Longevity of Tikka T3s

AZAK, 5" is not really even competitive anymore. Have you seen the groups being shot in 1k today? A lot has changed in 15 years. 5" groups might put you in the money on a windy day.:(
World record is now under 1.5".
 
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Tikas are very smooth guns. I do not own now but have shot a few. I would not put them in a better class than Savage,but equal. I think Savage is more accurate though. as for Chuck-- I have tried to read a few of his articles and find him to be nothing more than me or you. far from a pro.
 
World record is now under 1.5"
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That would be for a 5 shot group.


I believe that the 10 shot world record is just under 3". Again, making your stock Savage not far off the mark.
 
reynolds357 – You seem a bit overly defensive or enjoy being proven wrong. Maybe you have just had a bad day, but try to stay on topic.
 
I don't think you can claim Savages are more accurate with just one rifle that shot a 5" group at 1000 yards.

Most Savage owner seem to get excellent accuracy out of heavy barrel ones, but you don't hear as much about hunter weight ones. Where as heavy barrel Tikkas aren't as common as hunter weight ones.

Savage's may well be more accurate, but if it's a heavy weight varmint rifle compared to the light Tikka it's not the fairest comparison.

But to the OP Tikka's regardless of whether or not are more or less accurate than a Savage, are still very well mad guns, with very good factory triggers, very good barrel's even the light weight ones and good quality light weight stocks. So yes they will stand the test of time.
 
chrom-moly

Gents,
I have just obtained brand-new Tikka T3 - tactical, in 308 win calibre.
It has thick chrome-moly barrel.
Will try to test it next week on local range.
I have two questions at this point:

1. What is "life expectancy" for this barel, ie - how many shots, before need for re-barrelling?

2. Any suggestions for barrel break-in procedure, if you consider this to be recommended?
Thanks!
 
Jolly,

Life expectancy is going to be largely influenced by how fast and how hard you shoot it. A reasonable shooter, allowing a reasonable amount of time for the barrel to cool between shots, could reasonably expect this high quality barrel to last between 7,000 and 12,000 rounds.

It goes down from there.

Barrel break in.... There are endless schools of thought on this. When it comes to my precision rifles, I generally follow the guidelines set forth below:

The age old question, "Breaking in the New Barrel". Opinions very a lot here, and this is a very subjective topic. For the most part, the only thing you are breaking in, is the throat area of the barrel. The nicer the finish that the Finish Reamer or Throating Reamer leaves, the faster the throat will break in.

Shoot one round and clean for the first two rounds individually. Look to see what the barrel is telling you. If I'm getting little to no copper out of it, I sit down and shoot the gun. Say 4 - 5 round groups and then clean. If the barrel cleans easily and shoots well, we consider it done.

If the barrel shows some copper or is taking a little longer to clean after the first two, shoot a group of 3 rounds and clean. Then a group of 5 and clean.

After you shoot the 3rd group and 5th group, watch how long it takes to clean. Also notice your group sizes. If the group sizes are good and the cleaning is getting easier or is staying the same, then shoot 4 - 5 round groups.

If fouling appears to be heavy and taking a while to clean, notice your group sizes. If group sizes are good and not going sour, you don't have a fouling problem. Some barrels will clean easier than others. Some barrels may take a little longer to break in. Remember the throat. Fouling can start all the way from here. We have noticed sometimes that even up to approximately 100 rounds, a barrel can show signs of a lot of copper, but it still shoots really well and then for no apparent reason, you will notice little to no copper and it will clean really easy.

This is meant as guide lines only. There is no hard and fast rule for breaking in a barrel.
 
Tikka .308 barrels go 7000 to 12000 rounds before accuracy goes down? That's what M14 service rifles do with ball ammo starting out at 2 MOA at 100 yards and ending at 3 to 4 MOA swallowing their bore erosion gauge as it crept in about 1/10th inch every 1000 or so rounds.

Sierra Bullets' .308 test barrels go 3000 rounds before average 10-shot group increases 50% over where it started. They start loosing accuracy starting with the first 10-shot group. Competitive shooters rebarrel their .308's just as often. These start out at sub 1/4th MOA at 100.
 
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Bart,

As you know, barrel life is pretty subjective and largely based on the owner's expectations and application.

I've had 7.62x51 barrels sour with less than 2,000 rounds and I've had them run 8,500+ rounds before going south. Both barrels were from the same manufacturer and were fed only Sierra Match Kings. I'm not that particular. As long as it will hold below 0.75 MOA I'm satisfied.

Why the disparity between those two barrels? I don't know and this example is only anecdotal.

I'm sure I've cut and rechambered or discarded barrels others would have thought perfectly fine. You've probably discarded barrels I'd have screwed on my gun and been perfectly happy with.

Where I get particular is my 6mm. When the groups start spreading out beyond 0.25 MOA, it's time to address it and I've not had one make it past 1,400 rounds (though I suspect I could probably double the round count and keep it under 1.0MOA? Maybe?).

At what point does Sierra deem their test barrel accuracy unsatisfactory?
 
About .350 MOA or less for 30 caliber rail gun barrels for match bullets.

Also, note those long range single-group records are held by rifles that also shoot 7 inch or bigger groups. And all their other groups are bigger than the record one. Those records are 95+% luck representing 1% or less of what it's shooter produces.

That disparity is one barrel and ammo combination is great.

If I organized a benchrest match, the winner would be whose biggest group was smaller than that of everyone else's. He shot all his bullets more accurate than the others.
 
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Interesting!
Gents, thanks for input! However, for the barrel life expectancy, I was actually asking for chrome-moly barrels in 308 win on T3.

How does it effect on tear and wear on chrome-moly? This kind of barrel is not fitted to other Tikkas T3, just on the T3 tactical lines?
Or, so I've heard.

Oh, one more thing for a new rifle:
I've notice that the barrel is not free floating full length.
It is touching the stock, for first few inches out from receiver. Do I need to adjust this?
 
Chrome moly barrels any stainless ones erode at about the same rate.

I don't think anything should touch the barrel. No way will its pressure amount and direction be constant. Unless the stock's fore end is so solid it never bends any amount.
 
Jolly, Bart is right. I know my T3 Tactical only makes contact with the stock at the receiver and the barrel is completely free floated.
 
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