Sighting In My Tikka T3x 30-06 for Deer Season
Recently, I took my three oldest kids out to our property in the Sandilands for the day. The original plan was to give the kids some time riding their ATV and finally start cutting a new shooting lane that I've been talking about for years.
However, I also packed my Tikka T3x 30-06, an ammo box of Federal Fusion, and a few paper targets.
As it turned out, the shooting lane would have to wait.
Finally Making Time for the 30-06
I've owned this Tikka T3x in 30-06 for a few years now.
For one reason or another, I've never actually taken the time to sight it in. Whenever I headed shooting or hunting, I always ended up grabbing my Tikka 7mm Rem Mag instead.
The 30-06 sat in the safe waiting for its turn.
After our ride down the trails, the kids decided to take a break in the air-conditioned truck, I looked over at the chainsaw, looked at the rifle, and made a decision.
Today was finally going to be the day I got the Tikka 30-06 sighted in.
Getting on Paper
With the property thoroughly scouted, I set up my target stand roughly 100 yards from the picnic table I use as a shooting bench. I brought along my front rest and a new rear bag to give the rifle a stable platform.
For ammunition, I had an ammo box filled with 150-grain Federal Fusion rounds.
They're not expensive, although these days it's hard to find any centerfire ammunition that qualifies as cheap.
Since I don't own a bore sight, I started the old-fashioned way.
I walked up to roughly 25 yards and fired a single shot.
The impact was low and left.
Dialing It In
My first adjustment focused entirely on getting the rifle sighted vertically.
I moved the point of impact up and fired again.
This time I found the bullet about an inch high and a few inches left of where I was aiming.
Progress.
I walked up to the target to measure for my next adjustment - down slightly and farther to the right.
Now that I was getting closer to the bullseye, I fired two shots instead of one. I wanted to see a small group before making another adjustment and make sure any error wasn't coming from me.
The two holes were nearly touching.
One sat directly on top of the other.
That told me the rifle was shooting consistently and the data was trustworthy. The vertical adjustment was correct, but I had over-corrected horizontally and was now impacting to the right.
Forgetting to bring a new paper when I walked to the target to verify the final adjustment, I decided to leave it up. Back at the bench, I made a few clicks to the left and prepared to shoot a final group to confirm the rifle was sighted in.
Final Results
I fired three final shots.
The finished group measured 1.25 inches at 100 yards, circling the bullseye but not hitting it.
Overall, I'm happy with that result but not completely satisfied.
I've shot one-inch groups at 100 yards with my 7mm Rem Mag using Remington Core-Lokt ammunition, so I was hoping for a slightly tighter group from the 30-06.
At the same time, a rifle shooting well under two inches at 100 yards is more than capable of handling the type of deer hunting I do in the big woods, where most shots are well inside that distance.
By this point the kids were ready for another ATV ride, so my range session came to an end.
What's Next?
For now, the rifle is sighted in.
I wouldn't hesitate to take it deer hunting if the season opened tomorrow.
That said, I don't think I've seen everything this rifle is capable of yet.
With only a handful of rounds through it, I still need more trigger time to become familiar with the rifle and determine whether those groups can be tightened up further.
It's also possible that Federal Fusion simply isn't the load this particular rifle prefers.
Either way, I'm not disappointed with the results.
The rifle is accurate, dependable, and ready for the woods.
The shooting lane may still need to be cut, but at least the Tikka T3x 30-06 is finally sighted in.
And I have a feeling this rifle's story is just getting started.