Tikka barrel swap

[SamsonMan22]

I'm sure the SAC is better than the Viper than. I tightened it several times with everything I had. Always spun on me. Used card stock, used leather, bang with a dead blow or just using my body weight.

Sounds like I'll be trying brown sugar, if that doesn't work relief cut.

Might try the leather in conjunction with the brown sugar. Once you have that sucker where it won’t spin use a long handle that lets you put good steady pressure on it and give it a smack with something.

That SAC with the bushings gives a lot of contact and a lot of grip. It’s also a big beefy vice and has a ton of clamping force. The good news is once you get it broke free the viper should work for any barre changes afterwards without issue.

 

[solarshooter]

I've pulled 4 off without marring. I use the Viper barrel vise and an external action wrench. My process is:

• Dry and clean barrel and vise, no tape or anything. The Viper is powder coated aluminum and much softer than any steel. It will not mar from clamping pressure.
• Clamp the barrel as close to the action on the shank as possible. Tighten these two closest bolts the most, and bring all 4 down incrementally to get a good even clamp. Go TIGHT, I have a 10" ratchet and I go pretty hard on these.
• Heat the action around the threads liberally
• Install the action wrench at 12 oclock, using a deadblow or mallet smack the wrench handle to break the action loose. It also helps to tap on the action with a hammer while applying torque.

The secret here is heat and some shock loading to help break the threadlock/compound bond.

 

[Bowfinn]

I had problems with the viper spinning and thought I had “one of the hard Tikkas”. When I used a breaker bar and tightened the vice down until I couldn’t any more, and the action popped free when hit with a hammer. The top part of the viper vice is actually has a slight bed in now, but I like to think it’s custom molded to a tikka barrel contour now.

 

[mjspeers]

I had problems with the viper spinning and thought I had “one of the hard Tikkas”. When I used a breaker bar and tightened the vice down until I couldn’t any more, and the action popped free when hit with a hammer. The top part of the viper vice is actually has a slight bed in now, but I like to think it’s custom molded to a tikka barrel contour now.

Did you use anything? Leather, paper, brown sugar?

 

[Bowfinn]

Did you use anything? Leather, paper, brown sugar?

Rolled up paper. And rolled up envelope for the second one. After both times the paper was brittle and fused together where it contacted the barrel vice, but no marring on the barrel.

Edit- looking as scholar shooters post that about sums it up. I didn’t use heat but I did use an 18in breaker bar. Also I don’t think my barrels had thread locking compound, but they did have something so I could be wrong.

 

[mjspeers]

Current situation. Cranked down on the vise with a long breaker bar, used heat, banged on it with a dead blow. No luck. Hit it hard enough that it spun. Vice it above the relief cut or have the cut in the vise?

 

[HandgunHTR]

Current situation. Cranked down on the vise with a long breaker bar, used heat, banged on it with a dead blow. No luck. Hit it hard enough that it spun. Vice it above the relief cut or have the cut in the vise?

The relief cut needs to be much closer to the receiver for it to be effective. It should also go around the entire circumference of the barrel (or most of the way around).

Also, what action wrench are you using? If it is external, where are you mounting it and how tight are you tightening it down?

 

[mjspeers]

The relief cut needs to be much closer to the receiver for it to be effective. It should also go around the entire circumference of the barrel (or most of the way around).

Also, what action wrench are you using? If it is external, where are you mounting it and how tight are you tightening it down?

Well crap. Going to be hard to get it closer. It’s still not budging. External wrench. Have tried it top/bottom and sides.

Still no luck

 

[Leaf Litter]

Cut closer to the action and 360° around the barrel

 

[Pickettpuncher]

New barrel is all that is needed for that. You could do the short action bolt stop and magazine if you want but you don't have to. Short action cartridges feed fine from full sized tikka magazines.

My 25 creedmoor absolutely will not feed from my 30-06 mag.

 

[mjspeers]

Well it came off. Got the relief cut closer. Who knows if I jacked up my action. 0/10. Would not recommend.

 

[Matt5266]

Ya that sucks, looks like you cut your action a little bit too.

I seriously don't understand what they are thinking when installing these barrels

 

[mjspeers]

Ya that sucks, looks like you cut your action a little bit too.

I seriously don't understand what they are thinking when installing these barrels

Maybe just some slight scrapes. I’ll make sure to use gauges when the prefit goes on. I knew it wasn’t going to be easy but that was worse than I expected. There was something in the threads but it looked more like anti-seize than anything else. Unless a guy is a gluten for self-punishment I would’ve sent it in to one of the companies that does it for a nominal fee. Along the way I lost my bolt stop somehow and my viper vise threads are all jacked up