^^^^^^^^^^^Not too shabby for a 40gr round that leaves the barrel at less than 1100 fps.

Will a lighter trigger pull weight improve my shooting?

Hoping to find out. I’ve long been convinced (I thought) that I did better with a trigger pull that wasn’t too light because it gave me better feedback during the process. I measured the from-the-factory weight of my T1x most recently as 3 pounds, 2 ounces, which wouldn’t strike many people as excessive, and didn’t seem so to me.

A couple of days ago, though, I got a scope to put my Ruger 77/22 back in service after the one that had been on it was transferred to another rifle. The last time I measured the pull weight of the aftermarket trigger in the Ruger, it was a bit under 2 pounds. The new scope of course meant a range session after a delay of about six months, and the lighter trigger pull of the Ruger as compared with 3K+ rounds using the Tikka was an eye-opener.

Adjusting the pull weight of the Tikka trigger is fortunately very easy (another of its advantages ): Remove two action screws, lift the chassis off, use a 3mm Allen key to turn the screw at the front of the trigger group. One full CCW turn and now the pull weight is 2 pounds, 2 ounces, which is close to the minimum the factory specs say is possible.

Will it help? Stay tuned, and I’ll post the future results. The forecast for tomorrow is for a high of 29° and “blustery” winds, so I’m not sure how things will go (assuming I work up the fortitude to go), but I’m definitely looking forward to finding out.

Following up: The lighter trigger pull is a benefit, not huge, but enough to make it worthwhile.

One bit of advice, though. I have a drill that requires precise, don’t-miss shots that I usually shoot at the start of a range session to have not only a cold bore, but also my being a cold shooter. In the first six shots I had two shots that would have been very bad in a real situation; something that has never happened to me in the drill before. The second time through the drill after a good warmup everything went fine as usual. So my advice: If making a major weapon change such as significantly lightening the trigger pull, get used to it before doing something important. (My situation was just a drill, but it was still an important lesson.)

But the good stuff. As part of the 100 rounds I fired today, I fired four five-shot groups at 50 yards from a bench with bipod support using SK Standard Plus ammunition. They measured 0.511, 0.330, 0.578, and 0.474 inch center to center. The third group included the infamous “called” flyer; without that the four shots measured 0.235" CTC.

A lighter and crisper trigger pull regularly improves accuracy for those with reasonable...or better...shooting fundamentals. It's generally thought that the lighter pull reduces a shooter's errors in pressing the trigger straight back through the break, without disturbing the sight picture, all the way through the recoil cycle. It's why benchrest competitors regularly have trigger pull weights that are measured in ounces. It's also why benchrest shooters often have heavy, gear-driven tripods for front supports -- and heavy bunny-eared leather rear bags -- to virtually eliminate the human factor.

My preferred rifle instructor stated that lighter triggers generally improve accuracy only for those guns that the shooter installs the lighter trigger. The lighter pull doesn't improve the shooter's fundamentals for the rest of his/her rifles. Furthermore, if the shooter switches to lighter trigger pulls on all rifles, the shooter's accuracy on heavier rifles likely deteriorates.

Hypothetically...let's say a shooter can regularly obtain 1 MOA groups from a given rifle with a 3-pound trigger. And that's his only rifle. Switching to a 1-pound trigger pull, the shooter's capabilities might improve to 3/4 MOA, maybe even a little better. But let's say the 1-pound trigger fails and the shooter must re-install the 3-pound trigger. There's a reasonable chance that the capabilities won't be 1 MOA, but more likely 1-1/4 MOA, maybe even a little worse. At least for awhile, until the shooter re-learns the fundamentals for the heavier trigger.

Thanks for all that; makes perfect sense.

A mechanical failure.

After 3709 rounds fired since the first session on 15 July 2025, the rifle suddenly stopped functioning. The trigger simply rattled loose in its housing, so end of session.

As I’ve mentioned before, removing the chassis is easy: loosen the two action screws and lift it off. An inspection of the trigger assembly made the problem obvious: the pin that the trigger pivots on (“trigger pivot pin”? ) had walked out most of the way, leaving the trigger loose in the housing.

It was easy to correct the problem by simply lining up the trigger with the pin holes on the two sides of the housing and pressing the pivot pin back in place. A close examination revealed that the areas around the holes on both sides of the housing had been staked to keep the pin from moving out, but very lightly. A pointed punch and a few light taps with a hammer, and now the staking is much more obvious, and hopefully secure.

Function testing with a couple of fired cartridge cases and all seems well.

As I was thinking about the problem before disassembly, the prospect of a new aftermarket trigger occurred to me. Aftermarket triggers for the Tikka rifles are readily available, and many people prefer them, but I’m content with the factory trigger now that I’ve lightened the pull weight a bit.

Still completely happy with the rifle.

Update about chassis weights in original post.