Tikka T3 magazine problem.

paultap

Well-Known Member
Hi Guys

I have recently purchased a second hand Tikka T3 tactical in .223 .The rifle is in excellent condition but I noticed a problem on first zeroing it in at the range today. On filling the magazine, the rifle will on cycling the bolt, chamber the first round fine , however the second round often fails to chamber. It looks like the round is tipped up in the magazine so that the rear of the cartridge is too low to be pushed forward by the bolt. The bolt then effectively rides over the round pushing it back down in the mag and chambers nothing. It does this when cycling the rounds through the rifle without firing so it is not a recoil issue. I suspect a weak magazine spring?/ faulty magazine.

I was going to phone GMK for some advice but your views would be greatly appreciated.

Regards Paul.

POSSIBLE FIX TO THIS PROBLEM NOW FOUND

I looked online and apparently the with tikka t3 mags (especially in.223 ) this is a common problem as the magazine lips wear and allow the rounds to tip up in the mag - resulting in the problem above, a new mag is the usual solution.

I took my magazine apart today - by squeezing the bottom and pulling apart, this is quite easy when you know how! (thanks for the advice by the way )

Following advice - I stretched the flat spring to increase the tension on the follower and then reassembled .The result was that nothing changed, still the same problem!

I then stripped the magazine again and reversed the spring direction,the theory being this would put more pressure on the rear of the follower and possibly keep the rounds from tipping down at the back. - result .....SUCCESS!!!

How long it will last I don't know but I cycled 4 rounds through the rifle and they chambered every time, I reloaded the mag with 4 rounds a further three times and every round cycled. PS - I firstly pushed the follower right down a few times with a ruler to settle everything

Actual shooting will tell how long this lasts but there may be life in the mag yet!

If you have the same problem then You may want to give this a go before spending £55 on a new magazine!

Regards Paul.
 
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Hi Guys

I have recently purchased a second hand Tikka T3 tactical in .223 .The rifle is in excellent condition but I noticed a problem on first zeroing it in at the range today. On filling the magazine, the rifle will on cycling the bolt, chamber the first round fine , however the second round often fails to chamber. It looks like the round is tipped up in the magazine so that the rear of the cartridge is too low to be pushed forward by the bolt. The bolt then effectively rides over the round pushing it back down in the mag and chambers nothing. It does this when cycling the rounds through the rifle without firing so it is not a recoil issue. I suspect a weak magazine spring?/ faulty magazine.

I was going to phone GMK for some advice but your views would be greatly appreciated.

Regards Paul.

paultap,

Most magazines live longer with one round less than the declared capacity. You need to take the spring out and reset it (bend it) and then put in one round less.

Stan
 
I had this exact problem with a new T3 223 6 round magazine last week. I took it back to the shop and swapped it out for another which I have not yet tested. Checking online shows this is quite a common problem.
 
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I had the same with my 3 round mag all I did is get some thing the same size as a 223 bullet width place it were the bullet should sit then apply some force to the two sides ie mole grips. Then gently heat with a heatgun take care not to melt the mag it should then go back in place as they seperate after time. as the pressure of the spring pushing the bullet up against the sides push them apart Not two much heat
 
Beretta here will swap them out for free or you can up grade to the new design .223 magazine that has steel feed lips for a bit more loot.
 
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