Tell me how good you shoot your ultralight

[johnnybow]

Just bought a tikka t3x roughtech ultra light in a 7 mag. I have not shot it yet but have hopes to be able to shoot it it accurately out a ways. I got a 3-18 vx6 luepold on it and in the processing of making some loads. I understand ultra light rifles are typically harder to shoot but I'd love to hear accurate they can be. Thanks

 

[Robert N]

Remington AWR Custom Shop, 7mm SAUM, 22" barrel. 6# naked, 7# with a Swaro scope. Groups 140gr. AB's at 3000 fps into .75" groups at 100 with a 3 shot group.

Merkel K1, 7mm Rem Mag, 24" barrel. 6#, 6oz topped with a Leupold VX3 2.5-8. It also groups .75" at 100 yards with a 3 shot group. Recoil on this one is very brisk.

The rifle typically isn't technically the issue for accuracy...rather, because they are light weight they often require more patience and technique. Being as light as they are they also typically have very thin barrels which heat up a whole lot faster.

 

[belshawelk]

Break in slowly is important on thin barrels.

for me
shoot one, clean barrel, make basic scope adjustments
after barrel cools shoot 2. Clean and adjust
After cool then I start 3 shot groups. taking time between each shot. cleaning after every 3 shot

Cleaning for me in this process , couple wet patch passes, brush, re-wipe, dry patch.

mine all shoot better than I can

 

[howl]

Shotgun, I missed a gobbler clean at 35 yards
Sq rifle I can head shoot to 75 most of the time
Don't have any ul center-fire rigle

 

[Kiwi]

Nice rifle!

I have an older Tikka T3 suppressed also in 7 mag with a 3-18 VX6. I use Hornady factor ammo, 162 grain SST's. Less than 1 MOA at the range.

What distance are you hoping to shoot? With my Tikka I am confident out to 700+ yards in the right situation and right set up.

 

[Hyhunter]

Have the same rifle in 300wsm, it's sub moa no problems. I changed the stock out to a Grayboe, the added weight helped me off hand and positional shoot better.

Personal I shoot heavy better I learned and the stock paint wore off rubbing in my Kifaru gun bearer.
Shooting norma bondstrikes and hornady eldx sub moa, it absolutely hated federal terminal ascent

 

[MTLabrador]

Tikkas still have a standard sporter weight barrel with a nice weight forward balance and are easy to shoot well in my experience.

 

[johnnybow]

Nice rifle!

I have an older Tikka T3 suppressed also in 7 mag with a 3-18 VX6. I use Hornady factor ammo, 162 grain SST's. Less than 1 MOA at the range.

What distance are you hoping to shoot? With my Tikka I am confident out to 700+ yards in the right situation and right set up.

700 would be great

 

[CPAjeff]

They can be boringly accurate. Tikka T3X Roughtech 6.5 PRC 140 Berger handloads. This group is at 100 yards, it maintains sub MOA groups much farther than I care to shoot at animals.

 

[Sheltowee]

Any Tikka with decent factory ammunition should be 1MOA or better. With tuned handloads, .5MOA is not unreasonable. All of mine have been but they've all been moderately-to-totally customized.

As someone mentioned above, the key is going to be not letting your barrel overheat. Harmonics will do all kind of funky things as you heat up. For best accuracy, I've found firing a string of 5 followed by 5 minutes cooling with the action open (even better if you have a RifleKuhl fan to insert) works.

Also: shoot it off bags, not one of those infernal Lead Sleds.

 

[noharleyyet]

Had a Kimber Montana in 7-08 that I could not keep still and dreaded when the trigger broke...

 

[Hunter0925]

They can shoot better than I am able. Target is 600 yards. 6.5x47 Lapua during seating depth test. Rifle is around 6.5lbs scope and all built by ridge rifles in Casper.

 

[FairWeather]

I had a Howa ultralight 6.5CM that I was getting about 2-3” groups out of. I’m positive the limiting factor was me, though. It’s just tough to keep the thing as still as a traditional rifle. If it was a lefty, I’d have kept it as I’m sure with more practice it would have tightened up.

 

[Wind Gypsy]

Shooting a light rifle off a bench or prone at the range with no stress is one thing. Doing it with time pressure, elevated heart rate, adrenaline, etc in field conditions is another step harder. Can be done it's just more challenging than heavier and lighter recoiling rifles.

I don't necessarily agree with the traditional thoughts on barrel break in and sporter barrels getting too hot especially with tikkas. Tikka/sakos rifling is formed during the cold hammer forging process and seem to have less of a break-in period. They also seem to be stress relieved well and tend to shoot fine piping hot. I believe the "hot light barrel" problems are mostly larger shot count group and shooter problems although i could see them being a bit more sensitive to heat if one keeps the factory "speed bumps" on the stock where it contacts the barrel.

 

[Mallardsx2]

1.5" groups at 100 yards. That's the best I can get out of my kids Howa SL 16" barrel gun. Good enough for elk work out to 300 yards.
I have not tried lighter bullets in the shorter barrel. Only tried the 140 BT and Accubonds so far.

My wife has the longer barreled SL model and it shoots super tight groups at 100 yards.

Both are in 7MM-08.

 

[crock239]

Nice setup .

My Weatherby Mark V Weathermark in 6.5 creedmoor is 6.1lb bare and under 8lb scoped and suppressed.

This is first 3-shot group I shot with it... Hornady 143gr eldx...about 0.5MOA. Haven't tried anything else.



Pretty sure I am the largest variable in accuracy.

I have never heard anyone say anything other than Tikkas are good shooters....Im sure yours will be the same.

 

[rogerthat]

I don’t consider any of the Tikkas ultralight so you don’t have anything to worry about. I have two howa superlites and they shoot moa-ish which is good for what they are used for - ultralight backpacking rifles

 

[Wind Gypsy]

I don’t consider any of the Tikkas ultralight so you don’t have anything to worry about. I have two howa superlites and they shoot moa-ish which is good for what they are used for - ultralight backpacking rifles

Guessing hes around 7.5# all up in that setup. "Ultralight" definitions aside, that's pretty light for a 7 mag.

 

[std7mag]

The NULA 24B in 280 Rem that I used to have shot good enough for me to put deer in the freezer.
Beyond that, I really didn't care.

I should have never sold it!!!