T3 tune up

Hey guys i'm hoping i could get a bit of advise from the collective.

After playing with my brother-in-laws long range target rifle over the weekend naturally i went to bed that night wanting one.
However by the time i woke up i had decided that it probably would be best to put my time and (very) limited money into my hunting rifle and get familiar shooting it 1st.
I've got some basic ideas about what to do but i'm hoping someone out there might have a bit more experience with this kind of thing.

I got a Tikka T3 lite SS .270, my ideas are:
Limbsaver recoil pad
Burris fullfield II balistic plex (3-9 or 4.5-14)
Bed the action ( it already has a free floating barrel)
Improve the half cock

Would shortening the barrel for Hardy can affect the accuracy out to 350m dramatically?

I'd love to spend $1000+ on single components but $1000 - $1500 is my limit (at the moment)

Any advice is appreciated

RR

I got a Tikka T3 lite SS .270, my ideas are:

Limbsaver recoil pad

YES

Burris fullfield II balistic plex (3-9 or 4.5-14)

Not Familiar with these ? Someone here will be though ..


Bed the action ( it already has a free floating barrel)

Why if it already shoots OK ??

Improve the half cock

Why ?


Would shortening the barrel for Hardy can affect the accuracy out to 350m dramatically?

My experience with .270WSM it was more accurate afterwards with suppression.

Spend the most you can on the scope and mounts first then suppressor and try it out .... :thumbsup:

I agree with Happy, don't bother with the half cock (I don't believe in them anyway).

Don't bother bedding it, unless it doesn't shoot well out of the box, then look at options. Possibly look at replacing stock with a B&C or Senator aftermarket stock instead.

If you can get a better scope than the Burris Fullfield II, do it. The glass is alright in them but I have had issues with the windage/elevation adjustments on a few different ones. Plenty of good second hand Leupold, Bushnell, etc scopes floating around here and on TM.

if you want to shoot long range the best thing you can do is fit a limb saver, suppressor and by far the most important is to buy a shit load of ammo and go shooting.

not that im any LR guru just an idea that may also help is too lighten the trigger pull a touch

others may like to discuss this further as to it s pros and cons

handload.

Limb saver - yes
Suppressor - maybe. Not ideal for lots of target shooting as they get hot. Great when hunting though.
Bed -only if handloads or range of factory ammo.cant get it shooting

I would initially do the limb saver.
Look at a scope (found burris too thick in reticle, had great success with weavers)
See if someone can help.develop a load for it.
Get ballistics for load worked out
Practice
Practice
Practice

From what inread of what you want the suppressor is more luxury than necessity. I would put that money into higher end scope or load development

Limbsaver, vx3 cds, you'll have bit left,
So if you want it a bit lighter and different, flute the bolt and barrel.

What type of hunting are you mainly doing EG Bush, Open tops etc?

If i were you i would focus on getting decent optics first, if you bush hunt dont get a 4.5-14 its too much magnification for the close quarters hunting. You would be better off with the likes of a 3-9x40 as this will cover you from 5-400 odd meters pretty well. Like Brads said a vx3 CDS would be a good option, i think the vx3 3.5-10x40 is pretty much perfect as an all round scope for NZ and gives you the ability to dial if you get into some longer range shooting. (There are better but not much for the equivalent price and often are quite heavy too)

I think the vx3 CDS retail for about $900, then if you fitted a limbsaver $70 and a suppressor $400-500 you would still come in under $1500 and would have almost the ultimate all round rifle for NZ hunting. If you want to save weight then dont get a suppressor and look at fluting instead.

I predominantly bush hunt so i will be getting a suppressor but i want be doing a bit of hunting in the tops of the Kaimanawa's and there might be the odd trip down south for Tahr sometime down the line.
I'd like something that i would use for bush but would still feel confident in taking a shot out to 300-400m out in the tops.

I think the best thing to do would be split the money between a quality scope, suppressor and then a dozen boxes of ammo and practice down a range

Quote:

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Originally Posted by RichieRich

Improve the half cock

---

Why oh why ? It is something that was done to WW2 lee enfields with bad safeties. Really dumb thing to do to a modern firearm, even more so for a long range rifle...

Do the limbsaver, they are awesome.

Probably don't need to bed the T3, see how it does long range before spending money on that, save all the gunsmithing money and spend it on the best scope you can afford, that is by far the best thing you can do for long range shooting.

Leupy VX3, Sightron S3, Vortex PST should all be well within your budget along with a limbsaver.

Handloading and a decent rangefinder are also good things to spend money on :D

Shame to shorten the barrel on a 270.
22" is too short to start with.

I find the safety on the Tikka is in such a convenient place that a half cock isn't needed.
A limb saver is a easy addition that certainly helps with recoil.
Adjust the trigger to it's lightest setting, which is 2lbs and it is fantastic.
If you shoot a lot I'd get into hand loading, but if not, and your don't want to do it then it's not critical.

I had a fullfield 2 3-9x40, on my 223 and it served me well, nailed plovers out too 200 yards, and it work well for close bush when shooting goats.
You could look at a Nikon Monarch 3-12x42, which is available with a BDC reticule.
I've put a 4-16x42 on mine, as it's main job is to slay varmint's and then the odd goat.

But getting out and shooting is the best way to improve your shooting, the limbsaver and lightened trigger would certainly help.
Is it only going to be a target rifle, or a bit of hunting too, as depending on its use will determine things like length, weight and scope choice.

Hey Richierich, I will have a burris fullfield II 3x9 up for grabs when my scope gets here. Could be nearer the end of January though.....just an option.
Its a couple of years old and in good nick.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by RichieRich

Hey guys i'm hoping i could get a bit of advise from the collective.

After playing with my brother-in-laws long range target rifle over the weekend naturally i went to bed that night wanting one.
However by the time i woke up i had decided that it probably would be best to put my time and (very) limited money into my hunting rifle and get familiar shooting it 1st.
I've got some basic ideas about what to do but i'm hoping someone out there might have a bit more experience with this kind of thing.

I got a Tikka T3 lite SS .270, my ideas are:
Limbsaver recoil pad
Burris fullfield II balistic plex (3-9 or 4.5-14)
Bed the action ( it already has a free floating barrel)
Improve the half cock

Would shortening the barrel for Hardy can affect the accuracy out to 350m dramatically?

I'd love to spend $1000+ on single components but $1000 - $1500 is my limit (at the moment)

Any advice is appreciated

RR

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Change one thing at a time before you spend the dollars.

Suppressor ... yes
.. your ears will love you for it. I've just got two from greystone guns for my tikkas (223/243)
.. you may or may not then not need a limbsaver after getting a suppressor.

Scope ... yes - spend as much as you can afford on a scope with a lifetime warranty .. Leupold as an example. I've just replaced the shitty misty tasco on my 223 with a Leupold varminter. you will NEVER EVER regret spending money on good waterproof optics.

Half Cock ... no
The juries out on the advisability of modding the T3 for half cock. What I most often hear when I speak to gunsmiths about it is "It was never designed for one" . Forcing a design feature into an incumbent design seldom works out well. Sometimes does, though, so I may yet stand corrected.

Bedding .. maybe later

when you start making changes to your setup, make them one at a time, and evaluate before and after the change. give yourself time to get used to the change. its big money you're spending, so don't rush it.

If after that you've got your basic setup shooting ok with factory ammo, and you want more accuracy, then I'm afraid you need to start thinking about reloading.

As you have seen - the forum is a great place to get advice. read it all and sift it weight it a 1000 times, then decide. Not saying people are wrong (although some are), but they all have their own perspectives (which is the fantastic thing) and that dictates the advice they give.

Tim

Upgrade from the Tikka rings to something like Talley"s or Optilocks aswell.

Gonna have some 1" optilocks up for grabs soon for a good price