rifle, gunsmithing, accuracyI have a Tikka T3 .300 Short Mag. It is pretty accurate from the factory, but I’m wonder what would be the best additions a gunsmith could make to improve its accuracy.
In my opinion, a trigger job and possibly bedding the action (if it’s a floated barrel) are your best options.
if you read this article: http://www.chuckhawks.com/affordable_accuracy.htm - the writer tries 5 different options on a rifle and quantifies the improvements he gets for each one.
Other possibilities are lapping the barrel, having a gunsmith work on the action, but each gun is very different.
Anytime someone wants to improve the accuracy of a precision rifle, the first place I would recommend spending money is a better optic. An inexpensive rifle with a great scope is going to display better practical accuracy than an expensive rifle with a crappy scope.
Now, since you didn’t specify what you had on the rifle it’s hard to say what’s better, but generally stepping up to a higher grade scope is going to pay dividends. Optics are really a field where you get what you pay for, and more money us generally well spent.
When building a target rifle we often refer to “the 3 Bs of accuracy”, which are:
Tikka T3s are some of the more accurate factory rifles out there, so before you spend a cent on gunsmithing work you should be sure you’re using good bullets. If you handload, use known-good match bullets, or if you need to use hunting bullets use one of the hunting bullets that has a reputation for accuracy. If you don’t handload, try to choose factory ammo that uses a high quality bullet. For what it’s worth I have found that Nosler Ballistic Tip bullets are nearly as accurate as match bullets (and they are sometimes available in factory ammo too).
There’s a pretty good chance that your rifle’s bedding is decent enough as-is. One thing worth doing is to take the rifle out of the stock and ensure that the receiver and the interior are not oil soaked (e.g. from cleaning solvent). If it is, wipe it clean and dry. Assemble your action into your stock and tighten the screws to a uniform “very snug” level. You don’t want to damage the screw heads or overstress the screws, but you do want it good and snug.
Cleaning your barrel from time to time can help.
If you’re not already a well-practiced shooter…. well, practice shooting! Firing groups from support off of a bench might be easier that shooting offhand, but it is still very hard to get really superb results. Practice at it and your shooting will improve.
You don’t need a particularly light trigger to shoot a rifle accurately. Having a really clean and crisp trigger can make it much easier to shoot well. Fortunately your trigger as it came from the factory is probably pretty darn good. If not, have it adjusted so that it is clean and crisp.
The trigger is normally the biggest bang for the buck. After that a lot depends on identifying the weak spots or deficiencies with your particular rifle. A whole book could be written on the subject, and one has: Accurizing the Factory Rifle is a pretty good look at things that can be done without a great deal of special equipment.
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