Rokslide 223 trainer barrel length

Joined
Aug 14, 2016
Messages
2,390
Location
Great Falls MT
I know this has been discussed in length. But to save having to read for hours...

Wanting to pickup a Tikka. I see the 16" on Euro.
I'll be shooting suppressed. Will this work? Save the $200 for a rings?

Or order a 20" from Scheels?

I want to shoot more. But my current hunting rifles are hot rods.
 
I know this has been discussed in length. But to save having to read for hours...

Wanting to pickup a Tikka. I see the 16" on Euro.
I'll be shooting suppressed. Will this work? Save the $200 for a rings?

Or order a 20" from Scheels?

I want to shoot more. But my current hunting rifles are hot rods.

I had mine cut down to 16” because I wanted it in stainless steel and the cheapest one of those I could find was 20”.

Get the 16” one. I think you will be very happy with it.
 
I got one of the hunter model 223s from eurooptic, 16.1" with the wood stock. It's threaded 1/2-28. I wouldn't mind the extra velocity of a longer barrel, but it balances so nicely with a suppressor.
 
Thanks man

Those ones are Euro are threaded right?
When I bought mine it was not. I believe the new tikkas are threaded. But I bought mine off euro, its the heavier barrel (not a real heavy barrel) I went heavier because A it was cheaper and B I could thread it 5/8 24 instead of using an adapter.
 
Thanks man

Those ones are Euro are threaded right?
There are two versions from Euro. There is one on MT Guntrader right now from a guy in Hamilton. 16” blued .223 Tikka T3x NIB for $600. Don’t know if he will ship it to GF. It has been listed for a month so he might be motivated to ship.
Edit: the one on MTGuntrader is not threaded
 
Dang it. I'll just order one from Scheels. By the time I buy one of the sales from Euro and thread it I can get one from Scheels for the same price.
 
I know this has been discussed in length. But to save having to read for hours...

Wanting to pickup a Tikka. I see the 16" on Euro.
I'll be shooting suppressed. Will this work? Save the $200 for a rings?

Or order a 20" from Scheels?

I want to shoot more. But my current hunting rifles are hot rods.
I bought my tikka 223 in 2022 and had it cut/threaded to 20”. I will be having it cut down again to 16” this winter after hunting season as it handles SO MUCH better!

I just bought a 243 from EuroOptic (scheels didn’t have one) and even after paying shipping and smith for cut/thread it came out less expensive than buying one of the new threaded models.

Your plan is a good one unless you find a deal on the new 16” and that includes a threaded barrel.
 
I have gone from 16" to really liking an 18".

Though if I was hanging a can off of it, no doubt about it I'd go for the 16.
 
I went with a threaded 20” (Ranahan model) and have been very happy with it. My larger caliber hunting Tikkas are all 20” also, and I wanted to keep the balance the same for training.

I believe the extra velocity from the 20” makes it more practical for practicing at ranges beyond 300yds. It certainly helps extend the viable hunting range for non-training use.
 
I went with a threaded 20” (Ranahan model) and have been very happy with it. My larger caliber hunting Tikkas are all 20” also, and I wanted to keep the balance the same for training.

I believe the extra velocity from the 20” makes it more practical for practicing at ranges beyond 300yds. It certainly helps extend the viable hunting range for non-training use.

I don’t want to be argumentative but in the interest of sound advice, I have to point out that my 20” 223 can push the TMK at about 2800 FPS, which keeps it above 1800 FPS out to 580 yards where I hunt.

Chopping 4 inches off will drop that velocity around 100 FPS to about 2700 FPS and that means the effective range for hunting is now about 500 yards where I hunt.

Certainly there are better choices for true long-range hunting but for the OP, if you won’t be hunting past 400 yards, there’s really no downside to a 16” barrel on the 223.
 
I don’t want to be argumentative but in the interest of sound advice, I have to point out that my 20” 223 can push the TMK at about 2800 FPS, which keeps it above 1800 FPS out to 580 yards where I hunt.

Chopping 4 inches off will drop that velocity around 100 FPS to about 2700 FPS and that means the effective range for hunting is now about 500 yards where I hunt.

Certainly there are better choices for true long-range hunting but for the OP, if you won’t be hunting past 400 yards, there’s really no downside to a 16” barrel on the 223.
I don’t disagree. It was more a balance thing, but velocity doesn’t hurt. My .308, 6.5x55, and 25-300 Tikkas are all set at 20”. If the .308 wasn’t iron sights, I’d have gone 16” for it for sure.

A 16” is certainly handier in the woods with a can on the end, but I just got done carrying a 20” Tikka with an Ultra 7 on the end for 8 days in the mountains and found it quite manageable. Should be even better with an OTB suppressor.
 
Back
Top