Tikka Scare!!!

[mcmxi]

Following this. I have several Tikka’s never had an issue. Almost all of mine have a lighter trigger spring in them also. The T3 came out in 2003. They stopped making the T3’s around 2016 or 2017 when they introduced the T3X version. So it could be a 7-20 year old rifle. Since Beretta is the importer you have to deal with them first.

Can’t believe all the posts off the bat saying they(Beretta,Tikka) should pay for everything including shipping. Agree with what said above, has the trigger ever been removed, adjusted? Stock been replaced?
If you had a issue with your 7-20 year old tractor would you expect the dealer to fix it at no cost and pay for transportation to and from the dealer?

Some people hate the two position safety that locks the bolt on safe, I prefer it. Different manufacturers make different models of safety’s. IE Browning, Ruger, Savage, Remington, etc.

Glad no one was hurt. And interested to find the outcome of the issue.

I like a three position safety on a rifle with a locking bolt handle. (1) Fire, (2) safe with bolt able to cycle, and (3) safe with locked bolt. I agree that it'll be interesting to know what Beretta finds.

I bought a new Savage Weather Warrior when they first came out and the front and rear bridges were ground incorrectly. Savage wanted me to pay shipping both ways so I refused, fixed the issue myself and then sold the rifle for a profit. I'll never own another Savage ... ever!

I like Sako, Tikka, Kimber and Accuracy International for bolt action rifles.

 

[mcmxi]

To clarify, nothing has ever been adjusted, removed or tampered with. The weapon is used for one week a year (actually hunted with about 3 days of that week) by my wife that typically shoots one deer during that hunt. After that one week hunt the weapon is cleaned and put back into the safe for the next 358 days...repeat. According to Tikka it is about 12 years old and I am the original and only owner.

I guess my point was that I believe that absent actual abuse or modification of the action anytime a weapon fires itself it should be covered under warranty.

I would also like to point out that this weapon DOES allow the consumer to adjust the trigger (I have not) pull but supposedly has a limit. If that limit is exceeded due to a faulty design of the weapon should that not be covered under a warranty. See photos above by @mcmxi

If you've had it for over a decade, and it never did it before, something had to have changed to make it act the way it is. Corrosion? Trigger adjustment? (but you state that you've never adjusted it). Has someone else adjusted the trigger? Is the rifle stored with the bolt cocked? If the sear engagement has been reduced due to corrosion that could affect trigger pull weight. Lots of variables, lots of guesses. I sincerely hope you get it resolved. If not, that rifle would sell very easily on the used market (even with full disclosure). Tikka products are highly regarded for good reason.

There's blue Loctite on the adjustment screw on my Tikka trigger so it'll be obvious to a gunsmith if that seal has been broken if there's Loctite on the threads of that screw in your trigger group. Triggers don't usually adjust themselves, but stranger things have happened.

Many rifle triggers can be adjusted such that the pull weight becomes unsafe. Some higher end triggers have pull weight, sear engagement and overtravel adjustment. When I was the rifle engineer at Kimber we'd have rifles returned regularly where the customer had adjusted all three screws. They typically would claim that they hadn't but it was easy to show that they were lying. We would charge them for the work and would laugh when they threatened us with this or that. We'd send them a copy of the owner's manual and show them the section regarding their responsibility if they messed with the trigger. That would shut them up pretty quickly.

 

[bearbait]

Why should they fix the problem at no charge unless the trigger group is shown to be defective? It's possible that the cocking piece is defective, or the safety mechanism, but unless the issue is a manufacturing defect I don't agree that Tikka (Beretta) should pay.

Well it seems like a safety issue to me (no pun intended) if what the gentleman is saying is true. They will be able to tell by the wear in the bore and on the bolt how much use it's had. Now since I'm too old and lazy to argue I think I'll just sit back and wait for the out come.

 

[Bmyers]

That reminds me of the video of the Tarus that had the safety on and just by shaking the pistol it would fire.

I will be curious to see what they find out.

 

[mcmxi]

Well it seems like a safety issue to me (no pun intended) if what the gentleman is saying is true. They will be able to tell by the wear in the bore and on the bolt how much use it's had. Now since I'm too old and lazy to argue I think I'll just sit back and wait for the out come.

It's all speculative. It's not uncommon for the customer to never know what the problem was, just that a part was replaced. It's often easier to replace parts than figure out what the issue is. This is particularly true of rifle barrels. Too many issues that are hard to prove or even show, so swap out the barrel and return to the customer.

Proper heat treat of trigger and bolt components can be an issue and parts can wear faster than designed. A hardness test would show that but once again, many won't bother to dig that deep into the problem.

Keep us posted please @aaluck.

 

[bearbait]

If you've had it for over a decade, and it never did it before, something had to have changed to make it act the way it is. Corrosion? Trigger adjustment? (but you state that you've never adjusted it). Has someone else adjusted the trigger? Is the rifle stored with the bolt cocked? If the sear engagement has been reduced due to corrosion that could affect trigger pull weight. Lots of variables, lots of guesses. I sincerely hope you get it resolved. If not, that rifle would sell very easily on the used market (even with full disclosure). Tikka products are highly regarded for good reason.

There's blue Loctite on the adjustment screw on my Tikka trigger so it'll be obvious to a gunsmith if that seal has been broken if there's Loctite on the threads of that screw in your trigger group. Triggers don't usually adjust themselves, but stranger things have happened.

Many rifle triggers can be adjusted such that the pull weight becomes unsafe. Some higher end triggers have pull weight, sear engagement and overtravel adjustment. When I was the rifle engineer at Kimber we'd have rifles returned regularly where the customer had adjusted all three screws. They typically would claim that they hadn't but it was easy to show that they were lying. We would charge them for the work and would laugh when they threatened us with this or that. We'd send them a copy of the owner's manual and show them the section regarding their responsibility if they messed with the trigger. That would shut them up pretty quickly.

The triggers on the Tikka's are meant to be adjusted. The pull on mine was great for me right out of the box so I left it alone...have a great day.

 

[armylifer]

The OP stated that the rifle is used one week per year, cleaned once and put away for the rest of the year. That is a recipe for disaster. A rifle should be cleaned on a regular basis. It should be completely stripped down, including the trigger group, and cleaned / lubricated before taking it on the hunt. It sounds to me like that was not done. I am betting that the trigger group has about 12 years of gunk in it and that is the reason that it failed. Try a thorough cleaning and lube with a light gun oil and I bet that the problem will go away.

 

[mcmxi]

The triggers on the Tikka's are meant to be adjusted. The pull on mine was great for me right out of the box so I left it alone...have a great day.

Who says they're not meant to be adjusted? I never said that. What can happen is that the owner adjusts them to a pull weight that makes the rifle unsafe. One of the best trigger manufacturers out there is TriggerTech. They've worked hard to give an excellent trigger out of the box, and with adjustments that will always be safe over the range of adjustment. If the rifle can't pass the "jar-off" test there's a problem.

I haven't adjusted the triggers on the Tikka or Sako rifles either since they're good for me at around 3lb. I prefer a two-stage trigger but few rifle companies offer those for bolt actions. TriggerTech is addressing that though. My four Accuracy International rifles have two-stage triggers and they're the bees knees.

 

[The Evil Twin]

Man, I'm glad no one was injured!!!.
I have heard of them firing when the bolt was closed but not the safety engaged.

 

[armylifer]

Man, I'm glad no one was injured!!!.
I have heard of them firing when the bolt was closed but not the safety engaged.

I have see that happen before. The cause was a dirty trigger group.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

re:

 

[mcmxi]

Man, I'm glad no one was injured!!!.
I have heard of them firing when the bolt was closed but not the safety engaged.

This was a big deal for Remington a few years ago. The government can't force a safety recall when it comes to firearms so they're typically worded as a "voluntary recall" and it's up to the company in question to decide whether this is cost effective compared to legal fees from lawsuits or a drop in sales due to greater awareness.


Remington has long known that the trigger in these rifles (model 700) is defective and that the rifles can fire when no one pulls the trigger – even if the rifles have performed perfectly for years.

In its internal documents, Remington lists the different ways the trigger can fail:

• FSR (fire when the safety is released)
• FD (follows down, fires when the bolt is closed)
• FOS (fires on safe)
• JO (jars off)
• SWW (safety won’t work)

Remington chose to keep the trigger defect secret for many years. As information about the defect became public through the efforts of Public Justice and others, national TV stations broadcast investigative reports on the trigger defect.

 

[motionclone]

That reminds me of the video of the Tarus that had the safety on and just by shaking the pistol it would fire.

I will be curious to see what they find out.

Watch the video again. There are a few hints that its fake.

 

[JasonW]

Watch the video again. There are a few hints that its fake.

Please share the hints…

 

[aaluck]

Keep us posted please

I definitely will. Keep in mind I was told 10-12 weeks after shipped.

I will add something else. I pulled the other T3 out of the safe last night and there is a HUGE difference in the feel, stability and movement of the safety from one to the other.

Also let me be clear about the trigger pull. I have had the weapon for about 12 years and I can honestly say that I cannot remember ever adjusting the trigger--and I'm fairly certain I would remember doing that. I also looked very, very close at the screws that allow you to remove the action from the stock and I do not see any evidence they have had a tool in them. But from what I understand watching videos that allen screw cannot be backed out to the point where the rifle becomes unsafe. The photos I believe you posted above show a larger screw that is supposed to prevent that by stopping the screw from being backed out too far (unsafe).

Again, I love Tikka rifles--have 3 of them. But if they allow the end user to adjust the weapon's pull to the point it fires unintentionally that seems to me like a design flaw. Maybe thats just me.

 

[motionclone]

Please share the hints…

no recoil, no slide movement, he has to operate the slide every time to eject the case....which still has a bullet attached to the end of it...lol

 

[Sparky Prep]

That reminds me of the video of the Tarus that had the safety on and just by shaking the pistol it would fire.

I will be curious to see what they find out.

Super-fake.

 

[Mark_BX25D]

Watch the video again. There are a few hints that its fake.

That's like saying there are a few hints that the sun rose this morning!

I've seen better fake videos from high school kids working on a class project.

 

[bearbait]

I definitely will. Keep in mind I was told 10-12 weeks after shipped.

I will add something else. I pulled the other T3 out of the safe last night and there is a HUGE difference in the feel, stability and movement of the safety from one to the other.

Also let me be clear about the trigger pull. I have had the weapon for about 12 years and I can honestly say that I cannot remember ever adjusting the trigger--and I'm fairly certain I would remember doing that. I also looked very, very close at the screws that allow you to remove the action from the stock and I do not see any evidence they have had a tool in them. But from what I understand watching videos that allen screw cannot be backed out to the point where the rifle becomes unsafe. The photos I believe you posted above show a larger screw that is supposed to prevent that by stopping the screw from being backed out too far (unsafe).

Again, I love Tikka rifles--have 3 of them. But if they allow the end user to adjust the weapon's pull to the point it fires unintentionally that seems to me like a design flaw. Maybe thats just me.

That's just the thing, they do not allow people to adjust the trigger pull to where it is unsafe. They have a stop installed so they trigger pull screw can't be backed out too far. There is probably a flaw in the machining of one of the parts that wasn't picked up in the assembly. Hopefully you/us will find out soon. For the record I'm planning on selling mine, not because I don't trust the rifle but I feel the 30-06 caliber is too much gun for white tail deer and plan to buy another one in a 7m-08 caliber which I would have bought at the time if there had of been one available. Either way, good luck and please let us know the out come.

 

[JasonW]

no recoil, no slide movement, he has to operate the slide every time to eject the case....which still has a bullet attached to the end of it...lol

Didn’t watch it with sound the first time. It does seem off though. But shooting a pistol with limp wrist will cause it to not eject the empty case