One and Done Action.

[flyfisher117]

If you're not missing anything to begin with then upgrading won't feel like an upgrade. There's no objective way to financialy justify the 4 fully custom rifles I own on a Deviant and 3 Terminus Zeus actions with top of the line chassis/rings/scopes etc. but they are smooth, robust, reliable, look good and my rifles shoot 1 hole at 100 yards. I'm a sucker for gear with great design and perfect execution, I drooled over these actions back when I was a broke kid and it puts a smile on my face everytime I run one. Necessary? Hell no. Missing something by not going with a Tikka t3? Depends on what you want/need.

Trust me I’ve been drooling over custom rifles for over a decade now. Now I have it and it and thought it would be my one and only. It’s just not. Everyone brags about custom being the cats meow and i just don’t see it other than status symbol ha.

 

[nm.otter]

I think of a Sako 90 sort of like a Toyota sports car -- good enough looking, fun to drive -- and dead reliable.

Now think of Lotus as a custom rifle builder. Older Lotus cars were gorgeous, and loads of fun to drive -- but actually owning one was kind of a PITA.

Ditching Rover for Toyota gave drivers the option of a bespoke sports car that didn't depend on forming a long-term relationship with a specialized mechanic.

 

[gtriple]

The new Raven action is for sure my forever action.

 

[ElPollo]

Does “one and done” refer to how the custom R700 clones perform under hard use? I don’t understand the attraction.

 

[Kyguy]

One and done for hard hunting use and non-hunting use are two different things. What's the use case? I love swiss watch preciseness and precision as much as anyone, but a hard use hunting rifle needs a bit of slop to maintain functionality under adverse conditions, IMO.

I've got a custom 700 that's had two different barrels on it, I love that gun, it's been wonderfully accurate with both. Having said that, If I could go back 4 years and stop myself from buying it, I would. It was an impulse purchase from an estate sale, because it was EXACTLY what I would have built, and the deal was pretty damn good. I keep debating putting a heavy barrel on it making it a target rifle and getting something else for hunting, but that this point in the game, I'm not going to be doing any extended period cold weather/ice/snow hunting so the detriments of the 700 style action isn't really coming into play.

For an honest hard hunting rifle now, if I wanted "classic" I'd probably buy an older Winchester M70 (pre FN) with the old style trigger and rebarrel it if accuracy wasn't up to expectation. This will be sacrilege to all of the older Winchester fans, but the three push feed actions I had all shot better than the two controlled round actions I had.

If I wanted "modern", Tikka is the easy button. If the trigger was more adjustable, the Winchester XPR would be right up there as well. I actually like that platform except for the trigger adjustability. The polymer stock is very stiff based on the one I had and the others I've seen, and the grip curve works well with my smaller hands.

Factory rifles and factory ammo are better than ever, and for hunting how I want to do it (under 500 yards, and honestly as close as possible even with a rifle), there's nothing I can't do with a rifle that's putting 5 or 10 shots consistently into an inch or so at 100. This will sound trite, I'm sure, but I can also say that I truly do HUNT better with a cheaper rifle, because I'm not overly concerned with damaging it, so that's not in the back of my mind. It may just be me, and it's ok if it is, but when I'm carrying a $5000+ rifle in the woods, it IS in the back of my mind.

All of that to say that a one and done on a custom action wouldn't be a hunting rifle for me. It'd be a range toy.

 

[DangerRanger]

Ok, you’re a tikka man. That’s great, they are great. Just not what I’m looking for.

That’s awesome,

My main point is you really asked what we would do not what you should buy.

What do you want? What do you like? You gave very little info at all. At this point it feels like a race for the “best” but all of these share the same annoying 700 issues as they are clones.. with some improvements in certain issues. Buy the one that solves the problem you care the most about.

 

[WoolyBugger]

Sage/Winston/Loomis/Scott debate?

Everyone knows the best rods come out of Twin Bridges, Montana

 

[Chris in TN]

Everyone knows the best rods come out of Twin Bridges, Montana

I thought Ugly Sticks were made in China now?

 

[Yaremkiv]

Trust me I’ve been drooling over custom rifles for over a decade now. Now I have it and it and thought it would be my one and only. It’s just not. Everyone brags about custom being the cats meow and i just don’t see it other than status symbol ha.

Whatever you needed, a factory rifle action offered. By definition, "custom" products and services are for those who were not able to find what they were after in commonly available products and services.

 

[Carl_from_accounting]

Terminus Zeus, IMO. The quickchange barrel and the threaded trigger pin are amazing quality of life features.

Prefit barrels will probably be available for the rest of our lives. And if you're having trigger issues you can quickly swap to a backup trigger and troubleshoot later when you get back home.

 

[WildBoose]

That’s awesome,

My main point is you really asked what we would do not what you should buy.

What do you want? What do you like? You gave very little info at all. At this point it feels like a race for the “best” but all of these share the same annoying 700 issues as they are clones.. with some improvements in certain issues. Buy the one that solves the problem you care the most about.

At this point upsetting the Team Tikka Fanboys is ranking pretty high on my list of things to care about. Even tho I own them myself.

Unreal really, similar to this:
OP
“Looking for a 3/4ton diesel to pull my camper”
Replies
“MY F150 would pull it just fine!”
“Don’t need a diesel gas is just fine!”
“Why do you even have camper”
“Have you considered selling it and buying an RV”

Some people just want to voice their opinions even if it doesn’t pertain to the topic….welcome to the forum world I suppose.

 

[flyfisher117]

Whatever you needed, a factory rifle action offered. By definition, "custom" products and services are for those who were not able to find what they were after in commonly available products and services.

And… what is this cats meow feature that everyone is searching for? Even OP himself didn’t list something specific he was after. Lol

 

[WildBoose]

And… what is this cats meow feature that everyone is searching for? Even OP himself didn’t list something specific he was after. Lol

Looking for something that will make me look legit while I eat bowls full of tag soup.
A conversation starter at the local watering hole.
Something to spend money on.
Something to base my personality around and argue about on Rokslide.

 

[Chris in TN]

Looking for something that will make me look legit while I eat bowls full of tag soup.
A conversation starter at the local watering hole.
Something to spend money on.
Something to base my personality around and argue about on Rokslide.

Oh. You mean one of those folding Sig things.

 

[flyfisher117]

Oh. You mean one of those folding Sig things.

Maybe a folding Q thing for the ultimate water cooler cool guy points.

 

[TxLite]

And if you're having trigger issues you can quickly swap to a backup trigger and troubleshoot later when you get back home.

If your packing torque wrenches anyways, how hard is it to pack a punch? Not sure I see much benefit to the threaded trigger pins

 

[Yaremkiv]

And… what is this cats meow feature that everyone is searching for? Even OP himself didn’t list something specific he was after. Lol

Again. Whatever YOU are looking for, I hope YOU find it. If YOU can't find it in the factory/stock/mass produced world, I'm sure there is a custom action, barrel, chassis/stock etc. that will work for YOU. I wanted a 60 degree bolt, prefit availability, DLC coating, .750" bolt with an integral rail, integral recoil lug, Rem700 footprint, that fed reliably using AICS mags, used a mini M16 and not a Sako extractor, I wanted it to be smooth as butter, overbuilt with tight tolerances, reliable in dirty conditions, cock on open, timed so well that there is almost no cock on close with single stage Triggertech Diamonds, manufactured by a reputable manufacturer with good costumer service and I wanted the action to be proven in the hands of competitors who run there stuff a bit harder then I do. I found that action and built 3 rifles off of them. Find what works for you. If a Tikka, Ruger, Savage checks all your boxes consider yourself blessed because you're saving a lot of money staying away from the custom world.

 

[flyfisher117]

Again. Whatever YOU are looking for, I hope YOU find it. If YOU can't find it in the factory/stock/mass produced world, I'm sure there is a custom action, barrel, chassis/stock etc. that will work for YOU. I wanted a 60 degree bolt, prefit availability, DLC coating, .750" bolt with an integral rail, integral recoil lug, Rem700 footprint, that fed reliably using AICS mags, used a mini M16 and not a Sako extractor, I wanted it to be smooth as butter, overbuilt with tight tolerances, reliable in dirty conditions, cock on open, timed so well that there is almost no cock on close with single stage Triggertech Diamonds, manufactured by a reputable manufacturer with good costumer service and I wanted the action to be proven in the hands of competitors who run there stuff a bit harder then I do. I found that action and built 3 rifles off of them. Find what works for you. If a Tikka, Ruger, Savage checks all your boxes consider yourself blessed because you're saving a lot of money staying away from the custom world.

Guess where you just got into. Cool guy zone.

So what action met all of your criteria? Smooth as butter, tight tolerances, reliability in dirty conditions seems like the action I’m searching for. Have yet to experience it.

 

[Chawkshow]

I'd probably go for something like a classic safari rifle on a Mauser action by Rigby or someone similar.

 

[Yaremkiv]

Guess where you just got into. Cool guy zone.

So what action met all of your criteria? Smooth as butter, tight tolerances, reliability in dirty conditions seems like the action I’m searching for. Have yet to experience it.

A Tikka oughta check those boxes for you.