So I bought this Tikka. Now what?

[Poper]

Lot's of good advice in this thread, IMHO.
It has been my experience with new rifles and new barrels that the only thing necessary as far as break-in procedure goes is to clean the barrel thoroughly before its first trip to the range. When the patch comes out clean or faintly gray, stop. Then run a well oiled patch down the barrel followed by a dry one. Now you're ready for the range.

My three Tikkas wear a variety of rings sets. One is dressed in Warne, one in Leupold and one in Vortex. Personally, I prefer the Vortex rings just because the scope 'snaps' into the ring lightly and they hold the scope in position before the capture strap is put in place, They are also very robust.

Of my three Tikkas, I probably prefer my .30-06 for shooting even though the .270 is more accurate. The .30-06 is the Hunter model in a wood stock and the .270 is the T3 Lite. The third one is a 6.5x55 Swedish Mauser Hunter model. All are wonderfully accurate and clean up quickly. All were cleaned before going to the range and were cleaned afterwards. The "don't let it get too hot" advice is good advice for any rifle. As the barrel heats up, the throat is the hottest point and the hotter it gets, the more likely it is that erosion will occur.
I compete in High Power Metallic Silhouette matches. My .270 is my match rifle because it will shoot 2-3/4" groups at 500 meters. I also live in the greater Phoenix Metro area and the matches are held at Ben Avery Shooting Facility. In the summertime, the barrel gets so hot after ten rounds (one relay of animals), that it will easily raise a blister if you grab the barrel. When it is 110 degrees and there is very little wind, the barrel GETS HOT! I doubt I will get another season out of this barrel, at least for competition accuracy sake. It will then be relegated to hunting duties, or maybe I will have it rebarreled. We'll see.

Enjoy your Tikka! I believe you will be pleasantly surprised at just how well it shoots!

 

[WrongHanded]

Well I've cleaned the barrel. But as I was doing so, with a stainless steel rod, I thought "Maybe I shouldn't be using a steel cleaning rod. Maybe I need something else." Any thoughts on that?

I will get the mount and scope on later this week. And if I can find the time, go shoot it this weekend.

 

[RecoilRob]

Well I've cleaned the barrel. But as I was doing so, with a stainless steel rod, I thought "Maybe I shouldn't be using a steel cleaning rod. Maybe I need something else." Any thoughts on that?

I will get the mount and scope on later this week. And if I can find the time, go shoot it this weekend.

As long as you're running the rod from the chamber end....it shouldn't matter much what it's made of if you're careful with it. On rifles where you must clean from the muzzle it's nice to have a guide to make it easier to not wallow it out like you find on many Mosin's without the counter-bore that fixed such a thing. Will be interested to hear how you get on with the new rifle.

 

[mshootnit]

What do you use for scope mounts on those tikkas in hard recoiling calibers and are the wood stocks better than the composites for the hard recoiling calibers.

 

[M118LR]

Well I've cleaned the barrel. But as I was doing so, with a stainless steel rod, I thought "Maybe I shouldn't be using a steel cleaning rod. Maybe I need something else." Any thoughts on that?

I will get the mount and scope on later this week. And if I can find the time, go shoot it this weekend.

Get a one piece 30 + inch (ten inches longer than the barrel on a long action) carbon fiber rod. (I like Tipton) As your Tikka isn't bedded some of the particulars of a bore guide an cleaning with the bedding up don't apply, but a bore guide (Lucas) that matches your cleaning rod won't hurt.

So now that we are at the point that the bolt handle is pulled and your staring through the bore at a 50 yard target, just how do you intend to use this rifle? Extra heavy barrels have a tendency to minimize (clean bore) cold bore variance. Sporter/Hunting rifle barrels have a tendency to have more variance. (Lightest weight most effected hunting rifle barrel group photo for example)



So are you going to spend the time to align your poa/poi to the cold bore shot and adjust to a zero centered on shot's 3,4, and 5? Or are you willing to toss a couple of shots aside until you can consistently use the zero on shot's 3,4,and 5 for the rest of your shooting session?

 

[cdb1]

Well I've cleaned the barrel. But as I was doing so, with a stainless steel rod, I thought "Maybe I shouldn't be using a steel cleaning rod. Maybe I need something else." Any thoughts on that?

I will get the mount and scope on later this week. And if I can find the time, go shoot it this weekend.

I use Tipton carbon fiber rods too. I’ve heard arguments for and against every type of cleaning rod, carbon fiber is what I feel most comfortable with.

 

[Offfhand]

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

The commentary about Gale McMillian as a barrel maker is interesting. Makes me wonder about it. Any more information or comment?

 

[cdb1]

What do you use for scope mounts on those tikkas in hard recoiling calibers and are the wood stocks better than the composites for the hard recoiling calibers.

Warne, Talley, Burris and DNZ all work well. There are others that do a good job that I can’t think of right now. It’s really just dependent on which brand floats your boat. I’ve never noticed a difference in recoil between wood and synthetic stocks. I’ve read though that synthetic stocks, especially the less expensive ones with more flex do ameliorate recoil better than wood.

 

[WrongHanded]

So now that we are at the point that the bolt handle is pulled and your staring through the bore at a 50 yard target, just how do you intend to use this rifle? Extra heavy barrels have a tendency to minimize (clean bore) cold bore variance. Sporter/Hunting rifle barrels have a tendency to have more variance. (Lightest weight most effected hunting rifle barrel group photo for example)

View attachment 785996

So are you going to spend the time to align your poa/poi to the cold bore shot and adjust to a zero centered on shot's 3,4, and 5? Or are you willing to toss a couple of shots aside until you can consistently use the zero on shot's 3,4,and 5 for the rest of your shooting session?

Hmm, good question. Maybe I need to see how far off the cold bore shot is from shots 3 through 5. But I suppose with me not being a hunter, a cold bore shot (and the following one) not hitting POA, isn't a big deal.

Do you find that the difference between cold bore and subsequent shots is consistent? Same measurements off in elevation and windage at a given distance? Can that reliably be extrapolated to various ranges, as in X moa left and Y moa low? Or is it more unpredicatable than that?

 

[someguy2800]

I would be extremely surprised if there is any change of point of impact from cold to hot. I have a 2" steel disc at 200 yards at home and my favorite workout for mine is to take it out and hit it 10 times out of 10. There is absolutely no shift in POI in my rifle at all. It shoots .6-.7 moa cold or hot, no warmup shot needed. If you look at the way a tikka stock is molded they are essentially glass bedded from the factory. The reciever is supported from moving in every plane. That and the very good quality barrels are the biggest contributors in why Tikka's have the reputation for shooting like they do. Alot of the advice in this thread is very generic and does not apply to the rifle in question.

 

[M118LR]

Do you find that the difference between cold bore and subsequent shots is consistent? Same measurements off in elevation and windage at a given distance? Can that reliably be extrapolated to various ranges, as in X moa left and Y moa low? Or is it more unpredicatable than that?

That's not a bench rest, or bi-pod, or even adjusted grouping with a hasty on a MINI-30 using Commie 154 HP Silver Bear loads. It's so repeatable that it takes a moment to dial the turrets 2 inches in elevation and 1 1/4 inches for azimuth. So drop shot's 3,4,5, etc on top of the cold bore #1 shot. Equates to a little over MOA with a Mini-30 and Commie 154 grain Silver Bear HP. Mr. Pig, Mr Deer, Mr. Black Bear, I'm reloading my 5 round mag while your charging me with 5 7.62 x 39 mm rounds within a little over an inch of where I wanted to put them. But that is at that specific distance of 100 yards with that rifle and load. ( and shooter) It can not reliably be extrapolated to different ranges as barrel harmonics and velocity spreads of Commie ammo are not that consistent. This was only used as an example for a different question. Any heavy barreled bolt action that had such an extreme spread between cold bore and repetitive shot zero at 100 yards would be regulated to the pine.

Now about the need for a follow up shot if your cold bore shot impacts less than .5 MOA from your point of aim, don't think you will need a second round inside of 800 meters. But it might depend on what your hunting. But should your current Tikka hold .5 MOA at 800 Meters regardless of how you elect to zero it, it's a KEEPER. JMHO.

 

[mshootnit]

So if I understand the receiver is grooved for use with Tikka rings only, and tapped so you can use other bases/rings.

 

[CoalTrain49]

A manufacturer including random advice in a manual does not make it gospel, just skip to the page about never firing anything but factory ammo if you doubt me.

That has nothing to do with the technical advice.

It's a legal CYA clause in every manual I've ever read printed in the last 20 years.

 

[cdb1]

So if I understand the receiver is grooved for use with Tikka rings only, and tapped so you can use other bases/rings.

Yes.

 

[Skylerbone]

That has nothing to do with the technical advice.

It's a legal CYA clause in every manual I've ever read printed in the last 20 years.

None of it is technical advice. Moreover, they have no means of discerning what combination of primer, bullet, and powder will be fired to determine the specifics of a meaningful cleaning routine. If break in and specific products like Remoil or Genuine Winchester Ammunition were truly critical then manufacturers would surely include them.

 

[viking499]

So if I understand the receiver is grooved for use with Tikka rings only, and tapped so you can use other bases/rings.

I believe Warne rings will also work on the Tikka's.

 

[CoalTrain49]

None of it is technical advice. Moreover, they have no means of discerning what combination of primer, bullet, and powder will be fired to determine the specifics of a meaningful cleaning routine. If break in and specific products like Remoil or Genuine Winchester Ammunition were truly critical then manufacturers would surely include them.

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

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

I'm pretty sure I know technical when I see it. I worked in an engineering field for 40 years with an engineering degree.

Not sure why you are talking about ammo specifics. I said factory ammo, you know, as in comes in a box that you buy at the store as opposed to made in your basement by you.

Firearms manufacturers all say to use factory ammo. If you don't it will void your warranty. If you don't believe me send a firearm in for repair and tell them you were using your own loads. It's pretty much a standard disclaimer industry wide. They never say anything about which factory ammo.

 

[Skylerbone]

It’s spinning dangerously close to a back and forth here but let me clarify what I thought was clear:

Manufacturer says break-in procedure is fire 20 rounds, cleaning between each shot fired. Which magic bullet is “seasoning” the bore? Copper solid? Cast lead? What grain? Which specific powder/velocity/pressure? And, if cleaning after each of these rounds is sooo vital, clean it with what? Bronze brush? Soapy water? Copper solvent? CLP? Cotton patch?

Laying out a completely vague procedure with a specific round count like 5 or 10 or 20 rounds is pure bologna. I promise they did not arrive at that number by any means other than randomly. These routines may as well say “Lubricate firearm from time to time”. Every car I’ve owned at the very least specified an octane rating for the gasoline and a weight for the motor oil (because it actually did matter to some extent).

Reading a government manual written for specific firearms being used under varying conditions guarantees only 1 thing; that you will be following a routine. That’s not to argue its merits but to say it won’t be the best or worst way of doing things. Tell me I’m wrong by posting pictures of your segmented cleaning rods and GI issued solvents if you like but I won’t be dissuaded.

I say accuracy is the best predictor of when cleaning should be performed and cleaning/lubrication/rust prevention results should determine what products you choose. Beyond that, my routine has every firearm cleaned the same day it was fired to avoid corrosion and pitting based on my location which is not the desert. I also clean when testing ammo to give each batch a similar baseline bore, clean, or in the case of .22lr free of wax from other manufacturers.

My apologies as a non-engineer if I misused terminology. As an aside, I met a girl in college years ago who burnt her first cake mix after carefully reading the instructions which read, and I’m paraphrasing; “Grease bottom of pan”. Guess where the margerine ended up... Like that story, break-in is not such a serious thing.

 

[cdb1]

I believe Warne rings will also work on the Tikka's.

Warne makes Tikka specific rings that mount directly to the receiver or you can use standard Warne rings if you mount a Weaver style or Picatinny base. The Warne Tikka specific rings are outstanding-actually all of the Tikka specific aftermarket rings I’ve seen are.

 

[eastbank]

no problem with the scopes shifting with the original tikka rings on my two tikka rifles. with a 4x12 leupold and a 7.5 leupold mounted in the tikka rings.

 

[Demi-human]

"Guess where the margarine ended up..."

Brilliant!

This is to the point of understanding why one does what one does. Blind obedience is usefull, not usually to the obdient one.

I doutb a Shilen, Kreiger, Hart or Bartlien would need a break in. Would they love you to do so? Yup. For those who buy such barrels, round count is everyhing. And every round counts. Cleaning counts double.

Would a rough factory rifle benifit from a planned seasoning? Perhaps. Knowing why and having a good break in procedure are two different things.

 

[CoalTrain49]

Reading a government manual written for specific firearms being used under varying conditions guarantees only 1 thing; that you will be following a routine. That’s not to argue its merits but to say it won’t be the best or worst way of doing things. Tell me I’m wrong by posting pictures of your segmented cleaning rods and GI issued solvents if you like but I won’t be dissuaded.

Of course you're right.

Manuals are for the uninitiated written by people with at least some experience.

Some people who can't think for themselves use them as bibles and believe no other method works. The military is obsessed with this. It's so bad that FN, who can build any barrel to any spec, maintains equipment to build barrels with a button rifled spec for the military though they would rather hammer forge. That probably drives up the cost of a rifle.

Mostly I've found manuals to be good practice if one has no practical experience with the subject. I'm not an experienced rifle shooter so I rely on the manuals when I have questions.

I hardly ever read manuals until something goes wrong. Just went thru that last week and the manual pointed out my lack of knowledge about operating an air compressor.

No apology necessary. Technical means different things to different people.

 

[Newtosavage]

I can't believe how many threads on this forum end up in an argument about barrel break-in. LOL

 

[spartandemon]

I've got to disagree, all new barrels need some careful break in to achieve maximum accuracy for thier lifetime. It starts before you send the first round downrange. Prior to taking your new rifle to the range, clean it IAW the Old USMC M40 Manual. You will be amazed at what factories leave behind after cutting your new barrel! For the first 10 rounds stop and thoroughly clean your rifle after each round. It's your rifle, you will be the one that uses it for a lifetime.

About that scope mounting, I'm going to assume that you have read enough to ensure the mounts,rings,and scope end up level. But what are you going to do to ensure that you have the scope at proper eye relief? Usually I mount the rifle on my shoulder and mark with blue painters tape where my cheek weld is. Then you need to know what the eye relief of your particular scope is. Mark that distance from the end of your closed action with another piece of blue painters tape. Hopefully the eye relief of the scope you have chosen allows your bolt handle unencumbered range. When you mount the scope it should end up between the two pieces of blue painters tape. When using a variable magnification scope you must remember that eye relief varies with the magnification power selected. Just some Old School info that may be of use. JMHO.

I agree with you when it comes to factory barrels. However for premium barrels including the current m40 barrels, made my Gary Schneider‘s company Schneider Barrels over in AZ, are generally hand lapped pretty well.
So there tends to be less to no machine burrs to workout in general.
However for the sake of consistency and for streamline or more uniform copper coating in the boar, I personally still do break in procedures. If reaching a type of copper equilibrium is not important to your shooting, then a simple cleaning after shooting is no big deal.

 

[Poper]

I can't believe how many threads on this forum end up in an argument about barrel break-in. LOL

Well, in this particular thread, the OP did ask about barrel break-in.....
IMHO, it would only be natural that competing opinions would be expressed in the course of the thread.
Even so, I find it interesting the number of different procedures people use.

I kind of look at it like breaking in the engine of a new car: Just drive it during the break-in the same way you will be using the vehicle. As a former wrench bender and line mechanic for a Dodge dealership and Uncle Sam's AF during the '70s, I have found that to be the way I get maximum life from an engine.
Funny thing about mechanical devices. They seem to like consistency and smooth applications of power over random applications of maximum power. If you are a reloader, as many of us here are, if everything you load for is loaded to the maximum performance level for maximum velocity, chances are the life of your firearm will be rather limited. Kind of like driving a car with the throttle wide open all the time. Sooner than later, something will probably give.