tikka t3 varmint stainless

[paulendo]

I am thinking about buying one of these in .223 to replace my Rem 700 VLS, which wasnt free floated and gave variable groups off a bipod as a result.
My questions are:

Has anyone found that the synthetic stock can distort when using a bipod and contact the barrel?

Does anyone have any observations on how the new 1 in 8 twist shoots 50 and 55gr bullets

I would appreciate any comments

 

[Rockstar]

I have a VLS. It's a lot cheaper and really simple to just free-float the barrel. I used a sanding drum attached to the flexible shaft of my Dremel. Would also recommend pillar-bedding the action, which is also inexpensive. Have you adjusted the trigger yet?

Having said all that, the Tikka is a fine rifle.

 

[atblis]

Stock

I have an older Tikka (Pre T3). The first thing I did was take the stock off, and fill it in with beads and expoxy. This added mass, and considerable stiffened it. I am not sure what the T3 stocks are like.

I you're getting a good price on the that rifle, than I'd buy it. My Tikka is a phenomenal rifle. The trigger raises quite a few eyebrows when I let people shoot it. I might look for a regular T3 instead of the Varmint.

If you're interested in what twist rates work for which bullets, then I'd check out some of the major barrel manufacturers. They'll usually have a guide on their webpages.
Lilja
Hart
Douglas
Krieger
etc. etc.

 

[paulendo]

Thanks for that, I will try and free float the existing barrel first. The trigger has just been adjusted again, hopefully down to about 2 lb.
One reason why I had thought of changing rifle was that my VLS has been threaded for a particular sound moderator, which isnt that good, but was all that was available at the time. The newer reflex types are much more efficient and don't lengthen the rifle as much, but would need more machining, plus the old sound mod would be useless, whereas it could be sold as a package with the existing rifle.
The other issue is the no. of rounds fired. It has probably shot 2000 rounds, with pretty careful cleaning, but some of these were on range days when the barrel got hot. I wondered if it was worth the bother with a barrel that had maybe past its best. However, I gather that .223 s can go on for 5000 rounds+, so I will stick with the VLS for now. Trouble is, I've just bought a .17 HMR, and that is a hard accuracy act to follow, but it doesnt kill foxes very well over 110 yds