Replacing My Cooper

[Eagle]

Now that my cooper is headed to a new owner, I'm weighing my options on what direction to go next. My Cooper was a 280AI, which I loved, but I think it's time to explore another caliber. At the moment, my thoughts are centered around buying a tikka superlite stainless in 260rem for the time being. The long term plan, and potentially immediate plan, is to have it rechambered to 6.5-284, and then have a gun that can handle anything I plan to hunt in NA at ranges I'm comfortable shooting (500 yards is as far as I can practice and as far as I feel I should take a shot with that limitation to my practice). That gun with a 22.5" barrel which I believe is available for the 260rem, should be a nice all around gun for whitetails here in the east and elk, mule deer, pronghorn or sheep in the west.

Any drawbacks to this idea? Should I wait and see what this rumored new Tikka that's to be released soon has to offer? Anyone done this already or know someone who has?

 

[robby denning]

Eagle, unless the budget is restricting you to a Tikka, I'd take a hard look at the new Cooper 92 Backcountry. It'll match or beat the Tikka on weight and have a 24" barrel. Jump to a 270 Win or 280 Remington and you've got all you need for the West AND you never know when you'll get the bug for chasing bulls. It's a braked rifle, but in those calibers you could remove the brake if you don't like them.

 

[Eagle]

Eagle, unless the budget is restricting you to a Tikka, I'd take a hard look at the new Cooper 92 Backcountry. It'll match or beat the Tikka on weight and have a 24" barrel. Jump to a 270 Win or 280 Remington and you've got all you need for the West AND you never know when you'll get the bug for chasing bulls. It's a braked rifle, but in those calibers you could remove the brake if you don't like them.

Budget was the only reason for selling my cooper Robby. I need to buy a safe for guns with my daughter now at 2.5 and becoming more and more curious about what daddy goes and does on the weekends, haha. The funds generated/saved from the difference between the cooper and tikka will allow me to buy that safe, so the cooper had to go.

I will eventually own another Cooper, and it will most likely be a model 92, but I'll have to get my mortgage paid off, which if I squint real hard is on the horizon in 2027

 

[robby denning]

You're a wise man Eagle. Keep those calibers in mind for the Tikka, I've been around them for years and your species list is perfect for either. Keep us posted.

 

[bhylton]

i think the tikka is a good plan. with simple mods to the bolt stop you can make it a long action, run a 30-06 magazine so you can seat bullets long to get max powder capacity/ performance out of the 6.5 x 284. if you had $ to just get a new barrel, you could get a 270 or 06 and cut a new barrel to 6.5-06 which would be basically a ballistic match to the 6.5x284. cheaper option would be the rechamber like you said though. i think there are more (proper) cartridge choices for elk, but to 500yds i think your choice is plenty

 

[Eagle]

i think the tikka is a good plan. with simple mods to the bolt stop you can make it a long action, run a 30-06 magazine so you can seat bullets long to get max powder capacity/ performance out of the 6.5 x 284. if you had $ to just get a new barrel, you could get a 270 or 06 and cut a new barrel to 6.5-06 which would be basically a ballistic match to the 6.5x284. cheaper option would be the rechamber like you said though. i think there are more (proper) cartridge choices for elk, but to 500yds i think your choice is plenty

Thanks for the info. The ability to load the 6.5-284 in the tikka as though it's a long action is part of the reason for keying in on it. I knew throwing elk in there might raise some eyebrows, but the numbers work out with a 140 starting in the 3000 fps range out to 500 yards. Plenty of energy for an elk from what I can tell, though I'll be the first to admit I have zero experience shooting elk. That will hopefully change this coming fall, though I'll likely be chasing them with my bow.

 

[Eagle]

You're a wise man Eagle. Keep those calibers in mind for the Tikka, I've been around them for years and your species list is perfect for either. Keep us posted.

Thanks Robby. I certainly will keep the 270 in mind, they don't offer a 280 from what I can find in the superlites or that's likely what I'd be buying.

 

[belly-deep]

Have you talked to someone who rechambered a Tikka to 6.5x284?

I would hate to go through all the steps only to find out that the 284 case won't feed out of the Tikka magazines. Might be worth checking into before you go further.

 

[Eagle]

Have you talked to someone who rechambered a Tikka to 6.5x284?

I would hate to go through all the steps only to find out that the 284 case won't feed out of the Tikka magazines. Might be worth checking into before you go further.

That's a major reason behind this thread. I know it can and has been done in other rifles, but have not seen or heard any first hand experience with the tikka. Maybe I should start a thread fully devoted just to rechambering a 260rem to 6.5-284 norma?

 

[Yellowknife]

Have you talked to someone who rechambered a Tikka to 6.5x284?

I would hate to go through all the steps only to find out that the 284 case won't feed out of the Tikka magazines. Might be worth checking into before you go further.

I haven't tried that exact round, but I did own a Tikka at the same time that I had a .284 win. I checked at the time, and cases fit and fed no problem. The standard LA magazine is designed to fit everything from 6.5x55 to .338 magnum, so a .284 parent case was easy.

Do they even make a .260 superlite? That would be neat, but I've never seen one. Another options for a 6.5x284 conversion might be a 6.5x55, which would save having to mod the bolt stop and buy a new magazine. They do make a version of that with the fluted barrel and wood stock. I'd think I would want a 24" barrel for the larger case though.

https://shop.whittakerguns.com/product/201

 

[Eagle]

I haven't tried that exact round, but I did own a Tikka at the same time that I had a .284 win. I checked at the time, and cases fit and fed no problem. The standard LA magazine is designed to fit everything from 6.5x55 to .338 magnum, so a .284 parent case was easy.

Do they even make a .260 superlite? That would be neat, but I've never seen one. Another options for a 6.5x284 conversion might be a 6.5x55, which would save having to mod the bolt stop and buy a new magazine. They do make a version of that with the fluted barrel and wood stock. I'd think I would want a 24" barrel for the larger case though.

https://shop.whittakerguns.com/product/201

That's the one drawback I can find with the superlite, the lack of s 24" barrel. I question if the shorter barrel will cause the bump in powder capacity to essentially be a wash. I called a sportmans warehouse to confirm the superlite is available in 260, so I know it is, but they are apparently rare.

 

[Yellowknife]

That's the one drawback I can find with the superlite, the lack of s 24" barrel. I question if the shorter barrel will cause the bump in powder capacity to essentially be a wash. I called a sportmans warehouse to confirm the superlite is available in 260, so I know it is, but they are apparently rare.

That's cool that there are .260's around. If you find one and do the conversion, I'd like to hear how it goes.

 

[Eagle]

That's cool that there are .260's around. If you find one and do the conversion, I'd like to hear how it goes.

From the conversations I'm having over on LRH, the consensus seems to be that the tikkas 22.5" barrel isn't long enough to see the benefit of changing the 260 to a 6.5-284. Looks like if I go that route, I'd be stuck with the 260, so I may end up stepping up to 270 or 30-06. I really wish tikka offered a 280 rem.