Tikka CTR Rail removal

[PlumberED]

I suppose my hunting is completely different from yours. My stands are close to my house so weight is not a huge concern.

 

[walexa07]

Has anyone had any issues removing the rail that comes on the super varmint, as in any damage to the cerakote finish?

 

[Axlrod]

Has anyone had any issues removing the rail that comes on the super varmint, as in any damage to the cerakote finish?

No, but they are glued and pinned. A little heat gun time helps.

 

[walexa07]

Thanks Axlrod. So just heat for a while with heat gun then the rail will come off with the epoxy stuck to the rail and not the receiver?

 

[Castle Rock]

wishful thinkin, there will be a mess

 

[MTMeatHunter]

@walexa07 when I removed one there was a lot of epoxy stuck to the receiver. I used a stove top cleaner to kind of buff it off, but even after some serious elbow grease there was still what I would describe as a stain on the receiver top.

If you want it to look 100% I’d probably leave your rail on. I wasn’t worried about the aesthetic, personally.

 

[sdupontjr]

Like I mentioned earlier in this post, acetone!!! Pull barreled action out of the stock. You can remove the bolt as well. Take a rag and soak it with acetone. Drape the rag over the action so that the acetone will sit on the epoxy a while. This allows it to somewhat soak in. I then took a flat razor and ran it on top the flat area of the action to remove the loosened epoxy. Repeat and repeat. When it gets down to hardly nothing, the flat razor will remove about 90 - 95% of it with no issues to the action. The remaining little bit, use the soaked rag and elbow grease. My CTR action looks exactly like my T3 Lite action.

 

[Axlrod]

Thanks Axlrod. So just heat for a while with heat gun then the rail will come off with the epoxy stuck to the rail and not the receiver?

It will be on both and all the screws/pins. I clamped the rail in a padded vice, then put an internal action wrench in the receiver. After heating, I grabbed the barrel and the action wrench and pulled it off.

 

[Gorillatransfers]

I wouldn't bother removing it unless your are really worried about a few onces

That would be correct.

 

[sveltri]

I get my Super Varmint tomorrow, based on what you guys went through to remove the rail I have zero concern about it coming loose on a .223.

 

[Castle Rock]

They are definitely the best rails
If you need inclination use signature XTR rings

 

[Lock3]

Forgive the necro, this thread comes up as the #1 or #2 search result when looking for "Tikka CTR Rail Removal." I made the mistake of tightening my mirage shield screw and bent the rail. For anyone that made the same mistake, please see what I did below to remove the rail.

Read a lot of different approaches that seemed very complicated. I know a lot of people used heat (whether through a heat gun, torch or long application of a clothing iron), but I was able to break the epoxy with a plastic wedge and much less force than others used (e.g., with a hammer and a 2x4 or rubber mallet). I was also able to do this without removing the barreled action from the stock and without a vise.

2024 Tikka CTR 308.

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1. This is what it looks like when you tighten the wrong screw.



2. Back out the screw as fast as you can. This will minimize the bending. Then, remove the other screws.

3. Do this step slowly. Put the front most screw back in (the one that ****** the rail) and wait 5 seconds per turn once you feel resistance. Do not screw it in quickly or you'll just permanently bend the rail more. The idea here is to use the rigidity of the rail to force up the epoxy in the front little by little. If you didn't bend the rail badly, you will hear one or two "pop" sounds as the epoxy breaks in the front.

4. If step 3 works out, you'll see a very (very very) thin light gap in the first 2 or 3 inches of the rail.

5. Use a plastic chisel/scraper like the one below. I had one in my garage but you can buy any number of them on Amazon (get the ones that are high hardness hard nylon).

6. Fit the tip of the plastic chisel underneath the gap while the front (mirage) screw is still propping up the front of the rail, remove the screw, and hit it with your palm in a snapping motion (like a 4/10 strength)...it should separate (most if not all of) the epoxy and then you can use the plastic chisel again in the middle of the rail (perpendicular).

***Remember that the CTR has 2 plugs so you can't spin it. It needs to be pulled off straight up.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

That’s kinda my worry that it comes loose during the season.

Why would that happen?