problem with 300 yd shooting

[rebs]

asking for a friend of mine. He has a Tikka T3x in 223, the same rifle I have. His will shoot 1.5" groups at 200 yds and when he shoots to 300 yds his groups open to about 5 and 6". What can cause this to happen ? We have checked all bolts and screws, checked the scope mounting and even tried a different scope and got the same results. He did buy hie rifle used and have no idea of round count through his barrel. Barrel has been cleaned several times with Boretech Eliminator and the patches come out clean after a few patches of Boretech, nylon brush and more patches.

 

[Mark M.]

Let's look at the barrel twist, bullets and wind

 

[Bill K]

I would give another bullet type a try first, then if the same pattern appears, you might have a gun smith re-crown the barrel and see if that does not help.

 

[ToddKS]

I had this happen with a particular bullet last year. Load would shoot excellent at 100 and then fall apart at 300 and beyond. Bullet was same weight as what I had been shooting. I only tried the bullet in question because it was new and would have been less expensive than the Berger Hybrids I am shooting. For whatever reason, my barrel did not care for the bullet so I went back to the Bergers and have not had any issues since.

 

[bsekf]

What power scope?

 

[natdscott]

I would give another bullet type a try first, then if the same pattern appears, you might have a gun smith re-crown the barrel and see if that does not help.

Why do you think a rifle would shoot 3/4 MOA at 200 with a screwed up crown?

And if it somehow did, then why would it still go to 2 MOA at 300?

Not the answer. If it were "2 MOA bad", it would be that way at short range as well.

 

[dsinfour]

What twist , what bullet and what load are you using.. If using 52 grain pills you will get pushed by the wind... Later

 

[KMart]

Have you shot his rifle on his set up to see what the difference is?

 

[284winner]

asking for a friend of mine. He has a Tikka T3x in 223, the same rifle I have. His will shoot 1.5" groups at 200 yds and when he shoots to 300 yds his groups open to about 5 and 6". What can cause this to happen ? We have checked all bolts and screws, checked the scope mounting and even tried a different scope and got the same results. He did buy hie rifle used and have no idea of round count through his barrel. Barrel has been cleaned several times with Boretech Eliminator and the patches come out clean after a few patches of Boretech, nylon brush and more patches.

It's really amazing how much the wind can bully a I ight flatbase .224 bullet at and beyond 300 yards. Doesn't really have to be much wind. I'd say the number one issue is wind vs bullet

 

[JMayo]

Less neck tension helped groups on my 6mm.

If 1.5 stays its course it's around double in that distance so it sounds about right.

 

[Falfan2017]

Similar thing happened with a guy at our range the other day. Had a hunting rifle that would shoot really well like half inch groups at 100 but he took it to 600 and it was making 18” groups.

I think the rest setup plays a big role after 200 yards and vertical can blow up if the loads not real happy.

 

[Rem06]

It's really amazing how much the wind can bully a I ight flatbase .224 bullet at and beyond 300 yards. Doesn't really have to be much wind. I'd say the number one issue is wind vs bullet

2 scopes, what power? does it have parallax adj?

absolutely could be bullet weight, load , rest , pretty light sporter factory rifle...what groups are you expecting at 300yds?

 

[K22]

Couple of things to consider:

1. How hot is the barrel, i.e. differential from 200 to 300 yards. If his Tikka T3X is a sporter, that light barrel heats up quickly and shots can start to drift.

2. Shooter error will be magnified the greater the distance. And as others have noted, wind can be a significant factor. Also vary mirage conditions can have a significant influence especially at that distance.

3. I would first try a different bullet and make sure it is matched to the twist of the rifle. My Tikka T3X has an eight inch twist and prefers 60 grain or heavier bullets. You may want to try the Sierra 65 grain bullet if his rifle has an 8" twist.

 

[rebs]

the twist is 8, one scope is a 6-24 and the other is a 8-32 The bullet is a 69 gr SMK with 24.5 of Reloader 15. Our rifles are the same both Tikka T3x varmint heavy barrel 8 twist. We both shoot at the same time of day same day same bullet same load, I get a 2" group and he gets a 4 to 6 inch group. I shoot his rifle and get the same big group as he does. He shoots my rifle and gets the tight groups that I do. If it was wind it would effect my groups too I believe. I bought my rifle new and he bought his used. Could it be his barrel is shot out ? But he gets really good groups at 100 and 200 yds, why such a big group only at 300 yds ? Forgot to say we have shot both rifles off my front rest and rear bag and it made no difference.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

the twist is 8, one scope is a 6-24 and the other is a 8-32 The bullet is a 69 gr SMK with 24.5 of Reloader 15. Our rifles are the same both Tikka T3x varmint heavy barrel 8 twist. We both shoot at the same time of day same day same bullet same load, I get a 2" group and he gets a 4 to 6 inch group. I shoot his rifle and get the same big group as he does. He shoots my rifle and gets the tight groups that I do. If it was wind it would effect my groups too I believe. I bought my rifle new and he bought his used. Could it be his barrel is shot out ? But he gets really good groups at 100 and 200 yds, why such a big group only at 300 yds ? Forgot to say we have shot both rifles off my front rest and rear bag and it made no difference.

Sometimes you just get a junk barrel. Usually the tikka is good but he may just have a bad one