Tikka build questions

kipper09

WKR
Joined
Dec 5, 2013
Messages
1,124
Location
West Virginia
Have this thought about building a rifle.. Don't need it but just thinking I may enjoy it.. also have a thought of just buying a nice factory gun.. Caliber is going to be a 30-06. I am thinking of buying a Tikka and doing some work, well have someone else do it.. My other option is to buy a Sako Finnlight and just call it good.. Not thinking of a ultra ultra light gun but want it reasonably light if that makes sense.. 6-6.5 lbs.. if I could get it down into the mid 5's id be tickled.. Gonna use it for normal whitetail hunting. Some elk hunting mule deer and probably a goat hunt in the next few years.. and of course if I ever draw a sheep tag.. What is your guys thoughts? If you say Tikka what stock? Barrel if needed? Action work? Who would you have do the work? Never had much of any gunsmith work done so not sure where to start and with who.. Thanks for any input..
Kip
 
the ONLY complaint I've EVER had about the Tikka action is the 2 function safety, the Finnlight takes care of that
The ONLY complaint I have about the Finnlight is that you must use the Sako scope mount system (I THINK) If there is an alloy rail available for the Finnlight that I can find I'd consider looking at the Finnlight -
Now, that said I'll say this: There are ALOT of advocates of the Remington 700 and back when were at least an option the bolt locked down when cocked and on safety, as the Tikka T3 action does - 3 function safeties are for avoidance of an accident when unloading the rifle so there really should never be a need for anything other than a solid trigger and good safety mechanism, BOTH of these are in a Tikka T3 action

As far as quality of the barreled action the Finnlight and Tikka are assembled side by side in Finland and the original Tikka plant, or were anyway, I've seen recent pictures of that fact - These are also some of the most consistent barrels made anywhere but if a person was set on rebarreling there are myriad match grade makers and installers out there, Douglas always comes to mind first - I have a gunsmith in Eugene OR that I go to, he is also a good friend, who does rifle work for names most would recognize - He has done work on 4 of my Tikka superlights but trueing the actions and accurizing them has not been included because he has checked all 4 and seen no need, "perfect" is how he described them - For Tikka stocks you need look no further than Manners or McMillan as their reputations for quality precede them - There are a few scope mounting systems out there, I prefer the Mountain Tactical allow rail and rings can then be your choice as there a bunch of good ones - There really is nothing left to do IMO, the action is strong and stiff, the short bolt lift is a great feature, the action functions as smooth as any you'll find anywhere and the magazine although "Tupperware" (not MY words) is as fool proof and lightweight as I've ever found (I carry two extra, loaded and in a leg pocket) - With a Manners or McMillan "Edge" you should have the Tikka into the 5 lb range or VERY close naked
 
So basically my thought was I like the sako finnlight better because I just don't like the stock of the tikka. I'm not in love with the finnlight stock by any means. Basically what you are saying is the sako and tikka are basically the same? It would be insanity to buy the finnlight then especially if I was gonna replace the stock. I'm thinking a manners stock. Z3 swaro. Anything else I could do or anyone could recommend??
 
NO !! I wasn't saying the Tikka and Sako are the same ! The Sako is a more refined rifle with it's own virtues or lack thereof

Here's a thought though, if you are going to spend that kind of Money why not buy a Kimber Montana (or MA) and do some "customization" on that ? You would be money ahead I think, have a lighter weight rifle with as good a stock as a Manners and all the GOOD virtues of the model 70 style action - In a 30.06 I can see no downside whatsoever ..... '06 out of box is 5 lb 10 oz, maybe have the pad changed out to a Limbsaver which might add an oz but would really change the recoil characteristics I think
 
You might just try the Tikka Superlite 30-06 straight from the factory to see if it meets your needs before you jump in on a full build. I paint the factory T3 stocks and it greatly improves the feel of them. People would be hard pressed to tell them apart from the B&C replacements. Just a thought. You could also have the bolt fluted and cerakoted to give it more of a custom look.
 
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T3 Superlight. flute the bolt, add titanium bolt handle and carbon knob (or wait till someone makes a full titanium handle, I'm sure it will happen soon), and a Macmillan stock. That will be under 6 lbs and be nicely customized. If I had that budget I would be very tempted to do it. Or just go with a kimber and be done with it.
 
Check out PDI out of Australia for a stock. I'm planning on putting one on a Tikka for next year. 21 oz with a Limbsaver pad. The stock makers here in the US can't touch that weight. Wait time is considerably less as well, unless you find one in stock.

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Check out PDI out of Australia for a stock. I'm planning on putting one on a Tikka for next year. 21 oz with a Limbsaver pad. The stock makers here in the US can't touch that weight. Wait time is considerably less as well, unless you find one in stock.

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Do you have a link for pdi


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Home - Precision Defence Industries | PDI

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Thank you for getting that link !

Whew ! I'm still catching my breath after seeing the price ! Is there an exchange rate between USA and Aus ? What about shipping ? I'll not be spending anywhere near that kind of money on a T3x until Beretta USA gets off their high horse and develops a 3 function safety for it - They do look good though - a year or so ago I bought a model 70 safety for a T3 conversion from Germany, forgotten all about it - I bought a "right hand" kit which puts the safety in "lefty" position (backwards) and just stuck it on a shelf in the gunroom, maybe I should sell it to a left hander and buy another to finish the project and review it -
 
+1 on just getting a Kimber MT. My 280 AI weighs 5lbs 9oz. Stock is fantastic. Be sure to look at specs of the MT vs Mountain Ascent. Some calibers are the same weight. Others, the MA has the advantage. I'm not sure how/why but it is. My MT 280 AI weighs the same as the MA 280 AI. A 30-06 is 5lb 10 oz with the MT and 5lb 5oz withe the MA. It made sense to get the MT over the MA for me as the price difference is huge for zero gains in my opinion. Good luck!
 
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+1 on just getting a Kimber MT. My 280 AI weighs 5lbs 9oz. Stock is fantastic. Be sure to look at specs of the MT vs Mountain Ascent. Some calibers are the same weight. Others, the MA has the advantage. I'm not sure how/why but it is. My MT 280 AI weighs the same as the MA 280 AI. A 30-06 is 5lb 10 oz with the MT and 5lb 5oz withe the MA. It made sense to get the MT over the MA for me as the price difference is huge for zero gains in my opinion. Good luck!

I know, right ? a lot of gun for the money - how does your AI shoot ? any feeding issues ?
 
The PDI stock looks nice but $900 WOW. That is just no way ever going to be worth it. However check the link for Wildcat Stocks, 17.5 ounces and only $259. Now these stocks are no where near to be complete and will take time and money to finish but I think they are an option. The price is Canadian currency as well. Here's the catch though no tikka models at this time. I emailed owner and he said it is in the works for a t3 though.

Wildcat Composites
 
The PDI stock looks nice but $900 WOW. That is just no way ever going to be worth it. However check the link for Wildcat Stocks, 17.5 ounces and only $259. Now these stocks are no where near to be complete and will take time and money to finish but I think they are an option. The price is Canadian currency as well. Here's the catch though no tikka models at this time. I emailed owner and he said it is in the works for a t3 though.

Wildcat Composites
Dang wish I had known about this when I restocked my Remington

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The PDI stock looks nice but $900 WOW. That is just no way ever going to be worth it. However check the link for Wildcat Stocks, 17.5 ounces and only $259. Now these stocks are no where near to be complete and will take time and money to finish but I think they are an option. The price is Canadian currency as well. Here's the catch though no tikka models at this time. I emailed owner and he said it is in the works for a t3 though.

Wildcat Composites

even with all the options listed still more affordable than others and lighter weight too
 
The PDI stock looks nice but $900 WOW. That is just no way ever going to be worth it. However check the link for Wildcat Stocks, 17.5 ounces and only $259. Now these stocks are no where near to be complete and will take time and money to finish but I think they are an option. The price is Canadian currency as well. Here's the catch though no tikka models at this time. I emailed owner and he said it is in the works for a t3 though.

Wildcat Composites

Bourney from PDI here (i'm the engineer and the inhouse guy that actually takes our stuff out hunting), couldn't help notice the traffic to our site from this forum thread, Interesting to read observations from the US. Thanks for thinking of us and I'll happily answer any questions (how in the world did you even hear about us in the first place??).

I am personally bringing some stocks across (mainly F Class) in January as we are also technology partners with NK (Kestrel) and will be at their booth at Shot show. If anyone wants to save a bundle on shipping, let me know and I can bring featherweights as well and figure out a within US shipping method. They are our second best selling stock style (we only make 4 though haha) and the weight includes everything, recoil pad etc. Costs are our main killer to exports and we generally don't export unless like with the F Class stocks a rifle club orders/group buys 6. I can probably arrange to leave a Featherweight with family or friends stateside to facilitate people having a play with one and giving us some feedback. We are new so are always looking for feedback, positive and negative.

There has been a flurry of stock manufacturers starting up lately and while we started out as an aside of an aircraft propeller business that got asked to make lightweight target stocks, there is also stateside companies like AG composites and a few others which are veteran run so deserve your consideration. They also machine their inlets rather than mould them in so they are more versatile in what actions they can inlet for (just like us).

The difference between us and others seems to be based on our history in aviation and my personal history with wind turbines so we are high end material focused, hence we use 2 different core materials in each stock, they are completely filled not hollow, 100% carbon and hunting stocks have our own baked on textured finish. So they do cost a bit! But especially our F Class stocks, these are up around $1340USD!! but they are massive and only weigh 28ish ounces (in their lightest config) all due to the carbon we use for skins and the core materials.

Just a final word on pricing, it is $900AUD = about $670USD, our stocks come with a limbsaver recoil pad supplied and installed (screwed on not glued), pillars, decent action screws and a titanium recoil lug. We also coat the whole thing with a textured finish, we don't prime them, we just paste it on and bake it which also serves as a post cure for the carbon (all the cloth we use is carbon). We get compared a LOT to wildcat fibreglass stocks and I will personally say they make great stocks, I used to own one (they are still our main competition it seems for true featherweight stocks) and they are great value at about $460USD (with a limbsaver) and without discussing pro's and cons of different core materials, ours are more expensive due to the 2 different core materials, using only carbon fibre for the skins and they have the baked on finish.

Cheers from Aus, hope I haven't overstepped, just wanted to put the information out there and offer to answer any questions as I keep an eye on a lot of forums due to being only 18months - ish old now, it pays to listen to feedback/concerns!

Regards,
Bourney
 
Just get the Sako Finnlight and be done with it. IMO. If you handload they are a big plus. There are picatinny rail options amongst others. I do admit, getting the mounting system figured out on these can be a PIA. But when they are done, it's done. No problemo. I also hate plastic on working parts on a gun, minus the stock. All in all I think they kick ass!
 
Hate to poo poo on a fellas build, but think about what you actually "gain" for your hard earned money. I can't see doing anything to a Tikka except shooting it.

Save the dough for plane tickets.
 
1. Less weight
2. different feeling stock (ergonomics)
3. fun project

Not a problem if you don't want to tinker with your tikka but some other guys do.
 
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