Optimal path for boomer tikka

[Choupique]

Rebarrel it to 223 wssm and push some 77tmk's to a bazillion fps.

 

[jjohnsonElknewbie]

Thanks. It was the .223 thread and Shoot2hunt podcasts that very quickly made me realize how dumb I’d been. I have a 6.5 Ruger American that I have no doubt would kill anything I could hit, and an AR for which I’d say the same, but with which I am not permitted to hunt here.

Unfortunately I also hate the Ruger. It has frequent feeding issues, and the bolt likes to work its way open. I just got back from a snowy hunt, and while I was up in a tree saddle the bolt popped open and dropped out the back of the action clinging to a live round.

I love the Tikka action, just hate burning 80 grains of powder to miss everything.

I wouldn't call it being dumb, and we should all try to continue learning and getting better at the sport.

I also have a Ruger American, and it's night and day compared to my Tikka in terms of action fit/finish, and reliability. To be clear, the Tikka far exceeds the quality of the RA.

My advice is to be patient, but don't expect to see a lot of guys swapping standard bolts for magnum bolts. Usually it's the other way around.

JA Outdoors is out of stock on Tikka standard bolts, and they are very pricey at $450. I agree with @KenLee and you may want to consider just buying a new Tikka and selling this one whole. Europtic has a Tikka sale and rebate program going through the end of the year. You could get a .243 or 6.5 T3 Lite for $625 after rebate (excluding tax, shipping, transfer). This would be the easy button for what you're trying to solve for, and in the meantime you could list the Ruger 6.5 and .300 to offset your cost.

Get a set of Sportsmatch rings and a 3-9 or 6x SWFA and you'll be good to go.

 

[jjohnsonElknewbie]

Rebarrel it to 223 wssm and push some 77tmk's to a bazillion fps.

22 Creed, but illegal where OP lives

 

[jjohnsonElknewbie]

Think the long throat and jump might be hurting accuracy, I had the action notched to feed ~3.5” COAL rounds from an AICS mag and new bottom metal, presumably nuking any resale value. Did I mention I was stubborn and maybe a fool?

I hope others can learn from my bad example.

You may be surprised at the resale value of a Tikka action. If the notch work was done professionally, it's not going to hurt any other cartridges. A new action is going to cost north of $800, and if your factory dovetail is intact, you should be able to get decent money out of it for a guy looking to tear it down and build a new rifle.

 

[AlpineCarpetbagger]

22 Creed, but illegal where OP lives

I believe .22 centerfire cartridges are ok here, but a recent bill to lift the ban on semiauto hunting guns was vetoed by our governor, no dice on the AR unless I want to permanently alter the gas system or similar.

I ran into a faster twist 22-250 but hesitated to grab it, not knowing how it would do with 88s down here in the lowland swamps.

 

[Spoonbill]

I believe .22 centerfire cartridges are ok here, but a recent bill to lift the ban on semiauto hunting guns was vetoed by our governor, no dice on the AR unless I want to permanently alter the gas system or similar.

I ran into a faster twist 22-250 but hesitated to grab it, not knowing how it would do with 88s down here in the lowland swamps.

There is a lot of info on the fast twist 22-250s if you search. Most guys seem to be punching them out to 22 creedmoors.

 

[TheCougar]

Apologies if I failed with the search function.

Is there a generally recommended path for dumb idiots like myself who bought a tikka in 300WM and then found out that dinky bullets work fine?

After ~500 rounds, I have nothing to show for it but a perpetually black and blue shoulder and 10+ round groups that are far worse than what I can do with bulk m855 and a red dot, and I have significant astigmatism. I’m not sure how much of this is my Vortex Strike Eagle (wow like the fighter jet) and how much is due to bad recoil management, but FWIW I’ve tried tricking myself with dummy rounds and cat tranquilizers but never saw reticle movement that could account for the disaster I see on paper.

Should I order a 6.5 PRC barrel to go with my magnum bolt and the pile of H1000 and N560 I’m sitting on, or is this likely to still give me a worse hit probability at 400-600 yds than my AR shooting 77 tmk?

I have a tikka 7mm. It kicked hard out of the box and a 300WM would only be worse. Its just a light magnum rifle at the mercy of physics.

Although what I experienced was not as bad as what you are describing, I did three things:

I took a long range class to clean up my fundamentals. This helped to build a better shooting position, control the rifle, and manage recoil.

I got an aftermarket stock - that certainly helped. The recoil didn’t decrease much, but it made it a hell of a lot more comfortable and manageable.

I shot it for a while that way, then I had a brake installed and wow… Between the stock and the brake, that rifle is my tack driver and I shoot it better than any other, despite having more recoil than other guns I own.

I would recommend you consider putting it in a new stock, and throwing a brake or suppressor on it. FWIW, my rifle weighs right at 9lb and 6oz with a full mag. That’s rifle, cheek riser, full length arca, scope/rings, and a brake. I don’t know how much lighter the rifle could be and still shoot lights out for me. It is about as heavy as I’m willing to carry.

 

[Choupique]

Is it left handed?

 

[AlpineCarpetbagger]

Is it left handed?

No, but I might as well be shooting it left handed.

 

[Encore4me]

I have a tikka 7mm. It kicked hard out of the box and a 300WM would only be worse. Its just a light magnum rifle at the mercy of physics.

Although what I experienced was not as bad as what you are describing, I did three things:

I took a long range class to clean up my fundamentals. This helped to build a better shooting position, control the rifle, and manage recoil.

I got an aftermarket stock - that certainly helped. The recoil didn’t decrease much, but it made it a hell of a lot more comfortable and manageable.

I shot it for a while that way, then I had a brake installed and wow… Between the stock and the brake, that rifle is my tack driver and I shoot it better than any other, despite having more recoil than other guns I own.

I would recommend you consider putting it in a new stock, and throwing a brake or suppressor on it. FWIW, my rifle weighs right at 9lb and 6oz with a full mag. That’s rifle, cheek riser, full length arca, scope/rings, and a brake. I don’t know how much lighter the rifle could be and still shoot lights out for me. It is about as heavy as I’m willing to carry.

What stock did you get?


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[Scotto]

Thanks. It was the .223 thread and Shoot2hunt podcasts that very quickly made me realize how dumb I’d been. I have a 6.5 Ruger American that I have no doubt would kill anything I could hit, and an AR for which I’d say the same, but with which I am not permitted to hunt here.

Unfortunately I also hate the Ruger. It has frequent feeding issues, and the bolt likes to work its way open. I just got back from a snowy hunt, and while I was up in a tree saddle the bolt popped open and dropped out the back of the action clinging to a live round.

I love the Tikka action, just hate burning 80 grains of powder to miss everything.

Sell both guns to fund the one you want , 6.5cm.

 

[CorbLand]

The obvious answer is man up and get a .338.

Rebarrel and bolt swap to a 6 creed or 6.5 creed or sell and buy.

 

[AlpineCarpetbagger]

I have a tikka 7mm. It kicked hard out of the box and a 300WM would only be worse. Its just a light magnum rifle at the mercy of physics.

Although what I experienced was not as bad as what you are describing, I did three things:

I took a long range class to clean up my fundamentals. This helped to build a better shooting position, control the rifle, and manage recoil.

I got an aftermarket stock - that certainly helped. The recoil didn’t decrease much, but it made it a hell of a lot more comfortable and manageable.

I shot it for a while that way, then I had a brake installed and wow… Between the stock and the brake, that rifle is my tack driver and I shoot it better than any other, despite having more recoil than other guns I own.

I would recommend you consider putting it in a new stock, and throwing a brake or suppressor on it. FWIW, my rifle weighs right at 9lb and 6oz with a full mag. That’s rifle, cheek riser, full length arca, scope/rings, and a brake. I don’t know how much lighter the rifle could be and still shoot lights out for me. It is about as heavy as I’m willing to carry.

Thanks, I would consider keeping it if I only had a discomfort problem. If I could find an SWFA 3-9 or 6x I’d buy it immediately to see if any of the weirdness went away. It’s very strange to see three rounds stack up touching or nearly so, and then the next is three inches away. I don’t have enough experience to tell if that’s me building a terrible position or a garbage scope.

 

[Tiny]

I would install a break that you can install a cover over. even with the cover the break still works just not as good. I find that my 6.5 prc is very light on recoil, my 11 year old daughter prefers to shoot if over her muzzle braked 6.5 Creedmoor.

 

[BjornF16]

The easy answer is to get an 8” twist .243 Tikka and go to town with 108 ELD-Ms.

You could get fancy and Ackley-ize it to reduce brass trimming.

Or get the 22-250 and shoot 77 TMK or 80 ELD-Ms if the 88’s won’t stabilize

 

[Harvey_NW]

Thanks, I would consider keeping it if I only had a discomfort problem. If I could find an SWFA 3-9 or 6x I’d buy it immediately to see if any of the weirdness went away. It’s very strange to see three rounds stack up touching or nearly so, and then the next is three inches away. I don’t have enough experience to tell if that’s me building a terrible position or a garbage scope.

The system in question is sporting a scope that starts with V..

 

[PNWGATOR]

Apologies if I failed with the search function.

Is there a generally recommended path for dumb idiots like myself who bought a tikka in 300WM and then found out that dinky bullets work fine?

After ~500 rounds, I have nothing to show for it but a perpetually black and blue shoulder and 10+ round groups that are far worse than what I can do with bulk m855 and a red dot, and I have significant astigmatism. I’m not sure how much of this is my Vortex Strike Eagle (wow like the fighter jet) and how much is due to bad recoil management, but FWIW I’ve tried tricking myself with dummy rounds and cat tranquilizers but never saw reticle movement that could account for the disaster I see on paper.

Should I order a 6.5 PRC barrel to go with my magnum bolt and the pile of H1000 and N560 I’m sitting on, or is this likely to still give me a worse hit probability at 400-600 yds than my AR shooting 77 tmk?

If I were in your shoes, I‘d send the action to UM and have it turned into a 6 UM dropped into a RokStock. Sell your scope, your rings, your barrel and the factory stock to recoup some of the expense. Buy a drop tested scope with a functional reticle in mills and mount it in UM rings and add a suppressor. That’ll be a good use for your magnum action.

 

[BjornF16]

If I were in your shoes, I‘d send the action to UM and have it turned into a 6 UM dropped into a RokStock. Sell your scope, your rings, your barrel and the factory stock to recoup some of the expense. Buy a drop tested scope with a functional reticle in mills and mount it in UM rings and add a suppressor. That’ll be a good use for your magnum action.

I have a Tikka 300 WSM that will likely get this treatment

 

[TheCougar]

What stock did you get?


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I just got a B&C sporter. Nothing special - this was a while ago, when I was just started shooting. Probably 5 years. It definitely helped. Recoil was more manageable and comfortable. If I were to do it today, which I am, it might go in a KRG Bravo, a Manners EH, or a Rokstock. I’m going to try and throw it in a Rokstock to cut some weight and balance out the suppressor that is getting added. The goal is to trim the weight down to 9# or maybe a shade under. As much as I want to get the weight lower, I know my limits and I don’t shoot lightweight magnums well. The rifle as currently set up, has been my son’s favorite rifle for the last three years and he weighed 85# when he chose to start shooting it over the 6.5. And the kid is a sniper with that rifle. I’ll carry the extra 8oz to keep the shoot ability.

 

[AlpineCarpetbagger]

BTW I want to express sincere gratitude to everyone for the responses. It had been demoralizing to put in this much time and components attempting to “train” every week and with no clear results. I’m feeling strongly inclined to cut losses and get something small off the shelf that will hopefully work with one of my powders. My hope for the optic was to keep sending it back to Vortex until they asked me to stop.