Thinking of AI'ing my Tikka 7mm-08

[Newtosavage]

I have a stainless Tikka T3 in 7mm-08 that is easily my favorite hunting rifle of all time. Sub MOA any day of the week, and sometimes 1/2 that. Shoots 162 ELD-X's into tiny little groups out to 400 yards and carries under 7 lbs. scoped.

Since I've now covered the "smaller stuff" with a very accurate 6.5 Grendel Howa Mini, I'm thinking of having my 7mm-08 Tikka AI'd to give me another 100-150 fps. My stock "accuracy" elk load at the moment is a 162 ELD-X running 2650 fps.

Any thoughts? Should I go for it or should I leave well enough alone?

 

[Desk Jockey]

Curious. What would it cost and how much weight would it add?

 

[wind gypsy]

Take it up another notch and do 284 instead.

 

[N2TRKYS]

I wouldn't do it. But, I wouldn't shoot anything over 140 grains either.

 

[Apollo117]

It's on a Tikka action, which is a long action, so you could get it reamed for .280 AI instead. You'll gain much more than 100 FPS. Also, a couple manufacturers produce .280 AI factory ammo. Since you're considering an AI, I assume factory ammo isn't a concern. Still, it's nice knowing that factory ammo is available. Lastly, .280 AI brass is available, so you wouldn't have to worry about fire forming.

I'd skip the 7-08 AI and go for the .280 AI. 100 FPS is a negligible improvement for the pain of sourcing reloading components and fire forming brass for the 7-08 AI.

 

[MuleyFever]

Would the mag length be an issue converting a Tikka 7mm08 to a 280ai? Also, would the bolt be good to go as is?

I want to buy a 280ai this year but the options are limited. It never even crossed my mind to convert a Tikka 7mm08.

 

[Desk Jockey]

Curious. What would it cost and how much weight would it add?

Ignore me. I thought you were going to drop your Tika into an Accuracy International chassis. I was scratching my head a bit about that one.

 

[JeffRaines]

Would the mag length be an issue converting a Tikka 7mm08 to a 280ai? Also, would the bolt be good to go as is?

I want to buy a 280ai this year but the options are limited. It never even crossed my mind to convert a Tikka 7mm08.

You'd need a long action bolt stop, and you'd also need to buy a long action magazine

 

[Jon Boy]

Would the mag length be an issue converting a Tikka 7mm08 to a 280ai? Also, would the bolt be good to go as is?

I want to buy a 280ai this year but the options are limited. It never even crossed my mind to convert a Tikka 7mm08.

itd cost around 70 or 80 bucks to get a long action bolt stop and magazine. Then what ever your smith would charge to ream it out to a 280 ai. I'd personally go with a 284 win if that was the route I wanted to go. Was thinking of chambering my tikka 7/08 into a 284 but that little 7/08 is just to sweet to want to dink with.

 

[wind gypsy]

Would the mag length be an issue converting a Tikka 7mm08 to a 280ai? Also, would the bolt be good to go as is?

I want to buy a 280ai this year but the options are limited. It never even crossed my mind to convert a Tikka 7mm08.

The bolt would be fine. Any non-magnum or non .223 bolt face tikka action would work. If you want to shoot 180 class bullets and chamber it to seat them optimally the factory magazines are too short. I assume COAL for 180 class bullets to touch lands if chambered optimally would be around 3.5" or more. If you don't care about maximizing the potential of the cartridge you can do just fine with the short tikka magazines but make sure you work with the smith on selecting the appropriate freebore.

I don't recall what COAL's some of the aftermarket bottom metal options will reliably feed to on Tikka's, just remember they didn't get to where I would want to be with a 300 WM. They might get you where you want to be on a 280 AI. A .284 on the other hand would be great in factory magazines.

 

[Apollo117]

Would the mag length be an issue converting a Tikka 7mm08 to a 280ai? Also, would the bolt be good to go as is?

You'd have to purchase a magazine for standard length cartridges. Tikka has different magazines for short, standard and WSM type cartridges. I think the factory replacements are around 40 bucks.

No, the bolt would require modification or replacement. IIRC, the bolt for short action cartridges has a bolt stop. While the bolt for standard length cartridges doesn't have the bolt stop. Don't quote me on that.

Edit: Didn't see some of the other responses. Other posters have provided more accurate info than me.

 

[sloveless]

Isn't there a post somewhere about removing the bolt stop on a Tikka?

 

[Jon Boy]

Isn't there a post somewhere about removing the bolt stop on a Tikka?

I looked up a youtube video so I could run my ammo long in my 7/08. I think mtn tactical posted it. It takes about 2 minutes at the longest. Super easy.

 

[JeffRaines]

The bolt would be fine. Any non-magnum or non .223 bolt face tikka action would work. If you want to shoot 180 class bullets and chamber it to seat them optimally the factory magazines are too short. I assume COAL for 180 class bullets to touch lands if chambered optimally would be around 3.5" or more. If you don't care about maximizing the potential of the cartridge you can do just fine with the short tikka magazines but make sure you work with the smith on selecting the appropriate freebore.

I don't recall what COAL's some of the aftermarket bottom metal options will reliably feed to on Tikka's, just remember they didn't get to where I would want to be with a 300 WM. They might get you where you want to be on a 280 AI. A .284 on the other hand would be great in factory magazines.

The factory twist on a tikka isn't going to stabilize the 180s.

 

[wind gypsy]

The factory twist on a tikka isn't going to stabilize the 180s.

Good point. I’d guess 162s are around 3.45” if seated optimally, longer than the factory mag.

 

[Apollo117]

The factory twist on a tikka isn't going to stabilize the 180s.

That's probably true for some 180 grain bullets, but not necessarily true for all 180 bullets.

The Greenhill formula proves that a 11.25 twist barrel will stabilize 175 Matchking. So there's a good chance a 11 twist barrel will stabilize an 180 grain bullet from at least one manufacturer.

More info about the Greenhill formula: The Importance of Twist Rates - Shooting Times

 

[SkunkCabbage]

Ackley has 6% more case capacity than the regular 7-08, so velocity increase will be about 1.5%. 40 fps apples to apples
That was poached off my buddy’s writing.
Honestly if you want more power look at a 280ai as the next step up

 

[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

As already suggested above I'd probably ream it to 284win assuming it would clean up the chamber fully w/o a set back, the mag length restrictions on tikkas would complement the 284win better than the 280AI. I have a tikka 280AI BUT its on the M695 action which was the predecessor to the T3 and allows close to 3.5"COAL. The T3 is limited to not much past 3.34", long bullets would end up seated into the case more on a 280AI where as the 284win would have room to stretch out in a long action magazine. The ammo/brass limitations are similar situations between 284win and 280AI at the moment.

 

[TauPhi111]

I second the 284 or 280 AI option. I have a 260 AI and while I love it (way faster than a 6.5 Creed), fire forming brass is a pain in the ass. If I were to build the rifle again I'd forgo the couple hundred FPS for brass availability. There is quality brass out there for both 284 and 280 AI (one of the only AI's that is SAAMI standardized). 7x57 is also another option.

IDK how much you might spend in gunsmithing, but criterion and other barrel makers make prefit barrels for the Tikka now, so you really could make it anything you want for a pretty low price.

 

[Newtosavage]

As already suggested above I'd probably ream it to 284win assuming it would clean up the chamber fully w/o a set back, the mag length restrictions on tikkas would complement the 284win better than the 280AI. I have a tikka 280AI BUT its on the M695 action which was the predecessor to the T3 and allows close to 3.5"COAL. The T3 is limited to not much past 3.34", long bullets would end up seated into the case more on a 280AI where as the 284win would have room to stretch out in a long action magazine. The ammo/brass limitations are similar situations between 284win and 280AI at the moment.

This is my other option. I actually started out thinking about .284 Win, then became concerned about brass and "emergency" ammo. The value of the AI is you can still shoot factory 7mm-08 ammo in it if you have to.

But that .284 has always been the sexiest of all the 7mm's to me.

Incidentally, I already modified the magazine and bolt stop on my 7mm-08 so I can load 160-162's long enough to reach the lands. I load my 162 ELD-X at 2.90" The modification took about 30 minutes. Just had to file back the plastic stop at the back of the magazine, and file the bolt stop back to the first support. It works just fine, without having to buy anything.