Wildcat Composites Ultralight Tikka T3X Stock Review, By Tye Abell

[Justin Crossley]

Have you been looking for a lighter, better stock to replace your factory Tikka T3 stock? Rokslide member, Tye Abell decided to try out Wildcat Composites for his Tikka T3X build. In this article Tye not only gives his initial review of the stock but also details his processes as he bedded the stock, installed the recoil pad, and painted it.

Check it out here. Wildcat Composites Ultralight Tikka T3X Stock Review

 

[Blockcaver]

Really nice job on your Wildcat! Looks great and nice bedding, fitting, painting, etc. I'd like to own one or two Wildcats, but barely use my rifles as I bowhunt most of the time.

Question: Did you consider a "Flip-Flop" recoil pad? No steel in them and $2.00 for a pair of XLs at the dollar store. I have the flip-flops purchased but haven't attempted to make a recoil pad out of them...eventually a couple of shotguns that will wear them. I think most flip-flop pads come out at about 2 oz or so on a Mt rifle.

 

[Eagle]

Really nice job on your Wildcat! Looks great and nice bedding, fitting, painting, etc. I'd like to own one or two Wildcats, but barely use my rifles as I bowhunt most of the time.

Question: Did you consider a "Flip-Flop" recoil pad? No steel in them and $2.00 for a pair of XLs at the dollar store. I have the flip-flops purchased but haven't attempted to make a recoil pad out of them...eventually a couple of shotguns that will wear them. I think most flip-flop pads come out at about 2 oz or so on a Mt rifle.

Appreciate the kind words. I'm seriously considering cutting the stock down and trying the flip flop, as I'd really like for the gun to be under 100 total ounces (no real reason other than being a little OCD, haha) and I think doing that would get me there. If I do, I'll update this thread.

 

[Yellowknife]

I went through pretty much the same steps putting my Wildcat stock together. Two minor differences/notes:

1. I cut the stock down to the original LOP. This exposed the foam, so when I glued the pad on, I used a knife to trim away a strip of foam around the perimeter. I felt this both gave the epoxy something more to "grab" and strengthen.

2. With the stock trimmed to the standard LOP, the Limbsaver Pad I had fit with zero fitting. Wildcat will only say to use a grind-to-fit, but the buttstock on mine was so close to factory specs that either the original factory pad or any prefit would have worked perfectly. I glued it on with acraglass gel. As a side note, trimming the stock removed exactly 1 oz which helped make up for the relatively heavy pad.

My stock also came in right around 21 oz and has worked out fine. Only paint I had handy was a textured gray, so it became a "faux Montana"

 

[Eagle]

Nice Yellowknife! I'm assuming you cut the limbsaver pad thickness off the stock, to maintain the original LOP? Did you change the pitch at all, or leave it slightly angled?

 

[Decker9]

Great read!! I put a wildcat on my custom T3 Swede, love the stock. I went with a flip flop pad, the stock finished at 19oz, the bare rifle 5lb 9oz. I think I notice a bit better accuracy as well.

How did your tang area look on the t3x after bedding? Mine had some square lines I didn’t care for, so re shaped it using bondo.

Imgur: The magic of the Internet
Imgur: The magic of the Internet
Imgur: The magic of the Internet
https://i.imgur.com/TUQj5SB.jpg

 

[Eagle]

Great read!! I put a wildcat on my custom T3 Swede, love the stock. I went with a flip flop pad, the stock finished at 19oz, the bare rifle 5lb 9oz. I think I notice a bit better accuracy as well.

How did your tang area look on the t3x after bedding? Mine had some square lines I didn’t care for, so re shaped it using bondo.

Imgur: The magic of the Internet
Imgur: The magic of the Internet
Imgur: The magic of the Internet
https://i.imgur.com/TUQj5SB.jpg

Nice work with the bondo! I didn't run into any odd lines after bedding, so didn't have to worry with that, but what you did looks great.

 

[Yellowknife]

Nice Yellowknife! I'm assuming you cut the limbsaver pad thickness off the stock, to maintain the original LOP? Did you change the pitch at all, or leave it slightly angled?

By "original LOP" I mean I mimicked the factory. Essentially, I removed the pad from the factory stock and then used the factory tupperware for a pattern. Cut to the same length, the factory pad could then moved to the new stock. I don't recall if the way it came from Wildcat was angled at all, but it wasn't after I cut it. I believe I removed about 3/4" and then added back about 1" with the Limbsaver

Slight variations in the way the stock comes out the mold might make the factory pad a bad fit, which is the reason he only recommends grind-to-fit. However, it worked perfectly for me, with at least as good of match as the factory.

I had to do a bit of bondo work at the tang also, although it was pretty minimal. I didn't get the "pre-sanded" version, so I also had to do a skiff of bondo over the mold lines, but compared to other fiberglass stock blanks I've looked at the fit and finish were amazing. The bottom "metal" snapped in perfectly, with zero slop and exactly flush. Might have got lucky there, but I was impressed. I skipped the pillars and just carefully set action at the right height to allow the mag to work when I bedded it.

Looking at the way yours came in "pre-sanded" form, I was probably a bit more aggressive with the sandpaper and took off more of the gel coat. Not sure if that is bad or not, but it seems to be working so far.

This is how mine came:

And how it looked after adding bondo and sanding:

Something you don't mention is that his stocks come with aluminum re-enforcement molded in for sling studs. It's a simple drill and tap exercise if you want to add those, and with a little loctite they are sturdy and permanent.

Decker, what did you use for paint? I need to re-do mine with something more textured. Mine ended up gray because I finished it right before sheep season, and had to rattle can it with what was on the shelf so I could get it to the range.

Accuracy was still top notch. Two weeks after putting the stock on it, I found this sheep at just over 400 yds. Went down on the first shot.

 

[Justin Crossley]

Good info guys! I'm working with Stuart right now to get one ordered for a new 6.5-06AI that I'm having built. He is going to omit the aluminum blocks for the sling studs so I can install flush cups instead. Great guy to work with so far.

 

[Decker9]

Yellowknife, the paint I used was the krylon fusion brown, but first I gave it a lite coat of krylon make it stone. Then a couple coats of the flat clear coat on top. This is the first stock Iv painted, and it hasn’t seen a mountain yet, so I’m not sure on how durable it will be. It does feel and grip really nice tho.
Something Iv noticed, is the brown paint wearing off on the sharp edges of the texture paint, if I was to do it again, I’d probably lightly sand the texture after it drys, just to knock off the sharp edges.

With any luck, I’ll break it in the same way you did yours this August lol.

 

[Eagle]

By "original LOP" I mean I mimicked the factory. Essentially, I removed the pad from the factory stock and then used the factory tupperware for a pattern. Cut to the same length, the factory pad could then moved to the new stock. I don't recall if the way it came from Wildcat was angled at all, but it wasn't after I cut it. I believe I removed about 3/4" and then added back about 1" with the Limbsaver
O
Slight variations in the way the stock comes out the mold might make the factory pad a bad fit, which is the reason he only recommends grind-to-fit. However, it worked perfectly for me, with at least as good of match as the factory.

I had to do a bit of bondo work at the tang also, although it was pretty minimal. I didn't get the "pre-sanded" version, so I also had to do a skiff of bondo over the mold lines, but compared to other fiberglass stock blanks I've looked at the fit and finish were amazing. The bottom "metal" snapped in perfectly, with zero slop and exactly flush. Might have got lucky there, but I was impressed. I skipped the pillars and just carefully set action at the right height to allow the mag to work when I bedded it.

Looking at the way yours came in "pre-sanded" form, I was probably a bit more aggressive with the sandpaper and took off more of the gel coat. Not sure if that is bad or not, but it seems to be working so far.

This is how mine came:

And how it looked after adding bondo and sanding:

Something you don't mention is that his stocks come with aluminum re-enforcement molded in for sling studs. It's a simple drill and tap exercise if you want to add those, and with a little loctite they are sturdy and permanent.

Decker, what did you use for paint? I need to re-do mine with something more textured. Mine ended up gray because I finished it right before sheep season, and had to rattle can it with what was on the shelf so I could get it to the range.

Accuracy was still top notch. Two weeks after putting the stock on it, I found this sheep at just over 400 yds. Went down on the first shot.

I'm jealous, hopefully before I die I'll draw a bighorn tag here in Colorado. Good point on the sling attachment points. I'm not a sling or bipod guy, so I probably could have saved some weight and had them omitted, but they'll be there just in case I ever get the urge to add them.

 

[FurFinFeather]

IMHO, these are some of, if not the best synthetic stocks on the market. Stewart worked with Gary Flach (a fantastic BC gunsmith) and designed an open grip, English stalking pattern that is amazing.

What really sets these apart is that dark mold line you see in the photos. Instead of simply filling a shell with foam, there is a carbon fibre structure running the length of the stock. This structure is extremely rigid preventing the flex found in some other designs.

 

[TonySkyline]

I was planning to order a southfort labs carbon stock for my lightweight mountain build tikka t3x stainless lite chambered in 7mm rem mag. I might consider this as an option due to price alone. The weight on the southfort is about 19oz. The carbon is probably stronger but man that price tag is scary at over $1,200 I'm hearing... Does anyone on here do all the work that you did above and if so what would labor and materials cost? Great job with yours!

 

[Decker9]

I was planning to order a southfort labs carbon stock for my lightweight mountain build tikka t3x stainless lite chambered in 7mm rem mag. I might consider this as an option due to price alone. The weight on the southfort is about 19oz. The carbon is probably stronger but man that price tag is scary at over $1,200 I'm hearing... Does anyone on here do all the work that you did above and if so what would labor and materials cost? Great job with yours!

The rifle I posted up above there, I did all the work myself. It was the first time I ever working on a stock, first time bedding, first time flip flop pad, and first time painting/finishing. Honestly, it was quite easy, long as a guy has the time to sit down and do it right, bad place to get in a rush.

The paint/finish, is easy to remove and redo if a guy needs or messed up. The bedding, a guys kinda only got 1 shot at it, but as long as the prep work is done right, it’s a pretty easy thing to do.

As for time and cost, I’d guess about 10 hours reading and YouTubing, and about 4-5 hours total work time to do all the work (minus letting paint dry and bedding cure).
The cost, I think the devcon 10110 cost me about $100 in Canada (but there’s enough to do a few bedding jobs in it), and about $25 for paint. I stole the flip flop from my girlfriends shoe rack.... she hasn’t noticed yet, so I’m not sure what it’s going to cost me yet lol. The stock itself, I ordered filled and sanded and also had pillars installed. IIRC, it was a hair under $500 Canadian to my door.

I’d be happy to give you the rundown of what I did if you are thinking about doing a wildcat stock yourself. It sure adds to the feeling of the rifle, knowing you built it with your own hands (well, the stock anyway). Feel free to PM if you have any questions.

Cheers.

 

[Eagle]

I was planning to order a southfort labs carbon stock for my lightweight mountain build tikka t3x stainless lite chambered in 7mm rem mag. I might consider this as an option due to price alone. The weight on the southfort is about 19oz. The carbon is probably stronger but man that price tag is scary at over $1,200 I'm hearing... Does anyone on here do all the work that you did above and if so what would labor and materials cost? Great job with yours!

I would agree with decker. If you have some time, and follow the steps from the article, you can do it, and save a substantial amount of coin. I've decided I'll be cutting my LOP down and doing the flip flop pad, and with that, I'd expect my total weight to end up closer to 19oz. You could also request wildcat not install any aluminum for the sling studs, which would save some additional weight as well. Good luck and let us know if you order one. PM me if you're dead set on not doing this yourself, and we could discuss that possible option further as I'd be happy to work on another wildcat.

 

[tarheelpwr]

Which bondo do you all use to prep the mold lines? I attempted a minor job like that previously, but I'm pretty sure I used the wrong material. It kept shrinking and would not fill the gaps.

 

[Decker9]

Which bondo do you all use to prep the mold lines? I attempted a minor job like that previously, but I'm pretty sure I used the wrong material. It kept shrinking and would not fill the gaps.

Stewart gives the option of ordering the stock already filled and sanded, if I remember right, it wasn’t to much extra.

 

[eamyrick]

I was looking around the Wildcat website and order form. Can I just order one of these ready to go? Looked like the pricing was 375 Canadian or $280 US which would be a good deal if I could order it how I wanted.

 

[DangerRanger]

Hit them up on f-book or email the owner is super responsive.

 

[Babs]

Yellowknife, the paint I used was the krylon fusion brown, but first I gave it a lite coat of krylon make it stone. Then a couple coats of the flat clear coat on top. This is the first stock Iv painted, and it hasn’t seen a mountain yet, so I’m not sure on how durable it will be. It does feel and grip really nice tho.
Something Iv noticed, is the brown paint wearing off on the sharp edges of the texture paint, if I was to do it again, I’d probably lightly sand the texture after it drys, just to knock off the sharp edges.

With any luck, I’ll break it in the same way you did yours this August lol.

Curious how that paint job has held up? Im ordering a wildcat stock now and concerned about finishing it..