7 SAW Proof Blank on Tikka Action

YotaEer · Mar 30, 2023

I'm looking at building a dedicated hunting rifle on another Tikka Action. The easy button would likely be a 6.5 PRC, but the 7 SAW is intriguing me with some component crossover with my 6.5CM and use of larger 162's for western trips. low recoil etc.

I plan to use a proof blank, but is it possible to take down one of their 7mm blanks to fit the tikka actions with their smaller size?

Newb question, I know, but I've only used Proof prefits for other tikka builds. Not a custom chambered blank.

Supersubes · Mar 30, 2023

YotaEer · Mar 30, 2023

Supersubes said:
View attachment 8108455

awesome. thank you!

4O6shootist · Mar 30, 2023

I've ran a few Bartlein 1.2" shank barrels with the Tikka tenon, no issues. There are alao carbon blanks from Pederson Precision out in Wisconsin. He uses rock creek and muller blanks and wraps in house. He advertises the ability to turn the shanks down from 1.25 to 1.13 and I have done so successfully. The 1.2" shank doesn't look great as the nose of action is slightly tapering diameter to the face, and then the shank is slightly bigger. I'm not home at the moment to take pics. If I were to do a non magnum 7mm build on a Tikka, I'd no doubt go with a 284win utilizing lapua brass. Run a long action bolt stop and oem Tikka 30-06 or mountain tactical magazines. I'm just not a big fan of magnum case heads on the 1" tenon threads, although plenty of folks do it, myself included, but have sold most them off. 284win offers a bit more horsepower. You could also do a straight 7-08ai since you'll be fire forming the 7saw as well. Magazine length is no problem on the Tikka as they're all technically a long action receiver, bolt stop and magazine selection be your limiting factors on cartridge overall length. I recently built my GF a hunting rifle on a 65cm Tikka donor that she'd been using for 2 years prior. Now that the hunting bug bit her, she wants to chase elk. I wanted a bit more case capacity. I really wanted to go 284win, but since I'm already tooled up for 65prc with dies and brass. Went that route(smith easily opened bolt face on his mill). The rifle shoots extremely well with 140hyb at 2950-2980 with H1000, N565 and retumbo from a 24" carbon barrel. I'd say the PRC cases with the 535 chamber diameter are a better choice over a Saum/wsm with the 555 chamber base on the 1" tenon diameter. Then again I'm probably over thinking it like everything else! Best of luck!

Supersubes · Mar 30, 2023

4O6shootist said:
I've ran a few 1.2" shank barrels with the Tikka tenon, no issues. Doesn't look great as the nose of action is slightly tapering diameter to the face, and then the shank is slightly bigger. I'm not home at the moment to take pics. If I were to do a non magnum 7mm build on a Tikka, I'd no doubt go with a 284win utilizing lapua brass. Run a long action bolt stop and oem Tikka 30-06 or mountain tactical magazines. I'm just not a big fan of magnum case heads on the 1" tenon threads, although plenty of folks do it, myself included, but have sold most them off. 284win offers a bit more horsepower. You could also do a straight 7-08ai since you'll be fire forming the 7saw as well. Magazine length is no problem on the Tikka as they're all technically a long action receiver, bolt stop and magazine selection be your limiting factors on cartridge overall length. I recently built my GF a hunting rifle on a 65cm Tikka donor that she'd been using for 2 years prior. Now that the hunting bug bit her, she wants to chase elk. I wanted a bit more case capacity. I really wanted to go 284win, but since I'm already tooled up for 65prc with dies and brass. Went that route(smith easily opened bolt face on his mill). The rifle shoots extremely well with 140hyb at 2950-2980 with H1000, N565 and retumbo from a 24" carbon barrel. I'd say the PRC cases with the 535 chamber diameter are a better choice over a Saum/wsm with the 555 chamber base on the 1" tenon diameter. Then again I'm probably over thinking it like everything else! Best of luck!

.284 win lapua brass has been discontinued.

Fully formed 7SAW Alpha brass can be purchased through WTO.

YotaEer · Mar 30, 2023

4O6shootist said:
I've ran a few 1.2" shank barrels with the Tikka tenon, no issues. Doesn't look great as the nose of action is slightly tapering diameter to the face, and then the shank is slightly bigger. I'm not home at the moment to take pics. If I were to do a non magnum 7mm build on a Tikka, I'd no doubt go with a 284win utilizing lapua brass. Run a long action bolt stop and oem Tikka 30-06 or mountain tactical magazines. I'm just not a big fan of magnum case heads on the 1" tenon threads, although plenty of folks do it, myself included, but have sold most them off. 284win offers a bit more horsepower. You could also do a straight 7-08ai since you'll be fire forming the 7saw as well. Magazine length is no problem on the Tikka as they're all technically a long action receiver, bolt stop and magazine selection be your limiting factors on cartridge overall length. I recently built my GF a hunting rifle on a 65cm Tikka donor that she'd been using for 2 years prior. Now that the hunting bug bit her, she wants to chase elk. I wanted a bit more case capacity. I really wanted to go 284win, but since I'm already tooled up for 65prc with dies and brass. Went that route(smith easily opened bolt face on his mill). The rifle shoots extremely well with 140hyb at 2950-2980 with H1000, N565 and retumbo from a 24" carbon barrel. I'd say the PRC cases with the 535 chamber diameter are a better choice over a Saum/wsm with the 555 chamber base on the 1" tenon diameter. Then again I'm probably over thinking it like everything else! Best of luck!

My understanding is I wouldn't have to fireform the 7 SAW brass. WTO sells some headstamped brass or they recommend grabbing Lapua 308 Palma brass, then running it through their hornady die.

Regardless, it would be more of a project than just grabbing a long action magnum donor rifle and doing 6.5 PRC prefit. I could do all that myself without getting a smith involved.

Its all fun to think about and plan

Lightning8 · Mar 30, 2023

I thought of similar build but if using Tikka (same action for short and long) why not go with 280AI and fast twist barrel or one of the Sherman long action wildcats?

ma smith · Mar 30, 2023

YotaEer said:
My understanding is I wouldn't have to fireform the 7 SAW brass. WTO sells some headstamped brass or they recommend grabbing Lapua 308 Palma brass, then running it through their hornady die.

Regardless, it would be more of a project than just grabbing a long action magnum donor rifle and doing 6.5 PRC prefit. I could do all that myself without getting a smith involved.

Its all fun to think about and plan

IIRC Lapua 308 Palma brass is also NLA (someone correct me if i'm wrong)

YotaEer · Mar 30, 2023

ma smith said:
IIRC Lapua 308 Palma brass is also NLA (someone correct me if i'm wrong)

looks like you are correct.

So it would be either getting headstamped brass from WTO, or resizing factory 308/7-08 brass it seems

Supersubes · Mar 30, 2023

YotaEer said:
looks like you are correct.

So it would be either getting headstamped brass from WTO, or resizing factory 308/7-08 brass it seems

WTO alpha all day long.

YotaEer · Mar 30, 2023

Lightning8 said:
I thought of similar build but if using Tikka (same action for short and long) why not go with 280AI and fast twist barrel or one of the Sherman long action wildcats?

I’ve also thought about 280 AI. Certainly a comparable option.

I’m looking for a low recoil option as it looks like I’ve been blessed with all daughters lol. Not that 280 AI would be anything crazy, but the SAW would be a bit lighter.

4O6shootist · Mar 30, 2023

YotaEer said:
I’ve also thought about 280 AI. Certainly a comparable option.

I’m looking for a low recoil option as it looks like I’ve been blessed with all daughters lol. Not that 280 AI would be anything crazy, but the SAW would be a bit lighter.

280ai is getting long in cartridge length for a Tikka magazine unless you do an aics long action bottom metal(clunky and unnecessary protrusion from action). This is why the 284 works so well, 280ai performance and 3.25" overall length. Easy easy. Wish I'd stocked up on some brass when lapua was readily available pre-Ukraine money laundering scheme.

verdugo60 · Mar 31, 2023

I built a 7 SAW on a different action, the Alpha WTO brass is awesome. I have a 22" PROOF that I had chambered by my local smith. I'm not getting the same speed as others without hitting pressure but 41.1 grains of Varget gives me 1/2 moa with the 162 ELD-M, 2670 FPS with great ES and SD from virgin brass. Running COAL of 2.899".

YotaEer · Mar 31, 2023

verdugo60 said:
I built a 7 SAW on a different action, the Alpha WTO brass is awesome. I have a 22" PROOF that I had chambered by my local smith. I'm not getting the same speed as others without hitting pressure but 41.1 grains of Varget gives me 1/2 moa with the 162 ELD-M, 2670 FPS with great ES and SD from virgin brass. Running COAL of 2.899".

Edit: I read your post as a 20" barrel, not 22". It does seem slow. Maybe it'll speed up some with more down the tube and fully formed brass?

verdugo60 · Mar 31, 2023

YotaEer said:
you don't seem to be far off from their advertised data

View attachment 8109176

About 90 FPS slower than what Clay posted on the website. He mentioned to me that he has seen some PROOF's be a bit slower, which has been my experience as well. Doesn't really matter much, don't think the animal's are going to tell the difference and the the thing shoots great. Clay and WTO are great people too.

YotaEer · Mar 31, 2023

verdugo60 said:
About 90 FPS slower than what Clay posted on the website. He mentioned to me that he has seen some PROOF's be a bit slower, which has been my experience as well. Doesn't really matter much, don't think the animal's are going to tell the difference and the the thing shoots great. Clay and WTO are great people too.

yes i read your post wrong initially.

have you hunted with it at all yet?

I know it would be more than enough for big deer, but curious as to elk and aoudad.

verdugo60 · Mar 31, 2023

YotaEer said:
yes i read your post wrong initially.

have you hunted with it at all yet?

I know it would be more than enough for big deer, but curious as to elk and aoudad.

No, I had it done just in time last year but only hunted one day with it. Smashed some rocks with it at 600 + yards when it was clear the deer weren't going to come out before we had to leave, lol.

At 4000 DA with my speeds the 162 has about 1500 FT lbs of energy at 550 yards and 1200 ft lbs at 750 yards so I think that's plenty for elk too. I know a long range guy locally that hunts exclusively with the SAW.

For reference, this Ron Spomer article shows my 162 ELD-M load mirrors 270 Win energy with a 150 grain ABLR out to 500 yards+ and beats the 6.5 Creedmoor by several hundred ft lbs at all distances. Some would argue that 6.5 Creed is on the light side for big elk, and I agree it gives less margin of error but there are ALOT of Elk that have been killed with a 140/143 at distance. We have killed 4-5 cows with the 143 ELD-X over the years and lots of mule deer.

270 Winchester: Better Hunting Cartridge Than 6.5 Creedmoor and 30-06? — Ron Spomer Outdoors

Few cartridges in the history of North American big game hunting have captured the attention of shooters quite like the 270 Winchester. Some 97 years after it was introduced, folks still consider it fast, flat, and deadly. Because it is. Roaring Velocity in the Roaring 20s When brought to mark

www.ronspomeroutdoors.com

I have some Nosler ABLR's (bonded bullet) loaded up for closer shots where I might need to punch through a shoulder blade on an elk at 50-100 yards. Have some 180 berger hybrids that I may try but I might just save those for a 7 SAUM barrel if I ever do one. I think the SAW will be plenty for hunting so the SAUM may be more for mid-range ELR if I do one.

b6graham · Mar 31, 2023

YotaEer said:
yes i read your post wrong initially.

have you hunted with it at all yet?

I know it would be more than enough for big deer, but curious as to elk and aoudad.

1500 ft/lb to 700ish yards here in CO with with 5k winter DA

1000 ft/lb to 1100ish yards

based on 162 eldm at 2800fps. which isn't pushing.

verdugo60 · Mar 31, 2023

b6graham said:
1500 ft/lb to 700ish yards here in CO with with 5k winter DA

1000 ft/lb to 1100ish yards

based on 162 eldm at 2800fps. which isn't pushing.

I built mine at 22" because I'm running it suppressed and seemed to hit pressure a bit early, only getting 2670ish FPS with 162, but yeah, still plenty of energy.

b6graham · Mar 31, 2023

verdugo60 said:
I built mine at 22" because I'm running it suppressed and seemed to hit pressure a bit early, only getting 2670ish FPS with 162, but yeah, still plenty of energy.

yeah mine is a 27" benchmark HV

i'm at 42.4 varget (2840) or 45.5 H4350 (2800) with room to go up in the varget load

original alpha brass. not sure if the new brass is OCD or not

verdugo60 · Mar 31, 2023

OP, 280 AI or 284 Win would both be good options, although not sure if there are feeding issues with the rebated rim on the 284 in hunting conditions. You'd get a little more velocity with the 280 AI than the SAW I think.

I chose the SAW because I didn't want to fireform, I've had good luck with Alpha brass in my Dasher and I like Clay at WTO. I was also limited to short action in this gun and might run this in some NRL Hunter stuff if I want to dominate the power factor,lol.

YotaEer · Mar 31, 2023

verdugo60 said:
OP, 280 AI or 284 Win would both be good options, although not sure if there are feeding issues with the rebated rim on the 284 in hunting conditions. You'd get a little more velocity with the 280 AI than the SAW I think.

I chose the SAW because I didn't want to fireform, I've had good luck with Alpha brass in my Dasher and I like Clay at WTO. I was also limited to short action in this gun and might run this in some NRL Hunter stuff if I want to dominate the power factor,lol.

It's all something to think about. I don't have anything in 7mm, yet.

My checkdown easy button is just doing a tikka long action with 6.5 PRC proof prefit. Would probably save me some time and money, but what the fun in that? lol

NewsShooter · Apr 1, 2023

YotaEer said:
It's all something to think about. I don't have anything in 7mm, yet.

My checkdown easy button is just doing a tikka long action with 6.5 PRC proof prefit. Would probably save me some time and money, but what the fun in that? lol

I have a 7 saum in a tikka but I picked up a 6.5 PRC proof carbon prefit over the holidays. More rifles is better

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7 SAW Proof Blank on Tikka Action

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