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I have a Tikka T3 that I bought new a few years ago. The rifle has always been a tack driver until this summer. I have about 500 rds through it and can not even hold a six inch group at 100 yds. I have copper fouled it, Tried new rings/scope, and checked all the screws for tourque. I think the barrel might be going but the rifling doesnt look bad. Any Ideas? As always any help is greatly appreciated.
It might help just a little bit to know the caliber of the rifle. You mention that it was a "tack driver", what do you consider a tack driver? At 100 yards was it shooting 1" 3 shot groups, 5 shot groups, 1/2" groups, etc?Quote:
Originally Posted by 308man
Did you change ammunition from what you used to shoot? It could be that the rifle just really doesn't like whatever load you are feeding it right now. How have you been cleaning this rifle? Were you using brushes, solvents? If so, what types and how long did you leave them? I just want to verify that you tried a different scope from the one that was on it? I just want to make sure that you didn't just change the rings, but also changed the scope. Have you checked to make sure that the rifle isn't moving around in the stock, like action screws, or broken stock where it makes contact with the recoil lug. Have you checked out the crown of the barrel?
Sorry if I seem like I'm asking a lot of questions, just trying to eliminate some possibilities and narrow it down a bit.
It is .223 rem. I was shooting 3/4" 5 shot groups at 100 yards. Crown of barrel seems fine. New scope and rings. Did not find any loose screws. Factory remington ammo (same as before) but also tried different ammo. I am not shooting 5.56mm it is .223. Cleaned with hoppes with a patch. I did copperfoul it but followed the directions to a T. I have recently run a brass brush through but seems exactly the same.
The barrel shouldn't be shot out for sure, so you shouldn't have lost any accuracy. You mentioned checking the scope and rings, so I'm guessing you also checked the bases or rail right? Did you change lots of ammo, or was it the same box? Sometimes different lots shoot differently, although I would think not quite in the amounts that you're talking about.
You said that you ran hops witha patch and brass brush. Were you using a bore guide when you did this? Which end of the rifle did you clean from? Did you run the brush both direction while in the bore, or did you only go one direction? You also mention "copperfoul" it; do you mean that you tried to remove the copper fouling? Or did you somehow want to try to add copper fouling to it, I'm confused by that part of the post.
Did you actually change the scope, or just check all bases and rings for tightness? Just wondering if you have an internal scope problem.
Adios,
Pizza Bob
I actually put 2 brand new scopes on it and one set of new rings. Ammo was all from the same lot (I bought 1000 rds.) I put the brass brush down the bore towards the bolt and ran the rod all the way through. I checked the scope rail and nothing seems out of place. I used a copper remover to clean the barrel. I am not sure what I did anymore but I followed the directions(I heard horror stories about people who left it sit too long). thanks for the help so far but I am still at a loss
When you say that you checked all the screws for proper torque, were you referring to just the scope & mount or to all the screws? I'm wondering about action screws. Before you start fooling with them (which may do more harm than good, if they weren't the problem), what kind of rest are you shooting from? Bench rest? Bi-pod? and was this consistent with past sessions with good results? I found that with a bi-pod especially, the bench surface can make a difference - not as extreme as you experienced, but a difference. If you have a bi-pod stay away from carpeted bench tops. The bi-pod should be resting on the wood or concrete. Have you let someone else shoot it - just to eliminate you as a variable. If none of this reveals anything, I'm lost. Good luck.
Adios,
Pizza Bob
I am lost too. I am going to completly strip the rifle and try again. If I still have no luck I might visit a gunsmith. I am shooting off a bench with sand bags. Thanks for all the help.
What kind of scope is it? And was it shooting fine with the old scope but shoots like crap with the new scope? What rings/base?
Pizza Bob mentioned action screws. Did you pull the action from the stock and replace? Properly torque action screws?
with only 500 rnds its not shot out. If it shot just fine before you started fiddling with it, perhaps therein lies the problem.
If you didn't ding the hell out of the crown, i can't image just cleaning it would have that much affect. If it shot well before you tried to replace the scope, I'm inclined to think that the issue is with the scope/mounts.
If you really scrubbed the hell out of it, try shooting it some more and see if it settles back in.
After that I'm stumped because I'm no gunsmith. :D
I have seen this in two of our rifles, one was a 25-06 stainless/syn, and it was copper fouling, and my dads 30-06 on stainless/wood, thought it was the scoped, ended up the receiver/bedding was slightly loose