Thinking of ordering a tikka barrel: 7-08, 284, 7-08AI, 7SAW?????

[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

I have tikka 7-08 that I wanted shortened up to ~18" for a suppressor and wanted 5/8" shouldered threads (where they add a collar on) which will run $200-250 to have done. Or I could jump on preferred barrels black friday deal and just order a fresh prefit barrel already threaded in the length I want and potentially in a different chamber. Catch is I need to make a decision today I believe. What would rokslide do?

So its a standard action so magnums are out. I am strongly leaning towards a 7mm caliber still because I have alot of 7mm bullets.

A 7-08 doesn't really make too much sense vs just modifying my current 7-08 is my thought there.

284win has appeal now that there is quality brass available for it and would really tend to maximize what you could do in a tikka length action with a standard bolt face. Its not a common caliber for commercial ammo but I reload and haven't ran into that issue of needing to buy commercial ammo for a hunt to date. Main concern is if that caliber is over doing it in a ~18" barrel or not? I don't have quickload to play with numbers.

7-08AI, folks report minimal gains on this AI chamber. There is the hassle of fire forming brass (I'd lived that with my 280AI in the past) which can be a bit annoying if you loose your primer pockets with an accidental hot load or such and have to run out to fire form more brass on short notice (not that I've ever done that...) You can still put factory 7-08 into it if in a pinch. Not entirely sure what is gained here that couldn't be achieved better with the 284win (both have better should angles, both have more case capacity but the edge goes to the win). But maybe with factoring in a ~18" barrel more argument could be made for it?

7SAW - The numbers are good on it but it we're all being honest its being done at very high pressures and relying on the small rifle primer pocket. Which could be achieved in 7-08AI too if forming the brass from SRP 308 for instance (not sure if anyone is making 7-08 SRP brass yet?). The velocities should be doable from the 284win without pushing the pressures hard. Being its not widely adopted and unknown lifespan on support from alpha for brass and requires custom dies its not a strong draw to me off hand. Is there something else I'm overlooking on this one?

Appreciate any dialogue on this one.

 

[Gila]

284win has appeal now that there is quality brass available for it and would really tend to maximize what you could do in a tikka length action with a standard bolt face. Its not a common caliber for commercial ammo but I reload and haven't ran into that issue of needing to buy commercial ammo for a hunt to date. Main concern is if that caliber is over doing it in a ~18" barrel or not? I don't have quickload to play with numbers.

Really like my 284. Never owned the 7mm-08 or any other 7mm. Lapua or Peterson brass is the way to go. You will need to get a long throat to shoot the heavies. COAL on the 162 ELD is about 3.07”. 284 is really easy to load up but you need to shoot it long. The chambering is perfect for a Tikka action. I don’t think an 18” barrel if of concern.

 

[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

Really like my 284. Never owned the 7mm-08 or any other 7mm. Lapua or Peterson brass is the way to go. You will need to get a long throat to shoot the heavies. COAL on the 162 ELD is about 3.07”. 284 is really easy to load up but you need to shoot it long. The chambering is perfect for a Tikka action. I don’t think an 18” barrel if of concern.

What length barrel are you running? Also do you know what throat spec reamer you got?

I agree on it being nicely suited to a Tikka action.

 

[amassi]

Push the easy button and do the 284
Even at 18” you have a legit long range rifle with very manageable recoil. No Fireforming no nonsense
I have both a 7-08ai and a 7saw the 08 ai is 100fps faster but requires the prep and Fireforming. No longer worth the squeeze
The 7 saw is a great cartridge even below 62k psi but won’t run with the 284


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[Tullis94]

162 eldms out of the 284 in a tikka is a great combo. Make sure you can buy brass first though. Lapua halted production of their 284 win brass . I think I seen Peterson available recently though.

 

[z987k]

If you want the extra speed the 284 is the way to go. Not pushing 7-08 brass up past 65kpsi. The AI in the 708 doesn't get much, and as said, the tikka action is perfect for the 284 or 7saum.

 

[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

Does anyone know of any barrel length for the 284 where the velocity drops off harder and/or fireballs or such become more of an issue? Basically any good reason to go a lil longer than say 18”? Obviously longer is better for the performance but I’m basically trying to keep to ~24” with a ~6” suppressor.

162 eldms out of the 284 in a tikka is a great combo. Make sure you can buy brass first though. Lapua halted production of their 284 win brass . I think I seen Peterson available recently though.

I hunt monos but yes heavier/longer is nice benefit. Yeah Peterson has brass out right now.

If you want the extra speed the 284 is the way to go. Not pushing 7-08 brass up past 65kpsi. The AI in the 708 doesn't get much, and as said, the tikka action is perfect for the 284 or 7saum.

I don’t need a hot rod but gaining back some fps from the shorter barrel would certainly be nice.

 

[Gila]

What length barrel are you running? Also do you know what throat spec reamer you got?

I agree on it being nicely suited to a Tikka action.

I have a 24” barrel. The case dimensions have not changed over the last 60 years. Just the leade and the throat. Some of the older F-class reamers have a tighter neck dimension because Lapua was only making 6.5 brass at the time. So they had to neck turn….my chamber has a standard neck dimension of .317 which is common for most 7mm chambers. Some would say with Lapua brass go 319. I would say a free bore of about 180…but not sure. i know you will need more a free bore of about 200 or more if you want to shoot a 180 VLD. I sent in three dummy rounds and the chamber came back with those dimensions. My CBTO to jam is 2.420”. The COAL is 3.07” with a 162 gr ELD-X. Shoots bug holes so the smith did it right.

 

[Gila]

162 eldms out of the 284 in a tikka is a great combo. Make sure you can buy brass first though. Lapua halted production of their 284 win brass . I think I seen Peterson available recently though.

I bought some Peterson about 3 weeks ago. I got a notification a couple of weeks ago that Lapua was back in stock but already bought Peterson brass. Brownells, Grafs or Natchez I believe.

 

[amassi]

Does anyone know of any barrel length for the 284 where the velocity drops off harder and/or fireballs or such become more of an issue? Basically any good reason to go a lil longer than say 18”? Obviously longer is better for the performance but I’m basically trying to keep to ~24” with a ~6” suppressor.



I hunt monos but yes heavier/longer is nice benefit. Yeah Peterson has brass out right now.


I don’t need a hot rod but gaining back some fps from the shorter barrel would certainly be nice.

I’d run a 18” and 6” suppressor and kill on


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[saltfork]

Graf & Son has Petersen 284 in stock now

 

[Highvoltage1]

Watching this post closely. I have a tikka 3006 sitting on the shelf that I’m ready to do something with. I too want something 7mm that I can cut to 18-20 that has plenty of punch for long range work. I currently have a 6.5 saum with a 25” barrel. It’s awesome for the west but where I live a short handy rifle is the ticket. Best wishes and keep us posted on your decisions.

 

[Anschutz]

I don't have QL but I do have GRT. I saw you like monos, so I plugged a 168gr LRX at 3.07 COAL. Granted, it's all a simulation, but 26-2700 out of an 18" barrel should be doable with that 284. I had to step it down to the 145LRX in the 7mm-08 to get in that range. I would suggest a can with either of these as the muzzle blast from my wife's 20" Tikka 7-08 is pretty high and it would only be that much more from an 18" or 284.

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[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

I don't have QL but I do have GRT. I saw you like monos, so I plugged a 168gr LRX at 3.07 COAL. Granted, it's all a simulation, but 26-2700 out of an 18" barrel should be doable with that 284. I had to step it down to the 145LRX in the 7mm-08 to get in that range. I would suggest a can with either of these as the muzzle blast from my wife's 20" Tikka 7-08 is pretty high and it would only be that much more from an 18" or 284.

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I wasn’t even aware of GRT, thanks for that and the simulation. Pushing the 168 that quick from a short tube is impressive, I’ll need to compare against the lighter lrx to see if the increased velocity offsets the weight/BC.

Yes the entire reason for wanting a barrel this short is to pair with a 6-7” can.

 

[Gila]

I wasn’t even aware of GRT, thanks for that and the simulation. Pushing the 168 that quick from a short tube is impressive, I’ll need to compare against the lighter lrx to see if the increased velocity offsets the weight/BC.

Yes the entire reason for wanting a barrel this short is to pair with a 6-7” can.

145 LRX is about as heavy as I care to go in the 284. It is a very long bullet. I haven’t tried it yet, but looking at the Barnes load data RS Hunter is the powder I am going to start with. Same burn range as 4350 but a bit more faster on the spectrum and has more energy. A 145 LRX will smash through anything on this continent but will need to keep the velocity above 1800fps to petal properly. I think I can safely say that most of us here have come to the conclusion that H4350 is the go to powder for loading 160-180 gr high BC In the 284.

 

[HandgunHTR]

I am not sure what you consider "long range" but my 7-08AI Tikka with a 20" barrel will launch 162 grain ELD-X bullets at 2750 comfortably, 2805 if I push it a bit. At 2750, I am still at 1800 fps at 750 yards with just under 1200 ft-lbs of energy (if you care about such). I also don't get the whole "I don't want to fireform" thing. You have to practice anyway. Do your fireforming then. I always have at least 100 extra fireformed cases laying around in case I mess up or lose a piece anyway. I would much rather spen the time behind the trigger than at the reloading bench trimming brass.

 

[Anschutz]

I wasn’t even aware of GRT, thanks for that and the simulation. Pushing the 168 that quick from a short tube is impressive, I’ll need to compare against the lighter lrx to see if the increased velocity offsets the weight/BC.

Yes the entire reason for wanting a barrel this short is to pair with a 6-7” can.

I like it for a starting point especially on rounds that don't have much data for (6BR Norma, 375 Win, etc). It was especially helpful during the sniffles when powder was short.

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[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

145 LRX is about as heavy as I care to go in the 284. It is a very long bullet. I haven’t tried it yet, but looking at the Barnes load data RS Hunter is the powder I am going to start with. Same burn range as 4350 but a bit more faster on the spectrum and has more energy. A 145 LRX will smash through anything on this continent but will need to keep the velocity above 1800fps to petal properly. I think I can safely say that most of us here have come to the conclusion that H4350 is the go to powder for loading 160-180 gr high BC In the 284.

I like the 145LRX for sure, I use that one in my 280AI and its hammered plenty of critters. I have a 7-08 load for it and its worked but the initial velocity is lower than I liked so I was starting to work up a 139LRX load which had a bit more legs to it. If going 284WIN it probably would bring the 145 back in favor but really just need to run the numbers. One perk on the 139LRX is barnes said that one upsets at an even lower velocity than the 145LRX. I never push close to their minimums but a lower upset velocity in my head means it'll expand better at the higher minimum velocities I hold myself to.

I also don't get the whole "I don't want to fireform" thing. You have to practice anyway. Do your fireforming then. I always have at least 100 extra fireformed cases laying around in case I mess up or lose a piece anyway.

Do you have kids? Do you have to drive 3hr round trip to go shooting? Do you have multiple guns to work with, tune, refine, etc? My answers are yes, yes, and yes and I've lived the 280AI life and I'm speaking from experience, with my situational limitations, and not a hypothetical. Having the time to fire form brass, because it takes time if you aren't roasting your barrel, can absolutely be a hassle at times. If I could shoot in my back yard or even 10-15min away routinely then yes its very little hassle.

One issue on the practice is its not relevant to collecting data on the final load, which is a downside to me. Yes its trigger time and good for working on shooting positions and fundamentals, it all depends on what you need to get done with limited resources, which time is one of them.

All that said if 7-08AI would really wake things up in a 18" barrel I would absolutely consider it, it just tends to seem like its one of the ackley cases that doesn't pick up as much gain over its parent case and this decision has 284WIN in the mix which now has factory brass that makes for an enticing option compared to 7-08AI.

One time with my 280AI with a hot load but one that is very accurate I had a new lot of powder that was a lil faster and in that loading it took out all my primer pockets, that caused some stress to run out and fire form brass in the middle of hunting season when I needed to reload more rounds. Yes there are numerous issues there that are all my fault (hot load, not having more fireformed brass on hand, etc.), it just created a stressful situation in my memory is all.

 

[sneaky]

I have tikka 7-08 that I wanted shortened up to ~18" for a suppressor and wanted 5/8" shouldered threads (where they add a collar on) which will run $200-250 to have done. Or I could jump on preferred barrels black friday deal and just order a fresh prefit barrel already threaded in the length I want and potentially in a different chamber. Catch is I need to make a decision today I believe. What would rokslide do?

So its a standard action so magnums are out. I am strongly leaning towards a 7mm caliber still because I have alot of 7mm bullets.

A 7-08 doesn't really make too much sense vs just modifying my current 7-08 is my thought there.

284win has appeal now that there is quality brass available for it and would really tend to maximize what you could do in a tikka length action with a standard bolt face. Its not a common caliber for commercial ammo but I reload and haven't ran into that issue of needing to buy commercial ammo for a hunt to date. Main concern is if that caliber is over doing it in a ~18" barrel or not? I don't have quickload to play with numbers.

7-08AI, folks report minimal gains on this AI chamber. There is the hassle of fire forming brass (I'd lived that with my 280AI in the past) which can be a bit annoying if you loose your primer pockets with an accidental hot load or such and have to run out to fire form more brass on short notice (not that I've ever done that...) You can still put factory 7-08 into it if in a pinch. Not entirely sure what is gained here that couldn't be achieved better with the 284win (both have better should angles, both have more case capacity but the edge goes to the win). But maybe with factoring in a ~18" barrel more argument could be made for it?

7SAW - The numbers are good on it but it we're all being honest its being done at very high pressures and relying on the small rifle primer pocket. Which could be achieved in 7-08AI too if forming the brass from SRP 308 for instance (not sure if anyone is making 7-08 SRP brass yet?). The velocities should be doable from the 284win without pushing the pressures hard. Being its not widely adopted and unknown lifespan on support from alpha for brass and requires custom dies its not a strong draw to me off hand. Is there something else I'm overlooking on this one?

Appreciate any dialogue on this one.

Alpha makes the 7SAW brass, and it's available. That would have been my choice, but I'm a day late in making a recommendation lol

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[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

Alpha makes the 7SAW brass, and it's available. That would have been my choice, but I'm a day late in making a recommendation lol

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I didn't make a decision yet fyi. Yes I was trying to acknowledge there currently is SAW brass but its future support being a niche caliber is unknown and if we were to run 7-08AI at high pressures like SAW (with SRP brass) we'd probably out run it right? Just talking here, pros/cons.