Tikka T3X TAC A1 Magazine feeding problems

[kingsolomon12]

I recently purchased a Tikka T3X TAC A1 chambered in 6.5 Creedmoor and really do love this rifle. I am a novice having just got into this hobby but couldn’t be more impressed with the level of accuracy offered from a rifle at this price point. That being said I am having an issue with the magazines as they pretty much consistently will not feed the last round from the magazine requiring me to remove the magazine, push the round securely in place then re inserting and cycling the bolt at which point it operates as it should. This only happens with the last round in the magazine and occurs after ejecting the previous round and trying to then move the bolt into place which it will not do and feels like it’s jammed. I have 5 original magazines and it happens with all of them. I do also notice that with any of the magazines inserted there is some play in the magazines. Is there a solution to this problem as I did reach out to Beretta who suggested sending the rifle to the local service center but it’s currently a 4-6 week turn around. Appreciate any info in advance

 

[McMillan]

Are you buy chance using eldms

 

[never_summer]

Tikka T3x TAC A1 Magazine "Last Round Weirdness"

Lovin' my new Tikka (6.5-CM) ... it's a nail-driver ... but struggling with the last one (and sometimes two) rounds in the factory magazine stopping the bolt, and requiring the mag to be dropped and the cartridge moved rearward in order to enable pickup by the bolt. When the bolt locks back...

www.snipershide.com

It’s a normal thing with tikka mags, my buddy had to tweak them on his a1 and they run good now.

 

[kingsolomon12]

Are you buy chance using eldms

I am not, I have been using Hornady American Gunner 140gr BTHP

 

[kingsolomon12]

Tikka T3x TAC A1 Magazine "Last Round Weirdness"

Lovin' my new Tikka (6.5-CM) ... it's a nail-driver ... but struggling with the last one (and sometimes two) rounds in the factory magazine stopping the bolt, and requiring the mag to be dropped and the cartridge moved rearward in order to enable pickup by the bolt. When the bolt locks back...

www.snipershide.com

It’s a normal thing with tikka mags, my buddy had to tweak them on his a1 and they run good now.

Can you tell me what I need to do to tweak them, I really would love to solve this issue as it really is a nuisance. Does it have something to do with spring tension as the mags do not seem to have much tension at all, they appear to require little to no force to push the follower down when the mag is empty ?

 

[never_summer]

If you go through that linked thread it has pics showing how the follower and spring should be adjusted. We spread the spring and added more pressure to the front of the follower. I wouldn’t worry about force required to push the follower down on an empty mag. It’s all about getting it setup right to feed, you’ll find this with all bolt mags.

 

[kingsolomon12]

If you go through that linked thread it has pics showing how the follower and spring should be adjusted. We spread the spring and added more pressure to the front of the follower. I wouldn’t worry about force required to push the follower down on an empty mag. It’s all about getting it setup right to feed, you’ll find this with all bolt mags.

Thank you so much, just had a look at the link, this makes a lot of sense and looks easy enough to do. I will give this a try and fingers crossed it alleviates the problem I’m having. Will confirm it works for me as soon as I get a chance to do this small modification.

 

[kingsolomon12]

After a little modification this is what it now looks like, will give it a try, hopefully there are no more feeding issues on the last round and I will then do the same to the other 4 magazines I have. Will be so happy if this actually resolves the issue, the thought of having to send my rifle out for repair and being without it for a month plus makes me want to cry - lol

 

[kingsolomon12]

never_summer Thank you so much for the info and direction, did exactly what was described in the link and the problem seems to have been sorted. It seems the springs are just not precisely adjusted from the factory to allow for smooth feeding particularly for the last round but this fix gets everything working and all 5 of my mags are now operating as they should be. If anyone one else is having this issue just do exactly as described and you should be good to go, main thing to note is for the spring to be stretched out and ensuring the top and bottom are parallel to one another as the spring is too compressed and not at all parallel from the factory causing too little tension and uneven pressure which causes the issues described. Thank you again for giving me the info to rectify this problem myself and not have to deal with the headache of sending my rifle in for service, greatly appreciated

 

[DownhillFromHere]

Glad to hear the issue seems to be resolved. If there is significant vertical play in the mag - more than 1/16 - 3/32 of an inch - I was going to suggest putting a piece of duct tape on the mag catch where it locks under the latch "lip" on the mag. The idea is to eliminate the vertical play to see if that resolves the issue.

I had a TAC A1 for a bit over a year and, like pretty much everyone who owns or has owned one, found it to be superbly accurate with equally superb feeding smoothness. The only fly in the feeding functionality was pushing up and back on the front edge of the magazine would usually block the next round from feeding when the bolt was cycled. I wasn't about to mess with tweaking the mags because running the bolt even with a full magazine was as smooth and effortless as, or more so than, the customs I've owned since. I sold the rifle only because I had an offer from a trusted friend on a custom that I couldn't pass up.

Edit: If you ever have a Tikka that needs gunsmith attention, do yourself a favor and consult a good local smith before sending it to Beretta. I had a T3X Varmint that had a light primer strike problem; the LGS from which I bought it sent it to Beretta, where it stayed for a month. When I got it back, the problem remained. Local smith diagnosed and fixed it in about 15 minutes.

 

[kingsolomon12]

Glad to hear the issue seems to be resolved. If there is significant vertical play in the mag - more than 1/16 - 3/32 of an inch - I was going to suggest putting a piece of duct tape on the mag catch where it locks under the latch "lip" on the mag. The idea is to eliminate the vertical play to see if that resolves the issue.

I had a TAC A1 for a bit over a year and, like pretty much everyone who owns or has owned one, found it to be superbly accurate with equally superb feeding smoothness. The only fly in the feeding functionality was pushing up and back on the front edge of the magazine would usually block the next round from feeding when the bolt was cycled. I wasn't about to mess with tweaking the mags because running the bolt even with a full magazine was as smooth and effortless as, or more so than, the customs I've owned since. I sold the rifle only because I had an offer from a trusted friend on a custom that I couldn't pass up.

Edit: If you ever have a Tikka that needs gunsmith attention, do yourself a favor and consult a good local smith before sending it to Beretta. I had a T3X Varmint that had a light primer strike problem; the LGS from which I bought it sent it to Beretta, where it stayed for a month. When I got it back, the problem remained. Local smith diagnosed and fixed it in about 15 minutes.

Thank you and I appreciate the info, truly is a remarkably accurate rifle. I paired it with a Vortex Razor Gen 2, Spuhr Scope Mount and Atlas Bi-Pod and could not be happier with the set up as a whole

 

[Billiam1211]

I can confirm that the fix mentioned above definitely works. Since I did that to all my Tac A1 magazines I haven't had a failure to feed.

 

[kingsolomon12]

I can confirm that the fix mentioned above definitely works. Since I did that to all my Tac A1 magazines I haven't had a failure to feed.

Good to hear