Finally made it to cabelas for myself a gun last weekend. It's been a crazy week so I'm just getting around to posting. I ended up getting a tikka deer rifle that was recommended in the 7mm bullet. They got me set up with a scope and all the hardware. I did decide to save a few bucks on the scope and get something I just couldn't pass up! It was the last one they had and what seemed like a good price. The man called it a musin Nagant, beautiful gun. I do have some questions about the tikka, my FIL went out this evening the sight the scope in and we couldn't get it to hit in groups, shots were all over the target. Any ideas why?

what scope, did they mount it or did you , is it tight? what ammo?

Bought a package rifle for my son a few weeks ago from gander mtn (after we had an issue with the rifle he practiced with all summer). The guys set it up, bore sighted, and I was "good to go". A box and a half later at the range, with no grouping what so ever, I stopped, checked everything and found all the screws on the scope rings and bases to be loose. Silly me, lesson learned.

Package scopes can also have quality control issues.

Good luck!

If the bases and rings are tight and your shooting a decent quality factory ammo there is no reason that it should not group. So that leaves to unknown variables. The scope or the operator.

You said that you got "7mm bullet". Exactly which 7mm? There's a lot of them. 7mm-08, 7mm Rem Mag, 7mm Weatherby Mag, 7mm STW, 7x57, etc?

Im actually going through this exact same issue with my brand new Tikka T3 Hunter. Mounted a Nikkon Prostaff scope. Couldn't get the gun to react to my adjustments on the scope. Shooting erratic. The two things I am going to do is
1. Tighten down all of my screws on my scope (assuming I find some loose, which to the touch they didn't seem to be).
2. Try different ammo. I was told that sometimes certain guns just don't group certain ammo very well. I was shooting 150grain. And I am going to go down to 135.

If you get yours to start grouping, please post what you did.

You do know the scope has elevation adjustments right?

Check to be sure the action screws are tight

Are you starting at close yardage (25 yd) until you are on paper? First remove bolt, eye sight thru barrel, adjust scope to bull eye,insert bolt, fire

This, and remember to shoot 1-2" low at 25 yards which should be fairly on at 100 yards. If can't do this, check mounting of scope for looseness, if not this, could be the shooter with that large of caliber rifle. May be flinching in anticipation of the cannon recoil on that 7Mag.

i have the tikka t3 243 with nikon prostaff. I LOVE that gun and would love to have a 2nd one in a higher caliber. What scope did you mount on it?

Or, zero at 1-2" high at 100, getting you close to bullseye at 200.

Fastest way to sight in your rifle: (1) Shoot one shot at 25 yards to get on paper (2) then holding the rifle in exactly same position on the rest aiming at the same place (3) adjust the cross hairs to the bullet hole (4) then do the same thing at 50 and 100 yards. I have been able to use this method and get sighted in with 5 rounds.

OK, what 7mm are we talking about? 7mm-08? 7x57 Mauser? 7mm Remington Magnum? If the latter, that may be the problem, especially for a new shooter. Also, you may need to find the "right" load for the rifle. Not every offering in a certain caliber will shoot well in every rifle.


And I thought we advised you to stay out of Cabela's for at least two seasons?

Good advise here sighting in can be a challenge once you start down the wrong path like other say a whole box of ammo is gone and you are no better off. Also find an experienced guide or "mentor" for both shooting and hunting. Don't be afraid to keep asking questions.

What caliber are you shooting? If .30 cal or up, got heavier. Sometimes, speeding them up can make
It worse. In my old .270 I used 135 and couldn't get it exactly how I wanted it. Switched to Federal, went 150 and that was it. My Rem .270 loved it.

Shoot a .308 mostly now, but same as .270 couldn't get it where I wanted it.
Shot A LOT of diff ammo. Moved to 168-165 gr and no problems. That's fed prem
TSX, and hornady superformance GMX.

Slobber, honestly I don't know enough about your FIL's shooting prowess or lack thereof to make an informed opinion on what the problem may be. I can say that if he's now shooting a 7MM Mag and that's a jump up in caliber from a .243 or .25-.06 or something like that, it could be the actual problem. Jumping to that big of a caliber from something much smaller may take some shooting transitional time if that makes sense. I am not of the belief that everyone can shoot any caliber equally well.

Check all screws for tightness. I had a tack driver for many years, one day i go shooting and just couldn't get my normal one large hole group. After some inspection I noticed the screw for the trigger housing assembly was slightly loose. I tightened it and made sure all others were tight and right back to tack driving. That Tikka will perform wonderfully once you figure out if there is something loose or if the shooter is just not comfortable.

Also are you sure the scope you got can handle the recoil of the 7MM? Not all scopes are capable of handling bigger calibers or magnums and you said you saved money on the scope to buy the surplus rifle. Probably should have skipped it and bought a better scope. They have those surplus rifles all the time.

nice rifles