Why shouldn’t I buy this Tikka?

[KenLee]

Te

Stuffing a 300WSM into a short action is like putting a college freshman back into her prom dress.

It’ll fit, but it isn’t pretty.

Tell that to my 2 plain Jane x-bolt 300wsm that shoot factory 150gr NBT faster from a 22 inch barrel than my buddy's 24.3 inch 300wm. 3 inch shorter rifle with more speed. Bullets feed much smoother also.

 

[jjgaw]

You should buy it and you’ve also convinced me to buy it

 

[Q_Sertorius]

Stuffing a 300WSM into a short action is like putting a college freshman back into her prom dress.

It’ll fit, but it isn’t pretty.

We must have different ideas of “pretty.”

 

[MTlan66]

Thanks to all for the replies. I didn’t catch this with the barrel adapter, so thanks for explaining this and pointing it out. I don’t really care for the camo, but I may go with that anyway.

You come here asking the people to talk you out of ordering a Tikka?

Im going to double down. You should buy too. Add that to your cart and a 223. Forget about the 25 creed. You want that in a Tikka it will be atleast a few more years, if ever.

lol- wish I could swing two! Still trying to decide if I can swing one…

You should buy it and you’ve also convinced me to buy it

If I go to order, and they’re out of stock, I know who to blame!

 

[jjgaw]

Thanks to all for the replies. I didn’t catch this with the barrel adapter, so thanks for explaining this and pointing it out. I don’t really care for the camo, but I may go with that anyway.

lol- wish I could swing two! Still trying to decide if I can swing one…


If I go to order, and they’re out of stock, I know who to blame!

Haha, you are safe! I was looking at a different caliber. And then I got distracted by the 20” 30-06 roughtech cerca.

 

[cal30_sniper]

Te
Tell that to my 2 plain Jane x-bolt 300wsm that shoot factory 150gr NBT faster from a 22 inch barrel than my buddy's 24.3 inch 300wm. 3 inch shorter rifle with more speed. Bullets feed much smoother also.

You lost me at 150NBTs

 

[Matt5266]

You lost me at 150NBTs

Those shot like garbage out of my winchester model 70

 

[Castle Rock]

Those shot like garbage out of my winchester model 70

You are doing something really wrong if you can’t get them to shoot, and they kill like lightning, but they leave a bit on the table with ballistics

 

[cal30_sniper]

I've shot them (NBTs) in .308, but prefer the old Sierra Gameking. They're (NBTs) a severe ballistic handicap for something like a 300WSM, which is the exact side effect of trying to cram such a fine (but long) case into a short action SAAMI spec that I was attempting to make light of in my original post. It's (300WSM, or any WSM for that matter) a cartridge that realizes huge gains in a Medium or Long action (or anything longer than 2.860" SAAMI COAL derived from Rem 700 SA length), which is the contradiction I was trying to point out in Macchina's original post about SAs and 300WSMs. Load a WSM out to 3.150, or better yet, 3.250, and you open up a bunch of powder capacity in the case. Not needed for 150s, but get into the ballistically efficient bullets at 180grs and up and it starts getting comical seating them to 2.860.

Coincidentally, my favorite cartridge for NBT use is also one that is handicapped severely by design COAL (6.5G in a AR mag). My little 16" Grendel ultralight loves the 120gr NBT, though I've been meaning to switch to the more ballistically friendly lightweight ELDMs or TMKs as my supplies of NBTs run low.

The underlying point I've attempted to make being, the "long action" (it isn't really that long) of a Tikka isn't much of a handicap, and you just might find yourself appreciating it even more if a barrel/cartridge swap enters the equation in the future. If going for an ultralight build, I can see the use of a dedicated action length (of a significantly lightened variety) with a matched for length cartridge and mag box, but that doesn't seem to be the case here.

 

[Matt5266]

You are doing something really wrong if you can’t get them to shoot, and they kill like lightning, but they leave a bit on the table with ballistics

Im not sure what i could be doing wrong. It was factory ammo? 5-6 inch groups. Tried several other boxes of different stuff I had and groups were right around an inch.

 

[Q_Sertorius]

I've shot them (NBTs) in .308, but prefer the old Sierra Gameking. They're (NBTs) a severe ballistic handicap for something like a 300WSM, which is the exact side effect of trying to cram such a fine (but long) case into a short action SAAMI spec that I was attempting to make light of in my original post. It's (300WSM, or any WSM for that matter) a cartridge that realizes huge gains in a Medium or Long action (or anything longer than 2.860" SAAMI COAL derived from Rem 700 SA length), which is the contradiction I was trying to point out in Macchina's original post about SAs and 300WSMs. Load a WSM out to 3.150, or better yet, 3.250, and you open up a bunch of powder capacity in the case. Not needed for 150s, but get into the ballistically efficient bullets at 180grs and up and it starts getting comical seating them to 2.860.

Coincidentally, my favorite cartridge for NBT use is also one that is handicapped severely by design COAL (6.5G in a AR mag). My little 16" Grendel ultralight loves the 120gr NBT, though I've been meaning to switch to the more ballistically friendly lightweight ELDMs or TMKs as my supplies of NBTs run low.

The underlying point I've attempted to make being, the "long action" (it isn't really that long) of a Tikka isn't much of a handicap, and you just might find yourself appreciating it even more if a barrel/cartridge swap enters the equation in the future. If going for an ultralight build, I can see the use of a dedicated action length (of a significantly lightened variety) with a matched for length cartridge and mag box, but that doesn't seem to be the case here.

I'll never use a WSM cartridge, but I really appreciate the thoughtful answer here. That was a very good, detailed explanation of why it matters.

If I was going to use a WSM cartridge, it would be so that I could get superior ballistic performance at longer ranges than I could get from a smaller cartridge. And that is precisely when using more ballistically efficient bullets starts to matter.

If the use case is using a WSM when a plain-Jane .308 would do the job, then why use a WSM? That 150-grain NBT is a proven killer in a .308 at "normal hunting ranges." As is the Sierra Gameking (we've killed many, many whitetails on our farm with that venerable old bullet).

 

[cal30_sniper]

I'll never use a WSM cartridge, but I really appreciate the thoughtful answer here. That was a very good, detailed explanation of why it matters.

If I was going to use a WSM cartridge, it would be so that I could get superior ballistic performance at longer ranges than I could get from a smaller cartridge. And that is precisely when using more ballistically efficient bullets starts to matter.

If the use case is using a WSM when a plain-Jane .308 would do the job, then why use a WSM? That 150-grain NBT is a proven killer in a .308 at "normal hunting ranges." As is the Sierra Gameking (we've killed many, many whitetails on our farm with that venerable old bullet).

I hopped on the WSM bandwagon last year when ADG came out with good brass (right about the time the guys on the Vortex podcast started playing with long copper bullets loaded to "long action" COALs to create the "Super WSM"). First build for me was a 25-300WSM throated as long as possible for 130gr+ heavies in a Tikka action. Second build was a straight 300 WSM throated long to take maximum advantage of a Rem 700 Medium action with UM bottom metal. Both cartridges play to the potential strengths of the case design: longer bullets being available in longer actions due to the "short" nature of the high-capacity case compared to a traditional long action belted magnum. The original way these cartridges was designed (cramming as much powder as possible behind a short bullet in a short action) is an artifact of the pre-rangefinder era of maximum point blank range that is hardly relevant in ballistic discussions today.

All that to say, if you're looking for something to deliver reasonable velocities at long range from a heavy bullet with extraordinary wind-bucking ability, the WSM case is a GREAT place to start. So are the SAUM cases, the WSM just brings a bit more to the table when you remove the 2.860 COAL from the equation.

 

[Ice_man]

Bought this same gun this past September. It's a sweet shooter. Mine loves the 147 eldm factory loads. I'll post up a pic of some of the average groups i'm getting. I was in the same boat, but I had all of the 6.5 components to start reloading so I figured I would buy one and shoot it for a few thousand rounds and either swap the barrel to a 6 or 25 creed or keep it as a backup.

*EDIT
I was going to add, this gun is light and is still a pleasure to shoot and pack around in 6.5 creed. Mine with a trijicon credo 2.5-15 with UM rings and bubble level is 8.25lbs with a loaded mag. Throw a lightweight suppressor on it and youll have close to a 9lb gun thats perfect for the mountains.

 

[MTlan66]

Bought this same gun this past September. It's a sweet shooter. Mine loves the 147 eldm factory loads. I'll post up a pic of some of the average groups i'm getting. I was in the same boat, but I had all of the 6.5 components to start reloading so I figured I would buy one and shoot it for a few thousand rounds and either swap the barrel to a 6 or 25 creed or keep it as a backup.

*EDIT
I was going to add, this gun is light and is still a pleasure to shoot and pack around in 6.5 creed. Mine with a trijicon credo 2.5-15 with UM rings and bubble level is 8.25lbs with a loaded mag. Throw a lightweight suppressor on it and youll have close to a 9lb gun thats perfect for the mountains.

My same thoughts- I don’t reload, but I have a mountain of 6.5 factory loads. In reality, I’ve been hunting almost exclusively with a 6.5 for 6 years, and can’t find any substantial reason to change. I just find the idea of the 25 intriguing. I kinda doubt I would notice much real world difference…

That particular rifle just went up in price $50…

 

[Mike D Texas]

Stuffing a 300WSM into a short action is like putting a college freshman back into her prom dress.

It’ll fit, but it isn’t pretty.

Depends on the short action and bottom metal. The UM DBM allows 3.150” internal on a short action magazine. As long as your action has a large enough load port it works beautifully.

 

[Ice_man]

My same thoughts- I don’t reload, but I have a mountain of 6.5 factory loads. In reality, I’ve been hunting almost exclusively with a 6.5 for 6 years, and can’t find any substantial reason to change. I just find the idea of the 25 intriguing. I kinda doubt I would notice much real world difference…

That particular rifle just went up in price $50…

I think if you’re serious about it, email or call them and see if they would take it back down for you.

 

[cal30_sniper]

Depends on the short action and bottom metal. The UM DBM allows 3.150” internal on a short action magazine. As long as your action has a large enough load port it works beautifully.

This is true. I’m running a 6-284 in a BAT Vesper SA with that bottom metal.

 

[Macchina]

I used to think the same, it seemed very cheap to me to have the same action size for everything. Now I think it’s at least somewhat of an advantage.

If you wanna make your 3006 a 6.5cm all it takes is a barrel change. Heck you can switch a 223 to a 300wm with just a barrel, bolt, and a bolt stop. You can easily find takeoff Tika barrels here for under 100 bucks, and there are frequent ads to trade bolts as well.

I kind of get your logic, but I (personally) don't want to carry around the weight of possibilities, especially on a hunting rifle!

The appeal of guns like the Howa Micro Action are more appealing to me. Design the gun around the cartridge in every aspect possible. The same goes for 20ga shotguns built on 12ga receivers: it's an absolute no-go for me.

By this logic we could argue the best barrel to get on a hunting rifle is a 30" bull barrel. That way you can cut it down and contour it any way you want. We don't do that: we buy the smallest, slimmest barrel for the task we intend it for.