One Step Closer to Venison

I finally shot the Tikka T3x Superlite today. Things went well, mostly.

Like my Ruger Precision Rifle, which was a lot more expensive, this is a 6.5mm gun. The thing that concerned me was that it might turn out to be more accurate than the RPR, for a lot less money. That would make me feel stupid.

I’m not positive, but while I don’t think it will top the RPR, it may equal it.

I started out at 50 yards, using cheap Sellier & Bellot ammunition to foul the just-cleaned bore and get on the paper. I shot two rounds at the center of a bullseye. The first shot was very low, so I adjusted the scope. The next shot was in the center of the bullseye.

I moved back to 100 yards, and the next shot went through the same hole the second shot made. I would not expect a 50-yard zero to be the same as a 100-yard zero, but this is what happened. I shot several more rounds, realized I was wasting ammo, and moved to Hornady ELD Match 140 grain, which should be somewhat more accurate than S&B.

I’ll put up my first target. Believe it or not, I was adjusting the scope while firing these shots. Will the Tikka do sub-MOA? Oh, yes. And with bargain Czech ammunition, no less.

I moved to the next target. I intended to put up a 4-bullseye target, but I wasn’t paying attention, so I put up another 8″ bullseye. I turn these into 5-bullseye targets by shooting at various line intersections and then the center. There is a 5-shot group low on the target. That was the first group, and I was shooting at the intersection closest to it. Acceptable.

I adjusted the scope to move the point of impact to the left, and then I shot at intersection to the left of the center of the target. My first shot was around 2.5 inches to the right of the point of aim. I figured it was a bad flyer. Then I shot four more shots, and as you can see, they were in the same area.

At this point, I figured I was wasting my time. I needed to take the rifle indoors and check the torque on the scope screws to make sure the scope hadn’t moved. I just checked them, and they’re fine. I think next I’ll clean the barrel again. I’m wondering if something in there is affecting the point of aim.

I don’t know what the problem is, but this gun will shoot. Once I find out why the point of impact moved, I’ll be seriously accurate with this thing.

This gun doesn’t have a bipod on it. I thought it was a bad idea to use a bipod to zero a hunting gun, so I used a front bag. The bag was too low, so it was hard to keep the gun on target. Maybe this is why the last group shifted. Just guessing. I need to put something under the bag next time.

I don’t know if I should continue using match ammo. It’s an interesting question. I have 100 rounds of Hornady Whitetail ammo on the way, and if I were to hunt, I would expect to use it, so why play around with match ammunition? On the other hand, I’ve read that some people prefer ELD Match for hunting, even though Hornady doesn’t recommend it.

The trigger is very light. I adjusted it before I fired the gun, and I made it as light as it would go. I didn’t think it would go this far. I should probably dial it back a little if I hunt with it. I don’t want to shoot trees, the ground, or other hunters who may have lawyers.

I think buying this gun was a good move. It’s very light, Tikka quality is very good, and you can see it shoots well. It beats my shoulder up when shooting prone, but I suppose I can wear a padded shirt or just be a man about it and not whine.

I’ll clean it and shoot some Hornady Whitetail through it. For now, my next move is to mount my red dot scope and try it on the AR-15.

Hope Biden never comes for the Tikka, but if he does, he can give it to the cops and tell them they finally have a chance at hitting people in the leg. His contrarian advice on marksmanship and real-world tactics is always interesting.