Let's See Your Semi-Custom Tikka Builds

[DisplacedHusky]

New to the forum, here is one I just put together.

Started as a t3x lite.
Proof sendero 22" prefit in 6.5 creed.
Mesa precision arms stock.
Tactical works ti handle and carbon knob.
Dnz medium.
Athlon 4-16 midas tac until I save for a razor lht.

Comes in just over 8lbs scoped.

Had it in a grayboe phoenix before and wasnt a fan so its sitting on the bench collecting dust.

Looking at both of these stocks for a build. What did you not like about the Grayboe, and what do you like about the Mesa? We’re both the barreled action installs easy?

 

[rockymtnsam]

How do you like the stock? I thought Grayboe just released the Phoenix for Tikkas this month.

They just released the Phoenix 2 with some improvements. It's pretty sweet.

 

[tikkashooter88]

I ordered both the Grayboe Phoenix and Mesa Alittude for my Tikka T3 in 7mm that I installed a Proof Carbon Prefit on. Ended up getting both at the same time and put the scoped rifle in both stocks and compared.

Mesa seems to fit the action and barrel better. Just feels like the stock is designed for that rifle if that makes sense. I have a Bushnell LRHS scope on there in low rings so cheek weld ended up being perfect. I was concerned about needing an adjustable cheek rest which was my main reason for ordering a Phoenix as well. If I end up with a different scope down the road that I have to mount higher, I don't think this stock will work for me. But as it turns out everything came together quite nice.

I liked the Phoenix as well but the barrel channel was HUGE. Even with the Proof carbon barrel in there it seems like there is a ton of room for branches and leaves to get caught in there when pushing through heavy brush. Also it seemed a bit heavier than the Mesa. I didn't weigh them but in hand and just messing around in the yard the Phoenix seemed to have a bigger presence.

I ended up keeping the Mesa and have used it the last hunting season and spring bear this year. Really happy with it but now am wanting to add arca which would have been easier with the Grayboe.

 

[Lytro]

How do you like the stock? I thought Grayboe just released the Phoenix for Tikkas this month.

I like the Phoenix a lot. I did a nearly identical build in 7RM two years ago when the phoenix was released for Tikka actions. Fit and adjustability has been perfect with a couple extra spacers on the back end. I’m assuming an update to the phoenix must have just come out.

 

[DisplacedHusky]

My t3x -06 is chopped to 18.5 and wears a can and shoots factory 178 ELDX at 2,604 fps.

Does yours have the 1:11 twist? If so, how does it handle the 178’s?

 

[Formidilosus]

Does yours have the 1:11 twist? If so, how does it handle the 178’s?

The 1-11” twist stabilizes 208gr ELD-M’s. The 178gr is no issue.

 

[carsonkeys]

Does yours have the 1:11 twist? If so, how does it handle the 178’s?

I don’t remember. Truth is, I bought that rifle against the sage advice of several people on this forum and, unbeknownst to me and before I owned a suppressor, developed a terrible flinch. It reared its ugly head throughout the course of a single season where I missed four animals back-to-back.

I bought a 6.5, dug myself out that hole, and haven’t shot another rifle at an animal and/or picked up that -06 since.

I don’t want to make you second guess your purchase, but if you haven’t already done so I would strongly suggest a 6.5 with your flavor of ELD-M/X or TMK if you hand load.

Though…

If form says you’re good, you’re good.

The 1-11” twist stabilizes 208gr ELD-M’s. The 178gr is no issue.

 

[TanktheFrank]

Here's one I did earlier this year,

Pre-CTR Compact Tactical .223
KRG Bravo with DIY sponge job

It wore a Razor 5-20, DMR II and PST 3-15 at different times. Absolute hammer with 75 gr Black.

 

[cmatzek]

Here I am... in the rabbit hole 4 years later. I'm starting my build now for next season lol. This thread is great.

I'm just about to follow you! lol

 

[JollyRoger]

I don’t think I’ve posted this one here. It started life as a CTR. Had a 20” fluted Bartlein 3B contour barrel installed, dropped in a Bravo, and topped it off with a SWFA 5-20 in UM medium rings. All the work was done by Spartan Rifles and they did an awesome job with it.

Pics are from this past weekend looking for bears. Ended up stopping a spot to shoot a rock at 1300 yards before heading home. This rifle shoots great

 

[skierjt]

Here's my first semi custom tikka It started its life as a blued t3x 300 win mag. I just got in all the parts and finished last week so I was able to get out to the range this weekend and try some handloads as this was my first time handloading so just to get some experience and some rounds down the barrel. View attachment 556142View attachment 556140

Full build list
Tikka T3X lite Action and Stock with sponge paint job
Limbsaver Recoil Pad
Tikka Aftermarket pistol grip
Mountain Tactical 20 moa rail
Mountain Tactical Arca rail
Seekins Medium 30 mm rings
Trijicon Credo 4-16 Mrad Center dot red illum
Proof Research Tikka Prefit 300 wm with Area 419 Brake
Weight is 8.86 with No Mag or bipod.
View attachment 556144

First time doing it all from taking off tikka barrel to adding prefit and inletting stock. Was able to make the tikka stock work with the larger contour of the Prefit from the thin barrel it was inletted for. Picture doesn't do justice to the amount of material that we took out but barrel is free floated and stock is still stiff enough for my liking.

View attachment 556145

Now on to how it shot for the limited rounds I have through it I had worked up handloads with H4350 and 200 Grain eld-x at mag length (3.340) with once fired Federal brass to start. Most of the groups hovered around the .75-.9 inch Three shot groups at 100. My best load being 66 grains of H4350 which shot .50 inches at 100. This was done with a bipod and rearbag. I will load a bunch more up at 66 grains and might do some refining after I get more proficient with the gun and enough rounds through it. I will say before the brake with the light leupy and tikka recoil pad it kicked like a mule and was not fun to shoot and the thin barrel would heat up very fast. With the added weight,brake and the limbsaver pad it is a dream to shoot now.View attachment 556155

View attachment 556157

I never thought about using a factory tikka stock with a proof barrel but that looks awesome.. might give it a try, thanks!

 

[thinhorn_AK]

Does yours have the 1:11 twist? If so, how does it handle the 178’s?

My 1/11 tikka 30-06 shoots 180s great. Not the 178 like you are asking about (I havnt tried them) but 180g accubonds shoot nice and tight.

 

[just browsing]

Put the 223 in a Sporter stock as a stopgap. Not sure what it’s permanently going to wear yet but this was surprisingly a nice little setup.

 

[Formidilosus]

Put the 223 in a Sporter stock as a stopgap. Not sure what it’s permanently going to wear yet but this was surprisingly a nice little setup.

View attachment 612954

Those are very good stocks for shooting.

 

[DisplacedHusky]

10/12/23 - Don’t waste your time responding the the question below. After posting, I took my vision quest and decided to sell my Tikka. This is Tikka thread so I know this is blasphemous but I’m going to save some money and buy factory rifle. For my budget and the limited amount of time I can dedicate to hunting at this time in my life it seemed like a prudent decision. I will wait to see what rifles are announced around Shot Show before making a decision. Hopefully Tikka comes around and releases a 20”-22” threaded 7PRC.

I finally made it through all 120 pages. This is a great thread and exactly what I needed. Thank you @NSI for turning me onto it and starting me down this road. I am now seriously considering building a 7PRC out of my donor Tikka.

I would be going with a 20” carbon fiber barrel from either CarbonSix or Preferred Barrel Blanks (because they will swap the old barrel for the new one on the action for $125) and an AG Composites Alpine Hunter, Mesa Precision Altitude, Manners EH1, Grayboe Phoenix 2, EKO Tikka or Stockys Hunter VG stock.

I already started a thread on my dilemma that is linked below. However, I thought this thread was the perfect place for some advice on the build. Often things that seem too good to be true are, and getting my action barreled at the barrel manufacturer and then just dropping it into the stock of my choosing seems just that. I am at the top of my budget doing a semi custom build and I want it to go well the first time and not waste money trying to un-F@#k something.

For those of you with who have done multiple Tikka builds and have experience with the products I listed above, which ones were the easiest to deal with and gave you the best results with minimal fuss? I am looking to save money and keep my Tikka plastic bottom metal. I don’t want to have to deal with fixing ill fitting components. All of the stocks listed above have different pluses and minuses (weight, price, etc.) but knowing one would be an absolutely perfect fit and reliable with my action would move it quickly to the top of my list.

Are there any pitfalls in this process that would affect accuracy and reliability that I should be aware of?

Thank you in advance for the advice.

Dilemma: Semi custom Tikka build on budget vs. 7PRC factory rifle. UPDATED: Decision Made and Build Complete

I have been soaking up Rokslide knowledge for a while but I’m not much of a poster. I now have a dilemma I need advice about. So, I finally created an account in order to seek counsel from the Rokslide Forum knowledge collective. There have been similar threads about a similar dilemmas but...

rokslide.com

 

[Dobermann]

I finally made it through all 120 pages. This is a great thread and exactly what I needed. Thank you @NSI for turning me onto it and starting me down this road. I am now seriously considering building a 7PRC out of my donor Tikka.

I would be going with a 20” carbon fiber barrel from either CarbonSix or Preferred Barrel Blanks (because they will swap the old barrel for the new one on the action for $125) and an AG Composites Alpine Hunter, Mesa Precision Altitude, Manners EH1, Grayboe Phoenix 2, EKO Tikka or Stockys Hunter VG stock.

I already started a thread on my dilemma that is linked below. However, I thought this thread was the perfect place for some advice on the build. Often things that seem too good to be true are, and getting my action barreled at the barrel manufacturer and then just dropping it into the stock of my choosing seems just that. I am at the top of my budget doing a semi custom build and I want it to go well the first time and not waste money trying to un-F@#k something.

For those of you with who have done multiple Tikka builds and have experience with the products I listed above, which ones were the easiest to deal with and gave you the best results with minimal fuss? I am looking to save money and keep my Tikka plastic bottom metal. I don’t want to have to deal with fixing ill fitting components. All of the stocks listed above have different pluses and minuses (weight, price, etc.) but knowing one would be an absolutely perfect fit and reliable with my action would move it quickly to the top of my list.

Are there any pitfalls in this process that would affect accuracy and reliability that I should be aware of?

Thank you in advance for the advice.

Dilemma: Semi custom Tikka build on budget vs. 7PRC factory rifle. UPDATED: Decision Made and Build Complete

I have been soaking up Rokslide knowledge for a while but I’m not much of a poster. I now have a dilemma I need advice about. So, I finally created an account in order to seek counsel from the Rokslide Forum knowledge collective. There have been similar threads about a similar dilemmas but...

rokslide.com

My small .02 would be that with all of those custom aspects, I'm not sure that cost saving should be the primary reason for retaining the Tikka bottom metal (plastic). I'd personally be more inclined to use other decision-making questions, such as whether it's worth retaining because you have lots of Tikka mags, like their form and function, and so on, or worth swapping to AICS pattern mags because you're swapping everything else anyway, the mags are more interchangeable, usually hold more rounds, and so on.

Not saying that one is a better option than the other - I have Tikkas with three different bottom metal / mags, more wondering what might be some other ways to assess this ... for you.

 

[DisplacedHusky]

You’re totally right @Dobermann. I was not very articulate on that point. I want to keep the factory bottom metal to save money AND because I have multiple factory ”L” magazines that should work with factory 7PRC ammo (I don’t reload) and they seem to function well with the Tikka action.

 

[fwafwow]

I might be reaching out about some of your mods. I don't know that I will go all-in, but at least for the cut and threading. And maybe the vertical grip. And maybe....

As promised @Antares - where did you get the 1/2" spacer? I have found some Tikka spacer sets online (SKU S540208725 and UPC 082442950068), but I'm not sure of the thickness of each spacer. I need about another ~3/4" for my LOP, but ideally I'd like to have a few (1/4" or 1/8") spacers to build up. But I'd consider a 1/2".

 

[Antares]

As promised @Antares - where did you get the 1/2" spacer? I have found some Tikka spacer sets online (SKU S540208725 and UPC 082442950068), but I'm not sure of the thickness of each spacer. I need about another ~3/4" for my LOP, but ideally I'd like to have a few (1/4" or 1/8") spacers to build up. But I'd consider a 1/2".

I use Kick-EEZ Universal "Grind to Fit" spacers. They come in 4 different thickness. They are not "plug and play." You need to shape them to fit your stock.

 

[fwafwow]

I use Kick-EEZ Universal "Grind to Fit" spacers. They come in 4 different thickness. They are not "plug and play." You need to shape them to fit your stock.

Thanks. I will look into those, and see if I can find the specs on the Tikka spacers mentioned above. If anyone else knows of a plug and play option - including by swapping the OEM pad for a thicker option, that would be welcome info.