Tikka mount failure stories

[timbernomad]

I’ve been reading about Sportsmatch and UM tikka rings, and I see the argument that clamping to the dovetail is stronger than being held on with four little screws. Makes sense to me.

I’m curious to see if any of you have stories of properly mounted pic rails or other bases coming loose or breaking off. Seems like a hit that busts off a picatinny rail would probably damage a scope. But I don’t know, that’s why I’d like to hear from real life experiences.

The only good reason I can think of not to use dovetail mounts is improved ring spacing or needing inclination. The ring spacing thing in particular seems like a decent argument for a rail.

 

[Trout&Buck]

I had my area 419 pic rail come loose after installing it following the included instructions. I found that out when my groups opened up to about five inches at 100 yds and then I felt my scope wobble as I changed the magnification. I stripped everything down, degreased, and re installed using a paint pen on the screw threads and all mating surfaces and it has held solid since then. So rails definitely can come loose.

 

[mxgsfmdpx]

For me it’s more about daily use. Riding in the back seat of a vehicle, bouncing on off road trails getting shooting spots, recoil from hundreds of rounds per week, bouncing around strapped to backpack, etc.

The “hit that busts off a rail” is quite rare. The rail coming loose during the above normal use is what I want to avoid.

If using a rail is a must, I would bond it to the action.

 

[JGRaider]

Been shooting Tikkas since 1998, and have never used the first rail except for the one that comes on the CTR (bonded). I've never had one come loose yet, and that includes Opti-Locks, Tikka issued aluminum (T3), and sportsmatch.

 

[Chris in TN]

Been shooting Tikkas since 1998, and have never used the first rail except for the one that comes on the CTR (bonded). I've never had one come loose yet, and that includes Opti-Locks, Tikka issued aluminum (T3), and sportsmatch.

The factory Tikka rings on my 595, bought new in 1996(?). If they've ever budged I'm unaware of it. I mean it's just a .223 but it rode around a gazillion miles when I was younger.

 

[Milron]

I use to like the integral sportsmatch rings and like the but I've slowly replaced every one with a rail just due to the mounting flexiblility as I tend to switch scope around frequently; and the added bonus of adding inclination to the setup so you aren't operating a scope near the end of its erector travel. Since TIKKA are all basically one action length there can defiantly be issues getting a more compact scope mounted on one with fixed ring spacing.

I see no way a properly mounted rail that is screwed on and pinned like the AREA 419 and some others would or even could ever sheer off. I guess there is the potential that one could come loose, but if you clean/degrease the threads and apply Vibratite, its not going anywhere. For a mountain rifle/truck gun indexing the screws with a paint pin in a good idea. To date I've NEVER had one actually come loose that was properly torqued and Vibratite'd. I prefer the Vibratite to 242 Thread locker or nail polis because removal is easier and frankly I think it does a better job where vibration is a concern.

 

[wind gypsy]

I like the direct mount rings from a weight/cost standpoint but prefer bonding a pic rail and using pic rings from a use standpoint.

 

[bnsafe]

anyone ever had a problem with lok tite leupold backcountry's to a tikka coming loose or breaking. I currently have sportsmatch but i like the looks of the those vs rail mounts better. i admit i dont get the screw argument. sportmatch have screws that tighten to hold it onto the rail. those can come lose as easily as screws into the gun itself. either way there is 4 screws holding it on. i could well be wrong, not arguing, just dont understand how loc tite screws would be worse than a rail mount

 

[Cactus kid]

anyone ever had a problem with lok tite leupold backcountry's to a tikka coming loose or breaking. I currently have sportsmatch but i like the looks of the those vs rail mounts better. i admit i dont get the screw argument. sportmatch have screws that tighten to hold it onto the rail. those can come lose as easily as screws into the gun itself. either way there is 4 screws holding it on. i could well be wrong, not arguing, just dont understand how loc tite screws would be worse than a rail mount

many of the pic rails just have the screws holding the rail down. Sportsmatch has a recoil pin to take on the sheering force of recoil. And the screws on the UM rings (not sure about sportsmatch) are much more robust than those on the pic rails.

That said the pic rail on my tikka does have a recoil pin and it is bonded to the action. Ive had no issues.

 

[atmat]

I currently have sportsmatch but i like the looks of the those vs rail mounts better.

This is a bad reason to switch from something that works.

i admit i dont get the screw argument. sportmatch have screws that tighten to hold it onto the rail. those can come lose as easily as screws into the gun itself. either way there is 4 screws holding it on.

You’re over-simplifying it. Not all screws are as robust, or large, or can be torqued as high. Plus, the UMs and SM come with recoil pins. They are very good systems.

 

[TimberHunter]

Just go with the dovetail mount style rings, one less thing to worry about


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[schmidty3]

I’ve been reading about Sportsmatch and UM tikka rings, and I see the argument that clamping to the dovetail is stronger than being held on with four little screws. Makes sense to me.

I’m curious to see if any of you have stories of properly mounted pic rails or other bases coming loose or breaking off. Seems like a hit that busts off a picatinny rail would probably damage a scope. But I don’t know, that’s why I’d like to hear from real life experiences.

The only good reason I can think of not to use dovetail mounts is improved ring spacing or needing inclination. The ring spacing thing in particular seems like a decent argument for a rail.

The two main arguments for the sm.or um rings in my eyes are the lighter weight and the reducing the number of components/connections that can come loose

 

[Antares]

I use the bonded pic rail method for ring spacing reasons. I tried dovetail rings but couldn't get them to stop sliding rearwards under recoil. I was not using recoil pins on the dovetail rings, again, because of ring spacing needs.

 

[Marbles]

I use Area419 rails as they have a recoil lug. I bond the rail to the action using JB Qwik Weld and threadlocker on the screws.

I think the rail on my kimber had a screw come loose. I think I only used blue threadlocker, but before I sold it I tried pulling the rail and broke a torx bit, so apparently I fixed the loose screw issue. At this point we are talking several years ago, so I don't trust my memory.

 

[Poppaswish]

Wanted to document something on my first build experience - Ben Reynolds was helping me put sportmatch rings on my tikka build. When torquing the dovetails, one of the bolts broke off. Hard to say what the cause was, faulty screw, the paint pen causing over torquing, torquing one screw all the way first then doing the other (I dont remember if this actually happened, but it seems to make sense). Thankfully Ben sent me off with some hawkins pic rings and I am getting the rail tomorrow!

I did message sportmatch and they got back immediately and are sending another set of bases and screws. Customer service was excellent and I still believe in the product, but thought Id share. I know theres other instances of this happening.

 

[JGRaider]

I never use rails on a Tikka. Go straight to the dovetail. I'm betting your "helper" over torqued and broke it.

 

[Macintosh]

The tikka rail screws are tiny. Too small imo, its crazy easy to damage the screws. If you use all of them Ive never had them come loose, but I do use loctite and I have had other rail screws loosen. Imo the rails that use all screws and a recoil lug seem fine, just be sure to not damage any and use a threadlocker of some sort.

I recently tried sportsmatch. Two sets. Frankly, the placement of the recoil lug seems wrong for a tikka. It was just barely ok on one scope, and a total no-go on another. Even form suggested to not use them if the recoil lug didnt fit. I ended up using one of the screw-in recoil lugs from a set of UM rings. I dont know if they sell them separately, but those UM recoil lugs give the sportsmatch rings a lot more versatility in placement. I think the UM rings are probably better though, they’re just heavy and I was attempting to shave ounces everywhere I could.

 

[PathFinder]

Not all "little screws" are equal. Threaded fasteners that don't have a 3x L ratio are more likely to loosen, even if torqued properly. Rails really do need to be bonded with the size and depth of the screws that hold them in place. I've never had a properly bonded picatinny setup loosen. That's using 70% of yield torque for the screws, blue Loctite, and Loctite 380 or JB weld to bond to the action.
The dovetails work if they engage the recoil lug correctly. I've had SM rings slide on the dovetail when I hadn't installed with the lug in the right spot. They are fine when the lug is engaged correctly. Have not had the UM rings slide (engaging 4 pins) and the pins are still all straight.