Why I won’t buy a Tikka

[Mike D Texas]

I’ll take bolt slop and cheap ass stocks for less than $700 as long as they shoot 10 round groups like this during load development with a 200fps spread from high to low.

1” dot.

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[AkMtnRunner]

Yeah cheap rifles that shoot well and reliably are the worst.

 

[FAAFO]

The bolt slop. I can’t stand that wiggly rattle bolt slip that feels horribly cheap. I know they’re great rifles, I know the trigger is great, I know the accuracy is unmatched in consistency for factory rifles, etc etc.

But I just can’t stand the bolt slop. If you’ve handled a prewar W70 or W54 you know the feeling of having a cartridge firmly but smoothly guided into place. With no slop.

Well RR thanks for letting us know!

 

[Diced]

They're a great factory option. The "slop" isn't really a bad thing when it comes to reliability.

My one complaint about them is the extremely heavy bolt lift. It makes it very hard for me to cycle the bolt while remaining on target.

 

[magtech]

You know why i would buy another tikka action. The bolt smoothness. Was hunting a lease deer spot for does. I was sitting against a tree. 2 does walked out at 220ish yards. Shot the first, cycled, shot the second. First didnt flop, resighted on the first shot it again on the run. They both expired 10 ft from one another... bolt slop or not, you cannot do that with an crappy rough bolt action.

So everyone who has a tikka action and doesnt like it... i will take it for free just to help you out.

 

[wind gypsy]

They're a great factory option. The "slop" isn't really a bad thing when it comes to reliability.

My one complaint about them is the extremely heavy bolt lift. It makes it very hard for me to cycle the bolt while remaining on target.

I don’t like the bolt lift either but I wouldn’t be surprised if that was related to a reliable ignition. Same thing with AIs

 

[Nightstandx]

I have two Tikkas purchased this year. Neither are sloppy in my opinion. They have wiggle room, but not sloppy. I've shot Savage for 20 years and they could be construed as sloppy. I call it clearance, they'll keep running when dirty, filthy.

The other end of the spectrum of very tight actions is Stiller. So tight that if you lift the bolt handle or lower it 1/32" it'll lock up like it's welded together.

Clearance is better.

 

[Hunter270Win]

Sakos are better

 

[Ryan Avery]

I much prefer Remingtons that don’t fire or light strike myself.


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[StupidLightweight]

My one complaint about them is the extremely heavy bolt lift. It makes it very hard for me to cycle the bolt while remaining on target.

Don’t forget a one-size-fits-all action length. How great would a short-action and micro-length action Tikka T3x be? The .223-length action would be called the “T-wee-x.”

That and the heavy bolt lift are my only gripes. For double the money, they’re impossible to beat.

The OP must be joking or trolling about bolt slop. Come on.

 

[Macintosh]

So is it fair to say we’ve concluded that the bolt-feel of a “pre-war W70 or W54” doesnt exist in an off-the-shelf rifle today? Just making sure whether or not I should sell my tikkas.

 

[mtnwrunner]

Cheap ass bolt slop.

Randy

 

[Kurts86]

I don’t like that Tikkas aren’t Sako’s. I miss the safe bolt lock override and cartridge specific action sizing. I don’t trust myself with Tikka’s extensive aftermarket, I’ll spend too much money……

 

[Dave0317]

I resisted them for a while.
For me at the time I looked at them, I wanted the lightest trimmest factory rifle I could get. In 308.

Knowing that the Tikka action was sized to fit long action cartridges, and holding it side by side with a Model Seven, the Model Seven action just seemed so much more efficient. And I prefer an internal mag and floor plate. My model seven doesn’t feed anywhere near as smooth as that single stack Tikka mag.

I also didn’t care for their proprietary scope rail weirdness. Who would want that in the age of the pic rail? With Sportsmatch rings or UM options that are out now, that’s a non-issue.

Now my views have changed a bit. The advantages of the improved reliability, consistent barrels, excellent trigger, etc. all combine to be what I think is the best rifle available under $2000. It’s not perfect. But I think you would need to spend well over $2k to get something significantly better.

Like other mentioned, I have had some old CRFs that feel amazing, and I have used several Defiance actions that felt amazing when clean and run carefully. The Defiance can take some muscling when it gets dirty. We had a gunsmith mount new barrels and at the same time, he did some action work on the defiance, now they are slick as a Tikka. But that’s a $4,500 rifle we are comparing now.

Savage is far worse on the slop.

Just get used to the idea that the slop contributes to the ease of feeding. The other advantages all outweigh the bit of slop you feel, which by the way is usually at the rear of the bolt travel, where it really doesn’t matter.

 

[Dave Thomas]

As long as they lock up tight when the bolt is closed a little clearance between bolt and action is a good thing. Up to a point of course.

 

[mxgsfmdpx]

Factory Tikka, factory ammo. 2 sight in shots and then 48 shot group at 100 yards.

Look at that pure slop…

 

[FAAFO]

Ive updated the list of people who don’t like tikkas:

Biden
Obama
Hillary clinton
Bill clinton
Jjjjeremy


Am I missing anyone else?

 

[Mtandrew]

I have seen defiance become completely bound from a human hair. .001 play doesn’t fit .003 hair very well needed a a piece of wood to force bolt open.

 

[jjjjeremy]

So is it fair to say we’ve concluded that the bolt-feel of a “pre-war W70 or W54” doesnt exist in an off-the-shelf rifle today? Just making sure whether or not I should sell my tikkas.

I’ll bite. Which current production off the shelf rifles have the “lack of bolt slop” like a pre-war model 70 or 54?

I know about crf, but with the “ pre war” specificity it seems like more than that? (Unless maybe we’re talking about the vietnam war?) Regardless, which off the shelf rifles have this feel today? Is the answer “none”?

oOoOOk...perfect. Now what are the solutions you can offer? What actions have " no slop" and aren't too tight and crud up easy like some customs do that feel nice at home, but a little pinch of dust or a pine needle getting in some of them can lock them up.

So is it fair to say we’ve concluded that the bolt-feel of a “pre-war W70 or W54” doesnt exist in an off-the-shelf rifle today? Just making sure whether or not I should sell my tikkas.

The newest winchesters are good. I have two and it was easy to find factory ammo that shot sub MOA. My three most recent rifle purchases have been Bergara, which have operated smoothly and flawlessly, and shot every factory load well under MOA with nearly the same POI.

I was once convinced that the one action length and shouldered prefit availability made it the ideal budget multi-caliber action. But when I add up the actual cost of the tools and barrels, I would rather just have the convenience of another rifle.

 

[Balderdash]

Most of my Tikkas are 15 YO or so, so maybe the current crop is worse, but I've always felt the Tikkas were pretty smooth running bolts. Not the smoothest I ever ran, but I've not noticed it to be irksome. As some have noted, the Savage 110's are pretty sloppy.

I've ran more than a few New Haven M70's through the years. Great guns, but I can't say that I've felt they were that much smoother than other offerings in their quality/price tier. I've had feeding troubles with both M70's and Ruger M77 mkII's, whereas I've yet to have the first hiccup with a factory Tikka after many years and thousands or rounds, so I'm no longer in the CRF is better for reliability camp.

I do make it a point to routinely fill the mag and cycle while shooting, which oddly seems a rarity at the range these days. I've had and witnessed so many feeding issues surface when recoil is added that I wouldn't take a rig afield without confirming functionality first.