Tikka Bolt Stop L/A vs S/A and Magazine Compatible

[LJutic]

Hey all,

Brand new to Tikka and their adjustable bolt stop. Currently running a .243 and have it configured in an MDT Short Action Chassis, loading out to 2.865” COAL. I really like the gun, but curiosity has gotten the best of me. If I were to have another barrel or two spun up, but wanted to have the interchangeability of long action and short actions, what are my options in regard to magazines?

If I switched out to an XLR Long Action Chassis that accepts AICS mags, spin on a 280 AI barrel I should be off to the races. But after hunting season, I could spin on my 243 barrel, change the bolt stop over and essentially have a L/A Mag with a binder plate in the back limiting how far back the rim would go making everything work. Does this exist? What am I missing here?

Should i just try and feed my 243 out of a standard L/A?

 

[Pharmseller]

My group owns several 7mm-08s. We swapped the SA bolt stops for LA bolt stops. We use LA magazines (.30-06, 7mm REM Mag, etc) magazines but I think the M+ magazines work also.

Factory bottom plastic.




P

 

[hereinaz]

Being new to the concept, what you might be missing is that most people who try the switch barrel thing just end up buying a second/third rifle…

 

[wyosam]

Being new to the concept, what you might be missing is that most people who try the switch barrel thing just end up buying a second/third rifle…

What’s better than a switch barrel? Three switch barrels! Think I have 8 or 9 different barrels that have been rotating around my 3 for a while.


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[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

My group owns several 7mm-08s. We swapped the SA bolt stops for LA bolt stops. We use LA magazines (.30-06, 7mm REM Mag, etc) magazines but I think the M+ magazines work also.

Factory bottom plastic.




P

He's not asking about the tikka stock mags, he's running AICS in a chassis and asking if they make long action AICS mags with internal spaces to make them short action. At least that is the jist of the question I got.

No clue on the answer to that.

 

[LJutic]

This is exactly what i'm asking. Someone has to have been down the road before, my searches yielded nothing.

 

[gtriple]

This is exactly what i'm asking. Someone has to have been down the road before, my searches yielded nothing.

I've not seen any that exist. What I would recommend is to use a stock like the Rokstok instead of the XLR chassis if you are swapping between long and short action.

 

[gtriple]

Also.... the cost of "spinning up another barrel" is somewhere in the 500-600 range. For that much money, you can nearly just buy another Tikka. Unless you are dead set on 280 AI for whatever reason, there's a lot of great cartridges out there that you could get from the factory.

 

[hereinaz]

He's not asking about the tikka stock mags, he's running AICS in a chassis and asking if they make long action AICS mags with internal spaces to make them short action. At least that is the jist of the question I got.

No clue on the answer to that.

I once looked into this on the Rem 700 side. I found no compatibility to change a long action AICS to run short action, whether it was mag spacers or mag well spacers.

As to whether you can run a short action .308 in a long action 30-06 magazine, I dunno.

The hassle is worth buying a second short action stock/chassis IMO.

I have NEVER been happy with a half measure conversion, and I tried many.

What’s better than a switch barrel? Three switch barrels! Think I have 8 or 9 different barrels that have been rotating around my 3 for a while.


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those are rookie numbers, gotta bump those up…. hahahha I have 8 or 9 barrels for just one action.

In fairness, it’s a sickness and I haven’t shot some for a while—but I am definitely back into shooting regularly for 2025.

 

[nm.otter]

Being new to the concept, what you might be missing is that most people who try the switch barrel thing just end up buying a second/third rifle…

Except at the very high end of the market. I have thoughts of a nice Kipplauf one of these days...

 

[Pharmseller]

This is exactly what i'm asking. Someone has to have been down the road before, my searches yielded nothing.

Copy

Ignore what I wrote.




P

 

[lintond]

As to whether you can run a short action .308 in a long action 30-06 magazine, I dunno.

I did something similar recently. I ran 6CM out of a 300WM AISC mag because I was setup for 6.5PRC but my action was delayed. Had to tune the feed lips to get it to work. Wasn’t my favorite setup but it made it thru two days at an NRL hunter match without too much issue.


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[beretta_man11]

I'm in the same boat. I had a 6.5prc on a LA 700 clone that the rounds would tip down in and not feed. I'm now playing with a tikka and kicking the idea of going to an hnt26 LA chassis. If I do this, Long Rifles Inc. sells a filler block to help with the issue.

MAGAZINE FILLER BLOCK FOR SA MAGNUM CARTRIDGES

This solves the fundamental feeding challenges associated with running LA magazines loaded with SA magnum type cartridges such as the 6.5mm PRC/6.5MM RSAUM. These are made specifically for magazines produced by MDT and Accuracy International. They function the same, the difference is the...

www.longriflesinc.com

 

[XLR]

This is exactly what i'm asking. Someone has to have been down the road before, my searches yielded nothing.

I am not aware of anyone making a long action magazine with a filler to run short action cartridges. You could try to run the 243 out of a 30-06 magazine but you will need to tune the magazine a lot and it will still not be 100% reliable.

If you were dead set on going this route and only having one action you could buy a full chassis in TIkka Long action and then an aluminum chassis block in Tikka short action. Then when you wanted to swap back over to 243 you could swap your stock and grip to the short action chassis block and run the 243 in that chassis. You would be $460 into that extra chassis block and short action magazine but the rifle would perform far better for you. I would say most guys would just build a 2nd rifle at that point but you could always add components later to finish the 2nd chassis and get another action!

 

[LJutic]

Really appreciate the feedback, it sounds more and more like the route to go is a second rifle. Thanks all for the input.

XLR, thanks for giving us an ambidextrous Chassis!