New Tikka T3x Roughtech Ember and issue with Hornady Superformance ammo

[JimLob65]

Picked up a new Tikka T3x Roughtech Ember in .243 Win this weekend to go with the T3x Roughtech Desert Tan in .270 Win that I had won at a raffle earlier in the year.

The actual rifle that I had won was in .300 Win Mag, but I have no need, desire or shoulder for that round. Decided I would like to have a modern bolt action rifle in a ‘big game’ caliber and the .270 was available. I really like it. Very smooth and accurate and a great trigger. BTW I also bought a T1x in 22lr at about the same time.

I decided I would like a lighter centerfire caliber to shoot as I find it more pleasant to shoot a lighter cartridge as I get older. Found this rifle at Jays Sporting Goods in Clare and picked it up. It shares the same attributes as the .270 and I am very happy with it.

However I did have some issues with the Hornady Superformance 95gr ammo. Some rounds chambered fine, some required a bit of effort to close the bolt and two rounds absolutely refused to chamber at all! Has anyone experienced this type of issue with Hornady Superformance ammo? I racked all 20 rounds of Remington Core Lokt 95gr ammo through the Tikka without an issue

[PNWTO]

Got some calipers handy?

Tikka mags are, notoriously, a few years behind the curve for a lot of the modern bullets that have a great OAL than previous generations of loads.

I know my .308 mags are getting notched from the nose and I’ve heard the same from guys with the .300 Win models.

However, this is purely cosmetic and cycling off-the-shelf ammo has been fine.

[JimLob65]

Got some calipers handy?

Tikka mags are, notoriously, a few years behind the curve for a lot of the modern bullets that have a great OAL than previous generations of loads.

I know my .308 mags are getting notched from the nose and I’ve heard the same from guys with the .300 Win models.

However, this is purely cosmetic and cycling off-the-shelf ammo has been fine.

I had absolutely no issues feeding from the mag. Rounds slid into the chamber like butter. The issue was that the bolt won’t close on the rounds, or that the bolt required extra effort. It is almost as if the rounds were too long for the chamber.

[Clusterfrack]

...issues with the Hornady Superformance 95gr ammo. Some rounds chambered fine, some required a bit of effort to close the bolt and two rounds absolutely refused to chamber at all!

(Note that I don't have direct experience with that rifle, or with Hornady ammo.) Here are some general comments:

I advise against firing ammo that is difficult to chamber. Given that it's a new rifle, carbon fouling isn't a likely explanation. Leaves two obvious explanations: 1) Your chamber is out of spec. or 2) Something's wrong with the Hornady ammo. I think door number 2 is most likely given the inconsistency of chambering. If it were your gun, rounds would either fit or not. I'd try to get ahold of some other ammo to test that hypothesis. You could also buy a pair of go/no-go gauges to check the rifle.

[okie john]

I have not been favorably impressed with either accuracy or velocity of Superformance factory ammo in 338 Winchester Magnum and 30-06.

T3Xs usually come correct from the factory, so I'd try different ammo.


Okie John

[JimLob65]

(Note that I don't have direct experience with that rifle, or with Hornady ammo.) Here are some general comments:

I advise against firing ammo that is difficult to chamber. Given that it's a new rifle, carbon fouling isn't a likely explanation. Leaves two obvious explanations: 1) Your chamber is out of spec. or 2) Something's wrong with the Hornady ammo. I think door number 2 is most likely given the inconsistency of chambering. If it were your gun, rounds would either fit or not. I'd try to get ahold of some other ammo to test that hypothesis. You could also buy a pair of go/no-go gauges to check the rifle.

Thanks for the reply. From all appearances it seems to be an issue of tolerance stacking, with a tight chamber and ammo approaching or possibly exceeding max length. I had heard elsewhere that someone had a similar results with Winchester Silvertip ammo, so I don't appear to be a lone voice in the wilderness. I don't plan on shooting any more Superformance ammo through it, or any of my other rifles going forward. I bought what was available at the time, and generally like Hornady ammo. Lesson learned!

[JimLob65]

I have not been favorably impressed with either accuracy or velocity of Superformance factory ammo in 338 Winchester Magnum and 30-06.

T3Xs usually come correct from the factory, so I'd try different ammo.


Okie John

Although I generally like Hornady ammo this is the first, and most likely last time buying Superformance ammo. It was too darn expensive to have to discard 10% of it as unusable. I actually didn't realize it was in fact Superformance ammo until after I bought it! I will certainly pay more attention in the future.

[Clusterfrack]

Thanks for the reply. From all appearances it seems to be an issue of tolerance stacking, with a tight chamber and ammo approaching or possibly exceeding max length. I had heard elsewhere that someone had a similar results with Winchester Silvertip ammo, so I don't appear to be a lone voice in the wilderness. I don't plan on shooting any more Superformance ammo through it, or any of my other rifles going forward. I bought what was available at the time, and generally like Hornady ammo. Lesson learned!

Tight chamber: This could be the case, but wouldn't explain why supposedly high quality factory cases vary in whether they will chamber. Good ammo should have the same head-to-shoulder length, and every case should either chamber or not chamber.

Ammo exceeding max length: This could be a headspace issue, not strictly speaking a tight chamber. Do your 'hard to chamber' rounds have a circular mark at the ogive of the bullet? You can test this using a sharpie. Blacked the entire bullet. Attempt to chamber. Look for mark indicating that the bullet is hitting the lands of the barrel.

[Clusterfrack]

Although I generally like Hornady ammo this is the first, and most likely last time buying Superformance ammo. It was too darn expensive to have to discard 10% of it as unusable. I actually didn't realize it was in fact Superformance ammo until after I bought it! I will certainly pay more attention in the future.

If it's not consistent, it's not quality ammo.

[JimLob65]

Tight chamber: This could be the case, but wouldn't explain why supposedly high quality factory cases vary in whether they will chamber. Good ammo should have the same head-to-shoulder length, and every case should either chamber or not chamber.

Ammo exceeding max length: This could be a headspace issue, not strictly speaking a tight chamber. Do your 'hard to chamber' rounds have a circular mark at the ogive of the bullet? You can test this using a sharpie. Blacked the entire bullet. Attempt to chamber. Look for mark indicating that the bullet is hitting the lands of the barrel.

Given that the headspace is constant and does not vary shot to shot and that many rounds of the Hornady chambered just fine it would indicate the ammunition is the variable in the equation. Ditto given that all the Remington chambered just fine. Obviously there is some variation in the rounds contained in the box I purchased as many fed fine, some were tight and a couple wouldn’t allow the bolt to close at all. Maybe a Friday batch?? Who knows?