General Tikka upgrades and why

[SouthPaw]

Lumley arms

Thats perfect, thank you!

 

[texag10]

Thats perfect, thank you!

If you need something NOW, there may or may not have been a carefully shaped, heavy duty paper clip serving the same function in my Tikka for the past 2 years....

 

[SouthPaw]

If you need something NOW, there may or may not have been a carefully shaped, heavy duty paper clip serving the same function in my Tikka for the past 2 years....

Hah, if I didn't have other Tikka rifles to "borrow" one from, that would've been my next step. Glad it's holding up for ya!

 

[ResearchinStuff]

Circling back to this. My 223 accuracy problems apparently stemmed from the brass. For reasons I don't really understand, ie they're not measurable, if I shoot the same loads through the same cases after annealing and using a lee collet neck size die my groups shrink by over a full moa. I have never seen this much, or this repeatable of a change from just brass prep, but whatever, it's working now.

 

[2-Stix]

I added limbsaver, vert grips, bigger bolt handle, metal bottom metal, billet bolt shroud (not needed), metal mags (not needed), action screws and recoil lugs (not needed). Hogged out the stock to free float better. Did this to 3 Tikkas.

 

[Castle Rock]

Circling back to this. My 223 accuracy problems apparently stemmed from the brass. For reasons I don't really understand, ie they're not measurable, if I shoot the same loads through the same cases after annealing and using a lee collet neck size die my groups shrink by over a full moa. I have never seen this much, or this repeatable of a change from just brass prep, but whatever, it's working now.

View attachment 609953

This can be an issue with collet dies, they just size minimally
The answer is to sand down the stem .01 or .02 which results in much more consistent neck tension which gives much more consistent ignition

 

[ResearchinStuff]

The collet die fixed the problem, 2 different full length sizing dies died not. As best I can tell, this brass is thick at the case mouth, and the collet die beats neck turning.

 

[Gila]

The only thing left on my rifles that is Tikka is the action and trigger.

 

[njc89]

New to Tikka here and considering a Superlite in 7-08. Assuming Tikka is like my Sakos and has a long enough throat, can I simply sub a long action magazine and load rounds out longer than the 2.8” standard? Seems like heavier bullets like the 150 or even the 162 eldx could potentially benefit from being loaded a little longer. Is there something else I would need to change to be able to do this? Would you expect the rounds to cycle smoothly like this or would I anti feeding issues?

 

[Gila]

You will need to change bolt stop to a long but yes…Tikkas generally have long throats.

 

[njc89]

You will need to change bolt stop to a long but yes…Tikkas generally have long throats.

Is this a DIY job or recommend a smith?

Is there any consensus on the best option for lightweight replacement stocks? I would like to get the bare rifle weight down under 6 pounds if cost is reasonable to do so. This would be a Kimber replacement so the light weight is hard to give up.

Thanks

 

[Gila]

So simple a cave man can do it….just be careful of the small spring. Mountain tactical has a good video. The tikka stock in a lite is around 30 ounces. I don’t know how much a superlight stock weighs. The Stocky’s carbon VG is about as light of a stock as you will be able to get for the Tikka: 23 oz.

 

[Tahoe1305]

So simple a cave man can do it….just be careful of the small spring. Mountain tactical has a good video. The tikka stock in a lite is around 30 ounces. I don’t know how much a superlight stock weighs. The Stocky’s carbon VG is about as light of a stock as you will be able to get for the Tikka: 23 oz.

You can get their sportsman stock and it’s closer to 21oz. I have both. Both good.

 

[njc89]

Hey thanks for the responses guys. I appreciate it

 

[cueva]

Following as I just picked up my first rifle (tikka t3x superlite in .308) and looking for upgrades

 

[TNKnoxville]

Only things I changed on my Roughtech 300 win mag:

1. Vertical grip
2. Mountain Tactical Bottom metal
3. TI Pro 5 muzzle break

8.6 lb with scope (Zeiss V6 3x18x50 with Seekins rings.

Fits hand perfectly, perfect length to trigger (large hands), no worry about bottom metal, TI Pro 5 makes it feel like shooting a 243!

 

[2y2c]

What’s the worry about the bottom metal? I’ve seen several threads discussing different bottom metal. What’s the issue with stock?

 

[Gila]

What’s the worry about the bottom metal? I’ve seen several threads discussing different bottom metal. What’s the issue with stock?

No issues with the stock or the bottom metal that I have had. Some people use flat metal washers so the plastic bottom metal won’t crack or pull through the holes on after market stocks. I like the MT bottom metal because it is aluminum, has a larger hole if you use gloves, and has a very positive push button for the mags. You can still use the Tikka factory mags with the MT bottom metal.

 

[Rob2d]

If you’re keeping the factory stock: a vertical grip ($20) and comb riser (if needed).

An aftermarket stock if you want something that fits you better and/or change in weight.

Otherwise, most of the other upgrades don’t add anything other than weight. The triggers on both my Tikkas got down to 2lbs, so I didn’t even bother replacing springs.

Second this....if not just get a new stock/chassis that fits your fancy. Those tikkas are great out of the box. Slap a good bipod on them and they're better than most rifles worth twice as much.

 

[Gila]

Grip and fore end didn’t work for me. The fore-end gets full of snow and mud….just a mess. The grip is way too wide. Probably sell them when I clean up the room.