Frustrating Tikka T3 Magazine Issue

[CT.HNTR]

I own three Tikka T3 rifles in three different calibers. I love the rifles and they shoot great. That being said all three exhibit an annoying issue with feeding rounds out of the magazine and into the chamber.
The inside front wall of the magazines have a sharp inside edge with no ramp. The front wall of the magazine sits below the bullet diameter but ABOVE the diameter of the cartridge neck. When you push the bolt forward to feed a round out of the magazine and into the chamber the front face of the cartridge neck catches very hard on the inside sharp edge on the front wall of the magazine. You have to push the bolt forward with a fair amount of force to pop the cartridge off the front wall. When the cartridge finally pops off the front wall it “jumps” forward into the chamber but not in the correct position so sometimes the cartridge does not feed correctly. I have attached three images showing this phenomenon.

This seems like a very poor design to me which frustrates me greatly. With all the Tikka T3 owners out there I have to imagine many others have experienced this issue but to my surprise I cannot find comments on this subject when searching the web. There are many Tikka owners on this forum so I am hoping I can get some shared insights into this issue and hopefully hear some suggestions and hopefully a workaround for fixing this frustrating problem.


Thanks in advance for your feedback

 

[ronco]

Hopefully there are some suggestions here that will help you with your feeding issues;

Google Search

 

[Bruce Mc]

If it wouldn't affect the way the magazine fit into the rifle I'd just use a round file to make a ramp on the edge of the magazine.

 

[IdahoCTD]

Bevel it with a dremel tool or make a half round cut at the front of the box. That would free it up to feed forward until it hits the feed ramp.

 

[CT.HNTR]

I agree and was also thinking about filing or dremeling the front wall of the magazine but as an engineer I cannot wrap my head around the fact that they are selling magazines that don't work correctly unless you modify them. It just seems so sloppy to me!

 

[bkordon]

I love the Dremel idea and if you don't have one, a chainsaw file could also be a solution.

 

[IdahoCTD]

Most likely the feedlips in the front are too tight and preventing the case from angling up slightly as it releases. You could mess with those too but its plastic and easy to take too much off.

Mass production doesnt lead to the best outcome most times. Hell Remington went on for year selling rifles with no primary extraction despite being told about it over and over and over and over.

 

[wvbuckbuster]

Have you tried different magazines in each of your rifles to see if that might eliminate the problem? My tikka T3X stainless hunter works fine with both of the magazines I have. It's a 6.5x55 but don't know if that has any bearing on your problem.

 

[CT.HNTR]

Have you tried different magazines in each of your rifles to see if that might eliminate the problem? My tikka T3X stainless hunter works fine with both of the magazines I have. It's a 6.5x55 but don't know if that has any bearing on your problem.

Yes I have. Even purchased additional magazines and they all have the same issue. 300 WSM, 7MM Rem Mag and 30-06 all have this issue on four discrete magazines for each caliber.

 

[wvbuckbuster]

Bummer. I would have to sacrifice one of those magazines and try the bevel taper lip ideas that were given just to see if it helps. Out of curiosity have you contacted tikka about your problems?

 

[3 Meter Para Bellum]

Annoying that people sell things this way, but I think cutting it down just slightly should give you a satisfactory fix.

 

[sako2]

Square edge hitting a square edge will hang up. Bevel the magazine down the thickness of the case.

 

[Wolfshead]

I have a T3x (a later model) so I can’t really compare, but my Tikka mags are plastic. I have two from Mountain Tactical that are (I’m guessing) are aluminum.
Both are squared off as yours are, but I don’t think they’ve ever hung up on a cartridge as yours have.
However, you can see where something has chipped away/worn on the edge of the front wall.
The mag with the black follower is the Tikka plastic and the red follower is the Mountain Tactical.
As has been stated earlier, I would just use a mini file and take the edge off, because one can see that the later models and mags from other companies both still have the inside edge on their mags.

 

[Joec7651]

If it wouldn't affect the way the magazine fit into the rifle I'd just use a round file to make a ramp on the edge of the magazine.

This. A small round rat tail file resolves it in a few seconds.

 

[Darkhorse]

I have a 5 round and 10 round for my T3 stainless .308 and both look the way you describe. It doesn't look possible that they would give reliable feeding, but they do. I can make a cartridge hang up by hand but I've never had one hang up when worked from the bolt.
I think they could have designed it better.

 

[Wolfshead]

As I re-read this thread, I’m wondering if it might have something to do with the magazine (spring follower, etc…) not “pushing” up the cartridge far enough for the edge to clear the lip of the mag?
What does a round in the mag look like when you examine it from the side?
It’s interesting that the same thing happens with different mags also.
The things you think about at 4 in the morning….