On the Tikka I would do away with the rings that come with it and get the Sako Optilock bases and rings. I know they are expensive but I've got 8 Sako's all with the Optilocks and they are rock solid. I agree that a 3 shot string should not heat the bbl enough to walk the group as far as yours are. Make sure to use premium factory ammo for best results.
Help, first rifle; confused about accuracy!
- Thread starter CZsp01
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wyohome
Member
I have seen this with magnums more than conventional rounds. Almost every time it is flinching after getting smacked by recoil.
mljdeckard
Member
How about when I am shooting 22-250 and the guy on the bench NEXT to me is shooting 7 mag with a brake? 
bhhacker
Member
He said it was his first rifle and his first shot is doing great but the others are off.
Could it be recoil shyness?
I know when i am sighting in big rifles i sometimes flinch big time.
Could it be recoil shyness?
I know when i am sighting in big rifles i sometimes flinch big time.
savanahsdad
Member
first shot is right on,, then others are not ? you cleaned it and you are right on again , well cleaning will not re-zero your scope , and if you don't clean it you just let it cool then your back on zero, right ? not likely or your scope ,your gun would have cooled when you cleaned it bringing you back to zero, the likelyhood the scope would go back to zero after the 3rd shot every time is not likely , if something is loose in your scope it would be all over the place all the time , you might be on zero on your 1st or 5th or 6th and then after it cools be on for your 2nd maybe your zero shot , so I'd bet there is nothing wrong with your scope , as you said fisrt shot is at zero,
however I also agree with the other post that 3 shots should not heat it up to where it is off by 6" maybe 2"
how much wind was there ? again not likely there is only wind after your first shot , but if it is gusting you might be getting lucky on your first shot ,
I'd check the actoin screws , let it cool 5-10min hold/lean on a tree, and again have someone else shoot it
best of luck , lets us know what you find out
however I also agree with the other post that 3 shots should not heat it up to where it is off by 6" maybe 2"
how much wind was there ? again not likely there is only wind after your first shot , but if it is gusting you might be getting lucky on your first shot ,
I'd check the actoin screws , let it cool 5-10min hold/lean on a tree, and again have someone else shoot it
best of luck , lets us know what you find out
TreeDoc
Member
+1, Had a mountain rifle with a thin barrel, 1st shot was on, 2nd a little worse and 3rd was walking.
toejamm
Member
Change Ammo
I vote to change ammo types and weights.
None of my .308's work well with any Hornady product but they all work well with Federal GMM, Nosler and even the Prvi Partisan stuff.
That's all I got for now.
I vote to change ammo types and weights.
None of my .308's work well with any Hornady product but they all work well with Federal GMM, Nosler and even the Prvi Partisan stuff.
That's all I got for now.
SilentStalker
Member
I am interested in knowing what you find out. I have my hunches as to what it is but I will let you go through testing first. I would not question the rifle too much as Tikka is made by Sako and they manufacture some of the best out of the box rifles in the world. Tikka is the lower end stuff for sure and there is always the possibility of a lemon in everything mass produced but I doubt this is the case here. I would give the rifle to someone else first or put the rifle in a rest, weigh it down, tie a string to the trigger, then load the rifle, stand back and pull the string to fire it. This will alleviate 99% of the error problem. if you can do this and hit fairly close to the original shot everytime then you are guaranteed it is the user. if it still acts the same then I might conclude it to be ammo or wind as a factor. What is the twist rate of that barrel? I do not know right off the top of my head? How far away are we talking about shooting here? if you do the above and it is still walking then it does not have anything to do with the scope as you will not be using the scope for this exercise. if you are still getting bad results and the gun doesn't move and you factor out user error by using the string fire and shooting the rifle from a weighted down rest, then it has to be either the ammo or the rifle.
Russell76
Member
savanahsdad
Member
well it is sunday afternoon , so did we learn anything yet ,
Welding Rod
Member
If Loc-Tite is used, I would recommend using the lowest strength grade - purple. I have broken off my share of gun screw heads when trying to remove tiny gun screws locked with blue.
Kachok
Member
Had a Savage do the same thing once, ended up being bad scope mounts, replaced with a Reaper mount and it shoots like a dream. Tikka rifles shoot real tight normaly, so I doubt it is an issue with the rifle itself.
when i read the op, my first thought was flinching especially since since you said you were using a towel for recoil. mount the gun firm and the recoil shouldn't be that bad even in a lightweight .308. i'd check your mounts and try to find someone else to shoot it and see what they can do, but i'm guessing operator error.
Finally an update! This time I used federal 165 gr I forgot the exact name but it looked fancy and cost about $26/20rds. Last week I had a box of hornlady sst 150gr but it seems I lost it.
I retightened my mount and rings and one of the rings was fairly loose. Yet, it still patterned sporadically. I started to get frustrated then pissed off. Then I began to scrub/wipe after every shot and was surprised at how dirty it was; my patch was pitch black! When I started this thread I never used a bristol brush, just a patch with hoppes bore cleaner, maybe that had something to do with it.
Anyway, my three shot group was right at 3". first shot, slightly left of the red but still touching. Second shot 10:00 of first shot. Third shot 10:00 of the second shot. Does this mean my shots are 'walking'. How do I fix this, if I can? I left fairly happy and just told myself that at 3" groups its just user error and maybe the barrel being a little warm. The weather was cool and there was shade.
Is it normal for it to be so sensitive to fouling?
I retightened my mount and rings and one of the rings was fairly loose. Yet, it still patterned sporadically. I started to get frustrated then pissed off. Then I began to scrub/wipe after every shot and was surprised at how dirty it was; my patch was pitch black! When I started this thread I never used a bristol brush, just a patch with hoppes bore cleaner, maybe that had something to do with it.
Anyway, my three shot group was right at 3". first shot, slightly left of the red but still touching. Second shot 10:00 of first shot. Third shot 10:00 of the second shot. Does this mean my shots are 'walking'. How do I fix this, if I can? I left fairly happy and just told myself that at 3" groups its just user error and maybe the barrel being a little warm. The weather was cool and there was shade.
Is it normal for it to be so sensitive to fouling?
del4
Member
If you never used a brush before there is a real good chance you still have some lead/copper fouling. Fouling will degrade accuracy. But stringing high and left could mean you are pulling the shot if you're a lefty. The rifle should be doing better than 3".
Check you rings again. If they loosened once they'll do it again . Use thread lock.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using Tapatalk 2
Check you rings again. If they loosened once they'll do it again . Use thread lock.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using Tapatalk 2
Driftertank
Member
Again, how much time between shots?
I have a heavy barrelled semiauto, and if i'm shooting for group i make a conscious effort to allow 30 sec or so between shots...
Also, it sounds like you're still breaking in your barrel. The whole purpose of a methodical shoot-clean-shoot-clean cycle is to work in the barrel, finely polish the bore of machining marks and filling in micro-pores so the bullet moves more consistently through it, and fouling accumulates less quickly. Do it consistently, and your groups should "settle down" a bit.
JMO/E
I have a heavy barrelled semiauto, and if i'm shooting for group i make a conscious effort to allow 30 sec or so between shots...
Also, it sounds like you're still breaking in your barrel. The whole purpose of a methodical shoot-clean-shoot-clean cycle is to work in the barrel, finely polish the bore of machining marks and filling in micro-pores so the bullet moves more consistently through it, and fouling accumulates less quickly. Do it consistently, and your groups should "settle down" a bit.
JMO/E
rayatphonix
Member
CZ, I can relate to your issue. I have a 30-06 Tikka and the first shot was right on and it only got worse from there. Fellow High Roaders told me it sounded like user error and fortunately I listened. I worked hard on technique; breathing, trigger control, holding everything the same way every time, etc. Our members are smart and they sure pointed me in the right direction. After a little work everything settled right in. As one person told me, it's usually the Indian and not the arrow...
The suggestion of someone else shooting your rig is also a good one. A friend and I make a point of shooting the other's rifle if there seems to be a problem. It's minimized equipment blame and reminded us technique is probably more important than equipment.
As far as cleaning after every shot, I'm just the opposite. I shoot one or two times before I worry about accuracy. I've found my first shot is not typical of a 3 or 5 shot string and if I adjust my scope based on a perfectly clean barrel my other shots will seldom hit at the same place. I've got a chronograph and have a very real difference in velocity between a shot from a perfectly clean barrel and follow up shots. I usually will shoot 3 to 5 shots and let the barrel cool before shooting again. Once cool, the next group is right on top of the previous shots.
BTW, I like your screen name; I've got 3 CZ SPO1's!
The suggestion of someone else shooting your rig is also a good one. A friend and I make a point of shooting the other's rifle if there seems to be a problem. It's minimized equipment blame and reminded us technique is probably more important than equipment.
As far as cleaning after every shot, I'm just the opposite. I shoot one or two times before I worry about accuracy. I've found my first shot is not typical of a 3 or 5 shot string and if I adjust my scope based on a perfectly clean barrel my other shots will seldom hit at the same place. I've got a chronograph and have a very real difference in velocity between a shot from a perfectly clean barrel and follow up shots. I usually will shoot 3 to 5 shots and let the barrel cool before shooting again. Once cool, the next group is right on top of the previous shots.
BTW, I like your screen name; I've got 3 CZ SPO1's!
I walk down to the target after every shot come back, touch the barrel, settle down, load a round, get situated, and boom. That should be 3-4 min.
After close to 40rds I'm still breaking in the barrel?
The towel is a 1x2 towel that I fold in half and drap over my shoulder. Could the extra thickness causing me to stretch my neck a little to get the correct sight picture be an issue? Hmm I think it may..
The czsp01 was my first handgun, treated me very very well. Not a single ftf or jamming issue.
After close to 40rds I'm still breaking in the barrel?
The towel is a 1x2 towel that I fold in half and drap over my shoulder. Could the extra thickness causing me to stretch my neck a little to get the correct sight picture be an issue? Hmm I think it may..
The czsp01 was my first handgun, treated me very very well. Not a single ftf or jamming issue.
My lease is in Baldwin county Georgia if anyone is willing to help me on the weekend, breakfast and lunch on me
I have no friends that do this. Grew up in the city all my life ny, nj, now here in ga. Rest of my family strictly bow hunts so they are no use.
I have no friends that do this. Grew up in the city all my life ny, nj, now here in ga. Rest of my family strictly bow hunts so they are no use.
It does sound fun but I can't do it this weekend. I have hunted down not too far from you a few times. I went with my neighbor down to Washington County. Took a nice 8 pointer down there a few years ago. It field dressed 180 pounds.
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