I've got a Tikka Varmint Stainless Synthetic on order. Can anybody recommend a load for it. I will be using Nosler Ballistic Tip bullets.

I hate to see an empty reply column. Looks rude.
But I can't help you as I haven't got a Nosler
to shoot straight yet.
Not that I've tried too hard, but got instant
success with old fashion Hornady SPs and Sierras, all 55gr.

I like winchester 748. 26.7 grains with a 55 grain sierra hpbt or spbt. Both bullets shoot to the same point of aim for me. The Remington 55 grain hp is a good choice but is fragile. Reduce this load by 10 percent and work your way up. Have fun.

One of my favorite loads for the 223 and varminting is 26.4 grains of AA2230 powder,federal 210M primer,and the HART 52-grain FB HP benchrest bullet.The load is very accurate shooting 5 shot groups at 100-yards in the high .100s and the low.200s. It's hell on crows, ground hogs and the such. You cant go wrong with this one unless you have a very fast twist.

My uncle has a Tikka. It doesn't like Noslers. Neither does my Browning. I have had much better results with 52 gr. match BTHP from Hornady and Speer or the 50 gr. Hornady V-Max moly. As far as powders, my gun likes IMR 4320 and Winchester 748. The 748 will push the bullets a little faster, and it meters a little better. I use 28.4 grains of 748 behind a 52 gr. bullet. Not as accurate under ideal conditions, but work much better when there is a crosswind. They will shoot right at .6 inch groups. Also, the Barnes Triple Shocks make a nice hunting bullet, but I haven't found the magic formula yet to get them as accurate.

Rjimmer: First of all - welcome to the Varminting site!
I have a bunch of 223's but I really like the cheap Sierra 50 gr. Blitz bullets. Several of my Rifles prefer that bullet anyway!
I do have two 223's that like the Nosler 50 gr. Ballistic Tips though!
One 223 prefers W748 powder and Federal 205M primers with the 50 gr. Nosler Ballistic Tips. The other 223 likes H4895 powder and again the Federal 205M primers. I use Winchester 223 brass in both of these 223's.
I do know this for sure though, the 50 gr. Nosler Ballistic Tips are very lethal on all manner of Varmints!
Good luck with the new Varmint Rifle.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Here is one you might try with the 50 gr. BT's. 27.0 grs. Varget, Win Brass, Rem. 7 1/2 SRBR Primer.

VV133 works best in my Tikka T3 lite i use 24 grns with BR4s and 50grn Barnes Varminter (3278fps) approx.

Thanks for the replys. W748 get a few mentions. I've got a bottle of Reloader 7 and a bottle of Benchmark in readiness. Not so much choice on the shop shelves over here, so a forum like this is a great help in choosing what to order.
Sounds like the benchmark might end up in .308 cartridges!
No mention of 70grn bullets. I had thought about trying them, but was told that the twist would be wrong for them.

WW 748 used to be my go to .223 powder everytime, it's still great but Benchmark has become my favorite and I've also heard great things about AA2230.
Many powders will undoubtedly do a great job and as we all know frequently we don't make the choice the rifle does.
Ease of loading and being a non-finickey round are but two of the positives that make the .223 one of the all time greats!

I like 26.5 grs. Varget with a Sierra 55 gr. Spitzer BT. Shoots 5 rounds into .487 out of my Stealth with 1/9 twist barrel at 100 yds.

Benchmark is great in the 223. I use 25 grains behind a 55 grain v max. I believe your bottle of Benchmark should have some load info. right on the front. Meters easily,temperature insensitive, accurate. While maybe not the holy grail in 223 powders it would be silly not to use it if you already have some.
Next on my list of powders to try is Ramshot Tac.

G'day and welcome to the forums.

I very nearly bought a Tikka varmint but the barrels were 1:12 twist.If you go to the Tikka website the new ones coming this year are going to be 1:8 twist.
I got sick of waiting and picked up a Remington Police(PSS)1:9.
HTH

I had been thinking of a Remington XB, but over here the price difference is over a thousand Pounds!

For my Tikka Whitetail Hunter LH in .223: 25 grains of AA2230 with a Sierra 52 Gr. Moly HPBT. 3150 fps with a .585 five shot group with 14x Leupold Scope at 100 yards.

I second N133. I use 24.9 gr. of N133 behind the Sierra 50 gr. BlitzKing in Winchester brass and Rem. 7 1/2 BR primers for 3350 fps. in a 24" Douglas barrel. Shoots consistentyl sub .5 MOA I tested loads up to slightly over 3500 fps with no pressure signs what so ever. None of the loads tested shot more than the high .6's. I settled on the 24.9 gr. load becuase the five shot groups kept measuring in the high .2's to low .4's. I tried other powders but nothing was so consistent as N133 in my rifle. That combination of N133 shoots very well in several of my friends 223's.

RBRN

quote:

Originally posted by rjimmer:

No mention of 70grn bullets. I had thought about trying them, but was told that the twist would be wrong for them.

In North America, we get the 1:8" twist barrel. According to Berretta USA, this barrel need 70+ gr bullets. The 50-65 gr bullets will work well in 1:12" barrel.

Also there could be another problem with OAL of the ammo loaded with 70+ gn bullets. It maybe too long to fit into the magazine for loading.

Please let me know how you are doing with the light bullets.

Danny Boy

quote:

Reply

Hello. I'm expecting delivery of that same rifle with a blued barrel and the 1/8 twist next week. I plan on starting with the sierra 60 flat base hp using h335 and aa 2230c as all my shooting will be at 300 yards or less. I have several 223s. I would recommend starting with stick powder and the noslers for the 12 " twist.

rjimmer,
I have a Sako sporter L461 in 223 with a 1 in 12 twist barrel and it loves Nosler 55 Gn BT's. I have shot a .360 with it and heaps of .4's. My best load so far is 25.5 gns Bench Mark, Rem 7 1/2 primer, a 55 BT stuffed into a Lapua case. I would expect your Tikka Varmint to do much better than this. Have fun with it.
Pete

rjimmer,
I have the same gun in 22-250. I have a supply of 50g Nosler, but have not loaded anything yet, as I am using Winchester 45g factory ammo for break-in. The first three shot group was under ½ inch. I may stick with the Whinchesters if they keep performing like that.

It might be worth trying some factory ammo. In any case, good luck with your load development.

(85g Nosler BT seem to perform well in my son’s 25-06)

quote:

Originally posted by rjimmer:
I've got a Tikka Varmint Stainless Synthetic on order. Can anybody recommend a load for it. I will be using Nosler Ballistic Tip bullets.

I have model 595 whitetail hunter that is blued/synthetic in 223. The standout load for me has been using Benchmark and the 40 grain Ballistic tip for 3700 fps over the chrono and .5 MOA. Another load that shoots very well is with H322 and the 50 grain Hornady SX for about 3450 fps over the chrono.

For several years before reloading I have always used Black Hills Reman. 40gr Nosler Ballistic Tips and love them, now that I'm starting to reload I'm using Nosler's Manual and picked the Benchmark Powder and best accuracy with max 28gr powder w/ nosler 40gr Ballistic Tip. It seems alot of people shy from the lighter 40gr bullets but I have used 50,55,60 grains and if you have the right twist in barrel I would never switch from the 40gr and have taken alot of coyotes with them even at long distances out to 400yds, of coarse knowing my distance and practice shooting long range

There is a TIKKA 1/8 twist berrel .223 at one of the shops I sell UNCLE BUDS bags to that has beckoned me to take it home for a couple months now!!! My first choice in a .223 without dinking with loading would be the WINCHESTER WHITE BOX 45 grain loading(40/box) available at Wal-Marts and some other outlets!! Never seen a standard twist .223 (12 or 14)that didn't digest them pretty darn well!!! Same goes for the 22-250 version!!! I once had a .223 XP 100 that (old model when they were real guns, center grip) that I didn't even try to load for!! Only thing I could get close to it was BENCHMARK at 27.3 grains and the 40 grain Nosler Balistc Tip!! Hope this helps!!! GHD

I bought a tikka 223 a year ago, mainly because of the 1 in 8 twist. It shoots everything pretty good, but it loves the berger 75 vld. Ive shot some hornady tap that I had on hand, and it put 5 touching. I belive its a 55 gr. I think for the money, its a great little rig. Now if they would just offer a 22-250 with a fast twist for the same $$ I'd be in heaven. Good luck

Rjimmer:

Best suggestion is to check the twist then you'll know where to start.
I went with a 14" twist on my rebarreling on a Sako L461 and don't regret it. Had desired to shoot 55grs as the heaviest bullet. It does fine with the cheapest I can get. Less than an inch, which will nail prairie dogs out further than a person should be shooting. Use 40gr mostly Vmax as a fur load on coyotes and that will make .260" 5 shot groups real easy.

The Noslers 40gr wouldn't make less than an inch in several tries.
All my loads are 25gr, AA2200, 4895, 3031, or 4064. I haven't found much difference in them. On a hot day and hot barrel waiting about 15-20 minutes for the next shot. With the 40gr AA2200 loads I did blow a primer out that smoked my contact lens. Yeah, I know better than to shoot without glasses.
Gunsmith said: "hot loads, hot guns and hot days are asking for trouble when you leave the cartridge in the chamber too long". He said it's best to not stroke the bolt til your next shot is ready, then don't wait very long. If you do, take it out of the chamber if it's hot.

Sccm: 400yds is a long shot???? Hmm, never knew that, I always figured 600 or more was.

George

I wanted an accurate rifle for punching paper and have chosen the Tikka T3 Varmint in .223. I have installed a Weaver base and a set of Millett Angle Loc rings. The Leupold VXiii 3.5-14 Varmint scope is being delivered along with some 69gr match bullets on order.

For the time being, I have used the Tasco 6-24 Varmint Scope for my fist range session. I took the rifle to the range with some rounds (55 gr) I loaded for another 223. Here are the results:

1. It took me four rounds to get on paper.
2. The 55 gr FMJ three shot groups: 0.75†and 1.5†(with a flyer)
3. The VMax 55 gr with four separate loads – 3 shot groups: 0.45 (three holes touching), 0.7, 0.95 and 0.95.

From what I have fed it, the Varmint likes the 19.9 gr of H4198 with 55gr VMax best. Keep in mind these loads were developed for another rifle.

I didn’t shoot any more as I was too excited with the results. And more importantly, I didn’t have the small caliber cleaning patches with me for cleaning.

The T3 Varmint is a keeper for sure. It has the potential to produce more accurate results. Just can’t wait to try the heavier bullets.

The Varmint is heavy as compared to my Brownings and I would not recommend this for hunting except for a tree stand.

Cheers!

Danny

My T3 came in and I think it will do well. the twist was marked with the caliber on the barrel. Eds' red cleaned the preservative out of the barrel easily and three patches with copper solvent were virtually clean. The barrel is as smooth by feel as premium match barrels. It is tight too. I went to my undersized 22 rod immediately and the patches were tight on the jag as against a looser fit on nearly all of my production rifles. The mag box is a hair over 2.6 inches in length. I used 45 grain Winchester white box to sight in and a factory new Burris 3x9x40 in the Tikka rings provided was 6 windage clicks off and 18 elevation clicks low. You might be able to fit a 42 mm objective on depending.... After I walked the shots into the 10 I added 3 more as a sample, two touched of the four and two nearly touched 1/8" away. Clean up was a breeze. Now to check headspace and write out an initial loading schedule. BTY, the pull weight screw was backed out 1 1/2 turns, holds safely and feels like 3 pounds, but I didn't check it yet for weight. The loading port is too small for me to single feed, but I didn't try just dropping a round in. I am looking forward to shooting this gun a lot and soon.

Errata: mag box is very slightly over 2.26" long.