Tikka t3 accuracy problems

Was this at Morton?

If so, you can get a heat haze over the barrel because the air in the range is so damp. This slightly (and in many cases almost imperceptibally) distorts your sight picture, making it very hard to shoot consistently.

Also - if it's your first time off a bench, and you were using a bipod, it may have been 'bouncing' on the bench in a way you're not used to.

I had this, and it really threw me off - developed a sort of flinch that lead to almost exactly the pattern you drscribe.

I've decided I find it far harder to zero indoors - the heat haze, the new position, the extra noise etc etc all really messed with my head. Give me a muddy field any day! I actually put this to the test a month or so ago. Unmoderated .270. Fired a 5 shot group in the range, left everything exactly unchanged, drove to farm and fired another 5 shot grouo. Despite a 10 mile wind, the field group was about an inch (as goodcas this rifle gets), but the range group was nearer 2 inches.
 
No it wasn't mungo - I was surprised about how the rifle behaved to be fair - Of the bipod.

I may may leave her as she is and try an outdoor group as you say.

Its baffelling as it was only a few weeks ago it was shooting near round on round outdoor.

cheers

Was this at Morton?

If so, you can get a heat haze over the barrel because the air in the range is so damp. This slightly (and in many cases almost imperceptibally) distorts your sight picture, making it very hard to shoot consistently.

Also - if it's your first time off a bench, and you were using a bipod, it may have been 'bouncing' on the bench in a way you're not used to.

I had this, and it really threw me off - developed a sort of flinch that lead to almost exactly the pattern you drscribe.

I've decided I find it far harder to zero indoors - the heat haze, the new position, the extra noise etc etc all really messed with my head. Give me a muddy field any day! I actually put this to the test a month or so ago. Unmoderated .270. Fired a 5 shot group in the range, left everything exactly unchanged, drove to farm and fired another 5 shot grouo. Despite a 10 mile wind, the field group was about an inch (as goodcas this rifle gets), but the range group was nearer 2 inches.
 
When I was shooting in my fathers backyard ( no longer possible ), I blew cold air from a compressor through the barrel every 2 shots. At an indoor range this might be possible to do. This I do to eliminate any possible barrel heating problems. This might give you another thing to eliminate and finaly find the answer.
Blowing the air from the chamber to the muzzle.
 
I have a tikka T3 lite in .308 and it's always done me just fine. However the other night I was shooting at a lovely 100m indoor range to remove some of the wind variable for zeroing. My rifle was consistently shooting point of aim first round, then one and a half inches high to 11 o'clock then back to the original point of aim third round. This happened over several targets.

I had noticed that the barrell wasn't quite free floating the whole way back to the action so we removed the stock and filled some off. The problem persisted. I tried with the silencer on and off and the same issue was happening. I can't say I have ever had this problem with it before and he rifle probably has only had 400 rounds through it ever.

I was shooting 150grain federal soft points - I then swapped to 150g ballistic tip Norma's and the problem decreased slightly but again the odd 'thrower' persisted.

I know its not my shooting as I was shooting the other chaps .223 to near a thumbnail.

Any out of the box ideas? Cheers

Hi Cawdor118,

Only advice I could give would be to go and see Gregor up in Tain and move across to the darkside - Blaser

Cheers Aye.
 
Very good points, it was the first time I had fired a centre fire off a bench. I usually shoot prone and have done for May may years.

Maybe i should try going back to prone to establish if it's me doing something wrong off the bench.

I was was trying to be as consistent with as many constants as possible.

Its just strange that the .223 was perfect... Maybes related to recoil and not re setting properly.

Cheers
When guns bounce, and they do off a bench, it often means people hold the rifle differently for each shot.
Not normally an issue but if the parallax is a little off where it ought to be at the given range (e.g. 100m scope shot a sub 100yds) then it can drive some variance.
 
I am very curious that no one has mentioned your mounts and bases. If they are optilocs then may I suggest you take the scope off and check that the screws attaching the rings to the bases are tight. we see a good many rifles that have this screw work loose. Yes your ring screws are snug and the scope is not shifting in the rings. However the rings themselves are moving on the base . It does not take much to make a rifle shift POI. Yours respectfully Mike Norris Brock and Norris Custom Rifles
 
I am very curious that no one has mentioned your mounts and bases. If they are optilocs then may I suggest you take the scope off and check that the screws attaching the rings to the bases are tight. we see a good many rifles that have this screw work loose. Yes your ring screws are snug and the scope is not shifting in the rings. However the rings themselves are moving on the base . It does not take much to make a rifle shift POI. Yours respectfully Mike Norris Brock and Norris Custom Rifles


Thank Mike, it is optilocks and they haven't been off since they went on. I did put them in with low strength loctite, however they'd may have come loose. everything is worth a try.

Cheers
 
Exactly the same happened to my .243 TS Stainless Lite. I ended up having a gunsmith take it all to bits and put it all back together again. He could not find anything, at all, wrong with it, but it now shoots spot on again! He thinks he may have dislodged "something" during the process.
 
Hi Cawdor118 I has a problem with my tikka T3 in that it got a knock and went off zero. I rezeroed and all was ok until next time out when it went off zero to same spot , high left, tightened action screws, mounts etc. Rezeroed again ok then checked again a week later after only putting it in the cabinet and taking it out again, sure enough high left. I stripped everything off,cleaned barrel , remounted everything and rezeroed without mod all ok. Put mod back on again all ok. Since then been spot on and not moved a mm. Something must have been moving even after tightening everything up.
 
Ring1.webp
This its what happened to mine last week, started to shoot all over the place, started to check and found the problem with optilocks dovetail block


Thank Mike, it is optilocks and they haven't been off since they went on. I did put them in with low strength loctite, however they'd may have come loose. everything is worth a try.

Cheers
 
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