So I bought this Tikka. Now what?

[coloradokevin]

Now as for barrel break-in, I'm pretty lost. There's so much conflicting information out there that I don't really know what to trust. I've read somewhere that the barrels on Tikka rifle are actually Sako barrels, and polished to a point where they don't need breaking in. But that's just something I read some place. Any input on what is really neccessary would be much appreciated.

Although I understood much of the theory of rifle shooting and now how to zero the scope and use a ballistics calculator, I've just never been very good with a scope. I think I've also had a tendency in the past to rush my shooting, which has not worked out well for me. So let's imagine I've never shot a scoped rifle before. What tips would you give to a new shooter to help them become competent?

Tikka barrels are made by Sako. I have a friend who used to work at the Sako factory, and he verified that fact for me.

Even with my high-end guns, I really don't do much for barrel break-in. When the gun is new I clean it with somewhat more frequency than once I have it "broken in", but I don't follow some ridiculously regimented procedure. I'll probably give it a cleaning after the first ten rounds, then again after the next 25, and then call it a day. That's about what I did with my Tikka. Now I clean it every 150 rounds or so, as that's where I start to see accuracy fall-off. The gun shoots great! You'll love the Tikka once you get used to shooting it.

Now, for some tips:

1) Make sure you mount your scope so that you naturally come onto the rifle "in" the eye box for that scope at all magnification levels. This involves both how far forward you mount the scope, and how high. Generally as low to the bore line as possible is ideal, but not if you can't consistently get a clear view through the scope that way.

2) Make sure you mount the scope to a proper torque. I can't tell you how many times I've seen people frustrated by a "lack of accuracy", only to find out that their scope is moving ever so slightly while they're shooting. Take a pencil and draw some index lines between the scope body and the mount/rings so that you can easily notice if the two do move at all.

3) Make your position consistent every time you mount the rifle. You should be getting the same cheek weld each time. If you're mounting the rifle consistently, you'll have less chance of parallax and bad form interfering with your shot.

 

[cougar1717]

So let's imagine I've never shot a scoped rifle before. What tips would you give to a new shooter to help them become competent?

1.Attach scope rings/mount to rifle and inspect contact surfaces with scope. Use fine grit sandpaper to knock off any rough edges, if necessary. The DNZ mount may not need it. Remember not to use the sandpaper on any surface that will be seen - just the inside of the scope rings.
2.Turn variable power scope up to maximum magnification. Set scope in the rings and snug the screws on the rings to a tension where you are still able to turn the scope by hand and slide it forward and backward without the scope freely moving.
3. At maximum magnification, shoulder the rifle. Adjust the eye relief (as in, sliding the scope forward or backward) to make sure you see the "full circle" at maximum magnification without the shadowing. The idea is to get the ideal eye relief for how you hold the rifle.
4.Next, adjust the scope so that the crosshairs are vertical and horizontal when shouldered. There are very few things more annoying that shouldering a rifle and looking at canted crosshairs. If you're a pure benchrester - do whatever you want, just set the crosshairs in the way that you would most commonly shoot. This may take several iterations of shouldering the rifle with eyes closed and opening your eyes. You want to set these in a natural configuration so that when you shoulder the rifle the eye relief is correct and the cross hairs are vertical/horizontal.
5. Next, tighten everything down. Use a drop of BLUE loctite on the ring screws if you don't want to ask THR in five years why your rifle went from "sub-moa all day long if you do your part" to 6"+ groups. Recoil can loosen things up over time!
6. Boresight it. Instructions were above. Set up your point of reference by looking down the bore and adjust the scope to match the bore's point of reference. Remember, if the turrets have "up/down" and "left/right" on them, when you are boresighting the adjustments work backwards. I won't bore you (haha) with the POI/POA discussion.
7. Clean it before you take it shooting, JIC. It's probably not necessary, but we all do it anyway.
8. Go to the range and save yourself some ammo by starting out at the 25yd distance. Set the scope to the minimum magnification and fire a couple of shots JIC the scope needs to settle. From a rest/bag, you should be stacking your shots at 25yds. Measure/Estimate how far from the center you are and what your adjustments need to be. Math may be required- haha. Go to 50yds and do the same thing. Go to 100yds and do the same thing. Adjust the scope's magnification as necessary. Use the same ammo while you do all this unless you enjoy frustration.
9. If you need to re-sight your rifle for your elk hunt with new uber-hyper-quantum speed technology cartridges that have low ionized depleted uranium bullets (or any other ammo), don't be afraid to start back out at a shorter distance. I've seen way too many people burn up boxes of ammo at 100+ yd targets and not have anything to show for it because all the shots were off the paper. They couldn't figure out where their shots were landing to make the correct adjustment.
10. Practice. Practice consistency of holding the rifle. Practice squeezing the trigger with the crosshairs on the center of target as last thing that you see before the recoil jars your eye's alignment with the scope.
11. Ask more questions on THR and take the answers that you get with a grain of salt

 

[SwampWolf]

I'm not sure when it started but for an awfully long time (surely pushing the 1980s) the idea of having to break a rifle barrel in before using it was never a serious contemplation. I have books written in the 1970s by some renowned riflemen, including Jim Carmichel (The Modern Rifle), Jack O'Conner (The Hunting Rifle) and Warren Page (The Accurate Rifle-which included excerpts from barrel makers of the day, Ed Shilen and Clyde Hart) to name a few, where a barrel break-in procedure was never mentioned.

I'm not necessarily arguing that breaking a barrel in is not a good idea (there's really no downside to the regimen that I can see aside from time expended and inconvenience); only making the point that a lot of good shooters shot a lot of rifles over the span of many, many decades without experiencing any reported ill-effects (in terms of accelerated barrel wear or accuracy concerns) attributed to shooting first and cleaning later. Or maybe those old-timers just didn't know any better. Modern day riflemen might simply shrug and reference the old adage "ignorance is bliss"...

 

[M118LR]

The procedure to break in some rifles is technical. These are recommended by Remington for the M24.

https://usarmorment.com/pdf/m24_maintenance.pdf

Not sure why you are talking about ammo specifics.

I may be mistaken, but Bolt Action Remington LA M24 & SA M40 are either going to be feed M852 or M118 and nothing about Military Ammunition or the components used to clean and lubricate Military issued Remington Bolt Actions isn't specific. So I understand your concern with general manufacturers recommendations Skylerbone, but the procedures and components specified within the Weapons Manuals for bolt action Sniper Rifles have been proven to work during the most demanding and inhospitable of conditions afield. I shall reiterate that the most important rounds sent down a new barrel are the first ten. I strongly recommend that you stop and clean your rifle after each shot IAW the M40A1 cleaning procedures.

This might not seem reasonable to some, but all the micro-fractured edges at the junction of the Lands & Grooves along with eroded metal from the bore throat are going to be sent down your barrel scoring it under super heated conditions. 10 rounds out of the average 3000 round life of a Non-Magnum barrel isn't much of a sacrifice, especially since most competition barrels are going to have more rounds than that sent downrange as spoilers to fowl the barrel. JMHO.

How many chances do you have to put your 1 st 10 rounds down a barrel? Why do they air-gauge barrels? (answer: so that the furthest point from combustion is the tightest tolerance of the barrel.) Barrel life is directly equated to throat erosion. Why is a barrel like a one way street?

 

[CoalTrain49]

I may be mistaken, but Bolt Action Remington LA M24 & SA M40 are either going to be feed M852 or M118 and nothing about Military Ammunition or the components used to clean and lubricate Military issued Remington Bolt Actions isn't specific. So I understand your concern with general manufacturers recommendations Skylerbone, but the procedures and components specified within the Weapons Manuals for bolt action Sniper Rifles have been proven to work during the most demanding and inhospitable of conditions afield. I shall reiterate that the most important rounds sent down a new barrel are the first ten. I strongly recommend that you stop and clean your rifle after each shot IAW the M40A1 cleaning procedures.

This has me asking a question about Howa rifles. We all know that Howa makes the barreled actions for Weatherby. Some of those rifles are 2K or more. I know that Howa uses a hammer forged process to build their barrels. Most rifle mfg's do these these days because it's faster. Even though those barrels are hammer forged they still recommend the break in procedure that I mentioned.

So now going back to the OP's question. What do I do with a new Tikka? If the owners manual says the barrel doesn't need to be broken in then it probably doesn't. But...... as a matter of precaution why not start the barrel break in procedure to see what your patches are telling you. If there is a lot of black crap on your patch that should tell you that you have metal deposits coming from your bore. Shoot and clean until that stops. On my Howa rifles that stops at about 20 rounds. Those barrels are not lapped and your Tikka may not be either even tho they claim they are. Why take a chance on a 1K rifle. It takes about an hour.

 

[M118LR]

Everyone has an opinion, but I was always impressed with Gale McMillan's: http://www.6mmbr.com/gailmcmbreakin.html

The TL;DR version: if the barrel is made properly, it shoots well from the very beginning.

As a sidebar: after you purchased your McMillan Tactical Rifle. Did you follow the prescribed Break in Procedures that accompanied it?
How impressed where you with it?
Bye the way, didn't Mac have a kid that joined the Navy?
Wonder why?
Wonder why Macs record stood for 40 years after everyone trod lockstep? https://mcmillanusa.com/world-record-group/
Lemming's have no secrets!

 

[M118LR]

Coal Train 49, regarding the claims of the manufacturer: exactly what World Records does a Tikka or Howa Rifle hold???????

About those anal, break in procedures, do any of those manufactured rifles hold a World Record?

Need I say more????????????????

Manufacturer's claims vice actual World Class Records, you make the call?

Records are being rewritten every minute of every day, long ago and on Continents far away Remington 40X Bolt Actions held records, even if they are nothing more than footnotes in History, what's the History of the rifle's in question?

 

[Skylerbone]

the procedures and components specified within the Weapons Manuals for bolt action Sniper Rifles have been proven to work during the most demanding and inhospitable of conditions afield.

There are, in logic, a number of fallacies which show up so often as to be named. One such is “if, therefore because of”. Forest Gump does an exemplary job of explaining this one with his ping pong paddle commercial and even he recognized that it weren’t the arrow but the indian. For those who missed the movie here’s an example: I wore my underwear backwards when the Yankies won the pennant. Conclusion; because I wore my underwear backwards the Yankies won the pennant.

For every routine there is a counter routine, a terrible towel, rally cap, guy growing a beard, lucky penny. All any of it proves is that if one performs the rain dance often enough it will eventually rain, just ask a Cubs fan.

 

[WrongHanded]

I've now mounted the scope and boresighted.

Whilst adjusting the scope, I noticed that the difference in eye relief of the 2-7x32 Prostaff is quite a big one. I tried to split that difference as best I could. Now that it's locked down, 4x seems to be perfect just laying my cheek on the stock with my eyes closed. Both ends of the maginification range require a little adjustment. I suppose a smaller range of eye relief is one of the benefits to a higher end scope.

Though I like the simplicity of removing the bolt and sighting down the bore, as it wasn't yet 5am when I did it, I ended up using a laser boresighter to get my reasonably close. The laser isn't quite straight, but by turning it in small increments, I could adjust the scope fairly close. I ended up with the laser tracing a circle around the thinner crosshairs of the duplex reticle, at 17yds (which is all my basement offers). But that should get me on paper at the 25yd range, which is my next step.

 

[RainDodger]

My Tikka T3 in .30-'06 went to the range the day I bought it. I ran a couple of patches through it first and then went shooting. That was the "break-in"... I clean it after each range session and that's it. It is a supremely accurate rifle. As was mentioned above, a Limb-Saver recoil pad was an early purchase. It's a light rifle and your shoulder will notice.

 

[mshootnit]

I was looking at the SAKO A7 website, and it says something about "gluing the bases" Wha?

 

[CaptHank]

Interesting article from Carlos Hathcock about sighting in a rifle.

http://americanshootingjournal.com/carlos-hathcock-method-of-sighting-in-a-rifle/

Time consuming, but precise.

 

[someguy2800]

I bought my Tikka with money from my first job. My dad and brothers were all shotgunners, not rifle people so I was on my own to figure it out. My dad at the time was not yet into shooting and only had 22's and one 243 which he almost never shot. My older brother was the most knowledgeable person I knew on most mechanical topics, or so I thought, so I asked him what I should do with it as far as cleaning and he told me rifles don't need to be cleaned. I just shrugged and went on with my life. I bought a bore snake for it and would run that through it with oil on it from time to time but never cleaned it.

A year or two later I was talking with my now father in law (who is a rifle guy and competitive shooter) and I mentioned I was really having a hard time with grouping with it. Groups went from a consistent .6 moa to over an inch. He asked have you tried cleaning it with a copper solvent? I said whats a copper solvent? After getting educated I went and bought some copper cleaner and it took about 2 hours to get all the copper out of it. It had probably 400 rounds down the tube at that point. Right back to .6 moa and it still is. That was a long time ago and I have since re educated myself on many of my brothers teachings.

 

[CoalTrain49]

After getting educated I went and bought some copper cleaner and it took about 2 hours to get all the copper out of it. It had probably 400 rounds down the tube at that point. Right back to .6 moa and it still is. That was a long time ago and I have since re educated myself on many of my brothers teachings.

It's pretty amazing what will come out of a barrel if you clean it with the right product.

 

[CoalTrain49]

About those anal, break in procedures, do any of those manufactured rifles hold a World Record?

I don't think so. What I do know is the military puts a lot of rounds down range during training. They also have a lot of time and money to research cartridges, ammo and rifles. A lot of what one might see in any competition is the direct result of that. Maybe not everything that competitors do or use was developed by the military, but a lot of it is.

Another good example of this is pilot training. The woman that landed that 737 after an engine blew up was a Navy trained fighter pilot. Her training as a fighter pilot paid off for a lot of people in a very short time.

 

[Newtosavage]

That was a long time ago and I have since re educated myself on many of my brothers teachings.

I am the youngest of three brothers. I used to think my older brothers knew a lot about a lot of things. LOL

 

[WrongHanded]

First range trip:

With my rifle bore sighted, I headed off to the range after work. At 25 yards my first shot was high and left. The second was still high and left but about 1" lower, and I could tell I pulled it when I made the shot. The third hit close enough to the hole from the first that the two holes intersected. So I decided to bring the target back in and evaluate how far off my POA those two were. I worked out the moa adjustments based on 1 minute being about a 1/4" at 25 yards and started turning knobs.

What happened next (some of you can probably guess), is that a guy who's spent quite a bit of time adjusting rear sights on revolvers and not done any work with a scope in a good few year, proceeded to do things exactly backwards. And to make matters worse, once I realized my mistake, I then spent a good amount of time correcting myself twice (and therefore still doing it wrong), and kept on undoing my progress about as fast as I achieved it. For a little while there I started to think the scope was broken, but quickly decided I was just being idiotic.

So 30 rounds later (3 from a friend, to confirm), I got zeroed at 25 yards. Achieving any level of competency seems it may be quite an uphill battle. And whilst I'd like to tell you that my last 4 shots went into one ragged hole right in the center of the bullseye....they didn't. I was pretty burned out by then, and decided to go home and come back fresh another day. But it's now at least zeroed at 25 yards....probably.

However, I noticed a few things. The scope is in the right place for me, so that's good news. Most of my 3 shot groups had one shot that I pulled, and most times I knew I was doing it when it happened. It's bad that I'm doing that, but good that I know when I'm doing it. The other two of each group were either intersecting or one ragged hole. And from that I take that the rifle can do its job....if I can do mine. I also noticed that the recoil is stiff, but maybe not enough that I'm ready to get a limbsaver just yet (though I may try to find one for my .45-70, now that it's been suggested). And finally, I noticed that the barrel gets hot pretty quick, which I need to bear in mind.

I'll let you all know what happens when I get to a 100 yard range.

 

[RecoilRob]

One thing to remember....that scope is parallax adjusted for 100 yds, so trying to shoot it at 25 is going to introduce a sighting variable that can be frustrating if your cheekweld is not 100% perfect with every shot. When you get out to 100 things will be better...sighting wise, but your cheekweld is still important just for consistency. A light rifle will move while the bullet is traveling down the barrel so how you hold it, and rest it will affect the resulting bullet flight.

My last Remington 700 VLS in 308 was frustrating to shoot as it would put several into a single hole then throw a flier or two out of the group. The barrel had been pretty rough but I'd lapped it with JB Bore Paste and it seemed to be shooting pretty decently...but those darn fliers were bugging me. Finally decided that it was ME letting the rifle move too much...so I put it into a Choate Ultimate Sniper stock...which weighs a TON, and that rifle was a 'One Holer' from then on.

You haven't mentioned your cleaning regimen.....how are you doing it? I've found that sometimes multiple passes with Hoppes #9 then Sweets 7.62 are needed to get the carbon then copper out. The copper can and will layer on the existing carbon and each can present a barrier for the solvent that eats the other, so alternating can get through the multiple layers that might exist. When you end up with clean patches using both cleaners...you're clean.

I agreed to help a friend with a rifle that 'just won't shoot' once....and despite his repeated claims that he'd cleaned it....got about 7 layers of carbon and copper out of it before it was actually down to bare barrel. This took a while, but returned the rifle to good shooting form. With even a premium barrel...being new, I'd be sure to clean it well when expecting it to show what it's got. Have fun!

 

[WrongHanded]

You haven't mentioned your cleaning regimen.....how are you doing it? I've found that sometimes multiple passes with Hoppes #9 then Sweets 7.62 are needed to get the carbon then copper out. The copper can and will layer on the existing carbon and each can present a barrier for the solvent that eats the other, so alternating can get through the multiple layers that might exist. When you end up with clean patches using both cleaners...you're clean.

I didn't clean between shots whilst at the range, but I did clean it before I went (using a spray/foam cleaner I already had). But I bought Hoppes #9 for this rifle, partly beecause itsi recommended by so many people, and partly because I've never used it before. I like it!

I pushed patch after patch through the barrel with the new carbon fiber rod I bought. That was a lot of dirt. I didn't alternate with a copper solvent though, and that sounds like a good idea. I did finally get it pretty clean, though my last few patches were not quite spotless. Then I ran a patch through with some oil on it, and a dry one after that.

 

[mshootnit]

Yes.

Thank you

 

[someguy2800]

Try gunslick foaming more cleaner. It’s the best copper and fouling remover I’ve ever seen.

 

[WrongHanded]

I got to a 100 yard indoor range today. Shot 10 rounds of AE 150gr in two 5 shot groups. The first group was probably the best of the whole session and it wasn't great. It wasn't even good. Then, having run out of the AE, I switched to some Fiocchi 150gr and shot a terrible 3 shot group, followed by another 3 shot group on a smaller corner target where I missed the paper completely on 2 of the 3 shots. One more adjustment on the scope, and my last 4 rounds danced around the bull of the smaller target on the opposite corner.

So the best group size I managed was about 3". Obviously I'm doing something wrong. A few things really. One of which is trending the reticle right of the bullseye, so I need to watch that. Another is playing with the magnification too much. A third would be inconsistent cheek weld, partly stemming from inconsistent jaw tension, and partly from adjusting the magnification and therefore changing the eye relief. So I'm setting the magnification to 4x, and leaving it there for the time being. It's most comfortable right there and after playing with the reticle focus ring, I think that's the best spot for me.

On the bright side, I took my time between shots, and between groups, to relax and let the barrel cool. 20 rounds in 45 minutes doesn't seem like a lot, but perhaps it is. And I think I'm well enough zeroed at 100 yards to just leave it be and practice consistency. I'll shoot the 30 remaining rounds of Fiocchi 150gr before moving on to try the 168gr that I also have.

 

[cdb1]

Thank you

Anytime.

 

[M118LR]

When zeroing in for any given round, even a plastic rifle cradle like those used when cleaning can be of great assistance. Just remember to reset the cross hairs at the POA and then adjust them to the exact point of impact while viewing through the scope. Every time you change weights, makers, even lots of the same ammo, your zero is going to need adjustment. Just food for thought.


Now that the M24 & M40 are at the end of thier service lives, there will be no further changes to incorporate any modern/perhaps better procedures for .308 Win Bolt Action Rifles. I'm not sure how relevant the procedures for the Military Version of the 300 Win Mag since Civilian replication of the over pressure & over length ammunition won't be safe. So while the procedure's used by every service marksmen since 1963 have been proven to work, without any further ability to update them in the future, they may not be the best. Your point Skylerbone is valid and indisputable.

 

[someguy2800]

Work on your rest and practice dry firing. If your rest or bench is not sturdy enough to hold the reticle at least within a 1 inch dot it’s not sturdy enough.

This front rest and a sandbag or rolled up T shirt for the back should do. Put your left hand on the back bag and use it to adjust left and right and squeeze for up and down. Your right hands only job is to hold the rifle and squeeze the trigger, it should not impart any movement. Same for your cheek, don’t push with your cheek to align the crosshairs.

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1015052687/caldwell-rock-jr-rifle-front-shooting-rest

Once you can get it steady and not moving around on the target practice dry firing. Put the scope on highest power so you can see your movement on the target. Again with a 1” dot on the target, the crosshairs should still be on the dot after you pull the trigger. If it’s moving at all figure out which way your moving the gun with your finger and correct your finger movement. Once your practiced up dry firing shoot one round, then dry fire it 5 more times, then another round, ect... Your reteaching your brain that shooting a live round is no different than dry firing. Mentally concentrait when you shoot the live round that your dry firing and there will be no recoil.