the rim to see if that works before going out to the range or field - but how safe/realistic is that?
Many thanks in advance!