T3X CTR barrel, medium contour good for matches?

[Joe22recon]

I recently purchased a Tikka T3X CTR in 6.5 Creedmoor which comes with a medium contour barrel. I measured the muzzle at .780”. Barrel length is 23.75”. I have a break on it. The goal was to hunt with it and do some long range shooting. It’s a half MOA gun with the 140 eld match. Can’t complain about its accuracy and most of all, consistency.

It shoots so well that my buddy challenged me to use it in a precision rifle match, which has 4 stages of 10 rounds each (add 2 if I use sighters).
My question regards the barrel contour which is medium at .780” at the muzzle and I fear that once heated up, it might open up the groups (i.e barrel whip).

For competitions, I have a custom built rifle with a 26” M24 contour barrel which has zero issues with 10 shot strings. Will I see a big difference with my Tikka’s medium barrel?

Thanks for your input.

Image is of my Tikka T3X CTR.

 

[just browsing]

It won’t be optimized for any type of competition but who cares? Go see what you/it can do.

The heat sink/dissipation will really depend on the type of match it is, how many people are shooting it, and match flow. If you have 5+ guys rotating through each squad you’re going to have downtime between stages and heat sink is unlikely to become an issue.

If you’re just running through it like 40+ rounds straight (not sure what type of match this would be, lol) then yeah, you’ll probably get ‘er all hot and bothered.

 

[Joe22recon]

It won’t be optimized for any type of competition but who cares? Go see what you/it can do.

The heat sink/dissipation will really depend on the type of match it is, how many people are shooting it, and match flow. If you have 5+ guys rotating through each squad you’re going to have downtime between stages and heat sink is unlikely to become an issue.

If you’re just running through it like 40+ rounds straight (not sure what type of match this would be, lol) then yeah, you’ll probably get ‘er all hot and bothered.

There’s a good 30 to 40 minutes between stages. The precision rifle match runs a bit like the service rifle matches. We’re all in the shooting line. Shooter #1 shoots his 10 rounds, steps off the mound, shooter #2 takes his 10 shots. Then targets are marked and scored. Then we move back 100m to shoot the next stage.

From what you said, my barrel should have enough time to cool off. I’ll accept the challenge for sure. Should be interesting going from a 24 lb rifle to a 11 lb rifle.

 

[redneckbmxer24]

The barrel will be fine. I’d be far more concerned about that Arken functioning and being able to spot your shots with the light weight than I would the barrel temperature.

 

[jpspeeddemon]

I ran the 24" CTR at matches, 10-12 stages w/ 10 shot in 2 minute strings, usually 20-30 mins between stages, I had no issues w/ the gun's performance. Like others said, you'll be fine.

 

[Joe22recon]

I ran the 24" CTR at matches, 10-12 stages w/ 10 shot in 2 minute strings, usually 20-30 mins between stages, I had no issues w/ the gun's performance. Like others said, you'll be fine.

Thanks for the input. That's exactly want I wanted to know.

The barrel will be fine. I’d be far more concerned about that Arken functioning and being able to spot your shots with the light weight than I would the barrel temperature.

I've never had an issue with my two Arken scopes. I'm not worried about their performance. As for the rifle's weight, I'll need to be solid on my stance to best mitigate the recoil.

 

[BCP]

Perfectly fine rifle for a match, go shoot it from a few different positions to see if it works for you and have at it.

 

[Joe22recon]

Perfectly fine rifle for a match, go shoot it from a few different positions to see if it works for you and have at it.

I’ve practiced different stances but inly have access to 200m at my local range. That’s why I’m asking if it holds its accuracy at ling range despite the thinner barrel contour.

 

[ma smith]

I’ll accept the challenge for sure. Should be interesting going from a 24 lb rifle to a 11 lb rifle.

What kind of matches are you shooting 24lb gun ?

 

[BCP]

What kind of matches are you shooting 24lb gun ?

F-OPEN has 24 or less pound rifle as part of the rules.