Shoot2Hunt University

That makes sense. I was curious if there was a performance reason behind the choice. I'm just getting into hunting so trying to educate myself. Thanks for sharing the perspective.
For me it’s a “feel” and “familiarity” thing, as well as “looks” like was mentioned above.

I grew up shooting wood stocked rifles. When I switched some guns and built new guns with carbon stocks, it took some time to get used to the “feel” and the more “hollow” and “echo” sound they make when a bolt action is manipulated. It’s not to say it’s a “bad” thing at all, it’s just different.

Going back to a wood stock sort of feels like “home” again and while there can be “disadvantages” to a wood stock over carbon, to me it’s worth it for the feel/nostalgia/sound/look.



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Everything you say makes sense, but I will argue with the costs you mention. The cost of another rifle, with optic, RokStok, etc. is quite a bit more than $750, but I can deal with that. I decided this morning that the wooden Rokstok is a non-negotiable for me as well.

I just really like my CZ and want to use it. But I also don’t want to spend $5000 on a shooting course and not get the most out of it because I have a perverse desire to do my way,


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Anytime you attend a shooting course/school, etc, especially a high-volume one, it's good idea to consider bringing at least one backup gun as mandatory.

I can't tell you how many people I've met who swore their gun was "reliable", because they've had it for years and "never had a problem with it/no complaints", until they actually had to put enough rounds downrange to really smack hard into its limitations for the first time. Bringing a couple of backups is a nice way to round out your training on different guns a bit, too, if it's an option with the instructors.

A great advantage of high-volume courses is they tend to really weed-out unreliable guns, with the ones still running generally being capable of much more. It could just be my own perception, but it seems the designs that can't hack it tend to crap out early, while the ones that are flawless all the way through essentially just get broken-in and proofed for a long, reliable service life.

Speaking of that, @Formidilosus , are there any bolt-action designs besides Tikkas and maybe the new Marshalls, that consistently make it through Shoot2Hunt without going down?
 
@Q_Sertorius and @Shaymos94, is there a reason why the wood stock in particular is non-negotiable for you?
I hope you get a chance to handle one, I think you’d immediately feel the difference. I’ll start by stating I’m no expert in wood stocks. The weight of wood is on par with carbon fiber. There’s a noticeable difference in “resonance”. The wood just feel dead where carbon fiber or plastic vibrates? For lack of a better word. Wood is warm and sexy. It’s timeless. Mike from alpine rifles builds some beautiful stocks. I’m have an appreciation and respect for the craftsmanship. I hope somebody else has some better words for what I’m tryin to say, but they’re worth it.
 
To add on to that… when I hunt, I spend a lot more time with the rifle than I do with anything else except the beauty of the outdoors. The look and feel of good craftsmanship is part of the experience. A deer is a beautiful animal whose life I intend to take.

You can laugh at me all you want, but I agree with Dolores Abernathy (Westworld). “Some people choose to see the ugliness in this world, the disarray. I choose to see the beauty. To believe there is an order to our days. A purpose.”

I feel like carrying a nice rifle honors the animal. I am not a butcher or a slaughterer. I am a hunter and a rifleman. I expect reliable performance from my rifle and myself, but I have never had to go hunting in any situation where having a more beautiful rifle (particularly one with a composite wood stock) would compromise reliability.

I’ve carried a battle rifle. It has its place in horrible, ugly situations. To the same extent, I don’t care how my carry pistol looks. If I am using it, it will be one of the worst days of my life. But hunting isn’t a life-or-death struggle.

As much as I want to admire the utilitarian simplicity of a synthetic stock, I just can’t reconcile it with my aesthetics. I will never look at a hunting rifle as “just another tool.” If you do, no judgment. Aesthetics is subjective and often irrational.


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Speaking of that, @Formidilosus , are there any bolt-action designs besides Tikkas and maybe the new Marshalls, that consistently make it through Shoot2Hunt without going down?

Most Sako’s do well. Sauer’s, Blasers, etc all tend to do well. Winchester M70’s (especially older push feeds) have done well. The modern CRF’s can too, but often seem to not be timed for true CRF and have malfunctions.

Howa’s, Browning A bolts, and no R700 patterns have been able to finish a full 5 days. X-bolts seem ok, but none have been tried for the whole week. A Savage Axis was in the last class and other than an couple extraction and mag issues actually did fine. No Ruger American has lasted more than 3 days- one in the last class was an abysmal failure.
 
Most Sako’s do well. Sauer’s, Blasers, etc all tend to do well. Winchester M70’s (especially older push feeds) have done well. The modern CRF’s can too, but often seem to not be timed for true CRF and have malfunctions.

Howa’s, Browning A bolts, and no R700 patterns have been able to finish a full 5 days. X-bolts seem ok, but none have been tried for the whole week. A Savage Axis was in the last class and other than an couple extraction and mag issues actually did fine. No Ruger American has lasted more than 3 days- one in the last class was an abysmal failure.

Assuming a man was going to build a Tikka .223 with 16” threaded barrel, wood RokStok lite, is there a particular base model you would choose? Or avoid?


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Assuming a man was going to build a Tikka .223 with 16” threaded barrel, wood RokStok lite, is there a particular base model you would choose? Or avoid?


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Tikka sells a 16" version already threaded.

 
Tikka sells a 16" version already threaded.


Yes, I have been pouring over the Tikka, EuroOptic, and other websites. I don’t want to pay for anything I am going to not use. The really cheap Tikkas on EuroOptic have the right barrel length, but they aren’t threaded. So I have to add $150 to their price. And I want to ensure compatibility with the wood RokStok lite.

What I really want is this, but in stainless (to match my RSS in 6.5 CM).



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“Keep on keepin’ on…”
 
Most Sako’s do well. Sauer’s, Blasers, etc all tend to do well. Winchester M70’s (especially older push feeds) have done well. The modern CRF’s can too, but often seem to not be timed for true CRF and have malfunctions.

Howa’s, Browning A bolts, and no R700 patterns have been able to finish a full 5 days. X-bolts seem ok, but none have been tried for the whole week. A Savage Axis was in the last class and other than an couple extraction and mag issues actually did fine. No Ruger American has lasted more than 3 days- one in the last class was an abysmal failure.

Super interesting, appreciate the detail.
 
Yes, I have been pouring over the Tikka, EuroOptic, and other websites. I don’t want to pay for anything I am going to not use. The really cheap Tikkas on EuroOptic have the right barrel length, but they aren’t threaded. So I have to add $150 to their price. And I want to ensure compatibility with the wood RokStok lite.
Correct the cheaper ones aren't threaded so if 16" blued works that is the easy button for factory threads, otherwise if you want stainless buy whatever and pay to chop and thread.

Any of the normal T3x tikkas (IE not the CTR which has different bottom metal) have the same footprint.
 
Correct the cheaper ones aren't threaded so if 16" blued works that is the easy button for factory threads, otherwise if you want stainless buy whatever and pay to chop and thread.

Any of the normal T3x tikkas (IE not the CTR which has different bottom metal) have the same footprint.

Thank you.


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How did the combo course/bear hunt go this year? May have missed if it was talked about, but was really interested in it and was hoping to see it come back especially if the hunting was successful.
 
Yes, I have been pouring over the Tikka, EuroOptic, and other websites. I don’t want to pay for anything I am going to not use. The really cheap Tikkas on EuroOptic have the right barrel length, but they aren’t threaded. So I have to add $150 to their price. And I want to ensure compatibility with the wood RokStok lite.

What I really want is this, but in stainless (to match my RSS in 6.5 CM).



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“Keep on keepin’ on…”
There should be no issue with that rifle and the RokStok Lite. Have you seen something that made you question the compatibility?
 
There should be no issue with that rifle and the RokStok Lite. Have you seen something that made you question the compatibility?

I just wanted to make sure I was picking the right one. I thought I had read that the CTR wasn’t compatible with the RokStok. That was the main thing I wanted to confirm. But I also wanted to make sure that another model wasn’t also incompatible.

My first Tikka was a “bargain.” A like new stainless T3X in 6.5 CM for $500 and a $250 second hand SWFA scope. But once I added the Wooden Rokstok, barrel cutting and threading, stainless steel bottom metal, and OG… it’s suddenly a $4000 rifle.

Since my .223 is going to be built to be a close match to that one, I just wanted to know which models to avoid as I do my shopping. Yes, I might just get the blued 16” threaded version, but if I can find a decent deal on a second hand stainless .223, then having it cut down or threaded may be the more economical option.

I’ve spent a lot more money this year than I planned. Not all of the rifles I currently own are going to be with me in six months. But I generally stick with things for a long time, so I like to plan them right up front. Better to spend $800 getting exactly what I want than $700 to compromise and be dissatisfied for the next thirty years.


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“Keep on keepin’ on…”
 
I just wanted to make sure I was picking the right one. I thought I had read that the CTR wasn’t compatible with the RokStok. That was the main thing I wanted to confirm. But I also wanted to make sure that another model wasn’t also incompatible.

My first Tikka was a “bargain.” A like new stainless T3X in 6.5 CM for $500 and a $250 second hand SWFA scope. But once I added the Wooden Rokstok, barrel cutting and threading, stainless steel bottom metal, and OG… it’s suddenly a $4000 rifle.

Since my .223 is going to be built to be a close match to that one, I just wanted to know which models to avoid as I do my shopping. Yes, I might just get the blued 16” threaded version, but if I can find a decent deal on a second hand stainless .223, then having it cut down or threaded may be the more economical option.

I’ve spent a lot more money this year than I planned. Not all of the rifles I currently own are going to be with me in six months. But I generally stick with things for a long time, so I like to plan them right up front. Better to spend $800 getting exactly what I want than $700 to compromise and be dissatisfied for the next thirty years.


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CTR is same action + pic rail and a bigger barrel. I have one. To use it with a rokstok you’d either need to get the CTR inlet and use CTR BM and mags or add a magazine spring from a normal T3X and then get a normal T3X bottom metal to use with the standard tikka inlet. I just recently did this with a CTR for my dad that I converted from CTR BM and mags to standard T3X BM and mags. Works perfect.
 
I just wanted to make sure I was picking the right one. I thought I had read that the CTR wasn’t compatible with the RokStok. That was the main thing I wanted to confirm. But I also wanted to make sure that another model wasn’t also incompatible.

My first Tikka was a “bargain.” A like new stainless T3X in 6.5 CM for $500 and a $250 second hand SWFA scope. But once I added the Wooden Rokstok, barrel cutting and threading, stainless steel bottom metal, and OG… it’s suddenly a $4000 rifle.

Since my .223 is going to be built to be a close match to that one, I just wanted to know which models to avoid as I do my shopping. Yes, I might just get the blued 16” threaded version, but if I can find a decent deal on a second hand stainless .223, then having it cut down or threaded may be the more economical option.

I’ve spent a lot more money this year than I planned. Not all of the rifles I currently own are going to be with me in six months. But I generally stick with things for a long time, so I like to plan them right up front. Better to spend $800 getting exactly what I want than $700 to compromise and be dissatisfied for the next thirty years.


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“Keep on keepin’ on…”
I would buy the blued version, finding a good deal on a used Tikka 223 is not very common.
 
How did the combo course/bear hunt go this year? May have missed if it was talked about, but was really interested in it and was hoping to see it come back especially if the hunting was successful.
The course and Form were awesome. The course and Form were AWESOME, yes I thought it was worth repeating. As for the hunt, two of us decided to skip the first day of hunting and shoot with Form (awesome decision!) Two of us got a nice bear, one of us had to leave early for a family emergency and could not hunt, two of us saw sows, and one of us saw nothing. The course was 100% worth it, I always considered myself a good shot, I had no idea how much I sucked (prone was easy, positional kicked my ass!!) The lodging and food was great!! The guides were top notch and truly gave us everything they had. Over all, I had the time of my life with a rag tag bunch of hobbits and gnomes (awesome group of guys) and was able to learn an incredible amount on shooting proficiently. It was worth more than every penny it cost and will be a lifetime memory with a new skill set that I will be able to pass down to my kids, Playing HORSE with Form was way too much fun, especially shooting from the giant juniper bush!
I should be telling everyone it was a terrible time and a waste of money so there might be an opening for me to go again!
If you can do it!
Ryan
 
Assuming a man was going to build a Tikka .223 with 16” threaded barrel, wood RokStok lite, is there a particular base model you would choose? Or avoid?


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No, not really. All the T3x models will work generally.
 
Jay just posted a fantastic recap/review of the course. Seriously was looking forward to his take, as he is such an analytical guy that is able to articulate things so well. He’s also a flawed human like all of us, but is able to own this and using it to provide valuable insight into human nature and grow from these things.

 
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