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Tikka action build

T

tow2atm

Private
Minuteman
Mar 3, 2020
36
7
#1
I’m looking to build off a Tikka action. Would I be further ahead to just buy a new rifle and take the action out or try to find and buy the action only?
I only found J&A to sell Tikka actions. Anyone else out there?
And when you find an individual selling a Tikka action, they are gone in a blink of an eye.
I would need the magnum bolt face as I’m building a .300WSM.
Is there another decent company out there where I can get an action for $800ish. The closest I found was Origin (closer to$1000)by Zermatt and I already have the TL3 in a 6.5 PRC which is great, but looking to go lighter in weight and cheaper$$$ build.

Any input, suggestions, information or criticism is appreciated. Thanks!
 
#2
Yes, I've built many this way. I just buy a tikka lite and you're getting a good action and trigger for about $650. If you don't care about the look, you can put a tikka nut barrel (even though you can use a prefit) from Crown Ridge and have a tack driver barreled action for a little over a grand.

Keep in mind, this will stop making sense if you need to buy the tools to take it apart and put it back together. You need a really good barrel vice, an outside action wrench and some know how to get a tikka barrel off. Also buying whatever rings or rails you intend to use. Most custom actions they're included, tikka lite won't have them. If you don't already have the tools and are having to pay a smith to put everything together, you might as well just go with a custom action unless weight is a concern.

You can get a Mac Bros evo II for $775
 
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#3
lonestar1845 said:
Keep in mind, this will stop making sense if you need to buy the tools to take it apart and put it back together
Click to expand...
Wrong

The tools are a one time expense that are amortized over the rest of your shooting life and will more than pay for themselves the first time you figure in the cost and lead time of paying someone to replace the barrel for you.
 
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#5
If you worried about getting the factory barrel off a relief cut on the barrel right in front of the action works great. I had an older T3 in 30-06 that I wanted to use as a donor action and could not get the barrel off, instead of risking bending the action I made the relief cut with a cutoff disc. Barrel spun off the hand pressure.

The Lite barrels don’t have much resale value anyway.
 
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#6
I love a tikka.

For a good factory rifle.

If you are going to go all aftermarket, I would go Origin.
I say that having both of them.

Look at Front Range Precision.
Excellent dealer and has a lot of prefits in stock usually.
I use a proof CF prefit for my SA Origin 300 wSM. Very accurate.


Have heard more than once that Tikka barrels come off easier new than fired a lot.
Good vice on the barre and a couple raps from a hammer on a breaker bar works pretty darn great
 
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#12
I used my barrel vice and internal action wrench to swap barrels on two different actions on Wednesday.
6.5 CM barrel off my CTR action -> .284 Winchester carbon wrapped barrel on
26" 6mm CM barrel off Karen's T3X -> OEM 20" 7mm-08 threaded barrel from J & A Outdoors on for deer hunting

If you have the tools, you'll use the tools.
 
#16
As a guy who went through a factory Tikka barrel removal saga, you might want to just pay a smith to remove the thing.

Otherwise, if you use an external action wrench (as recommended), do NOT tighten it much on the sides. Like not much at all, as the action is real thin there.

I made that mistake despite fairly extensively researching how to do this (never removed a barrel on anything before). It was a super bitch to get a grip on a sporter barrel, let me tell ya.

Tore the threads right off the barrel! Roughed up the action threads too, but knowledgable folks have told me it’s salvageable if I run a large Brownells tap through it to clean it up.

I’ve got a few posts on the matter if you care to search.

Heck, I might sell the thing for cheap as I have no room for another rifle anyway.
 
#17
Any of the new Tikkas are really easy to get broken down. Barrels must not be nearly as tight as older ones where people have these issues. I've pulled 6 now and never had to use a mallet on the external action wrench more than twice.
 
#20
I agree that the barrel removal isn't too bad. Barrel vise with leather. External action wrench. And a couple of blows with a big rubber mallet.

Great service and products from Northland on the external action wrench and Southern Precision (bugholes.com) on an internal action wrench (preferred for reinstallation from what I could gather).

1000007151.jpg
 
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#27
OP, coming from someone that has built off of a few premium 700 clone actions and chased the lighter is better scam for years - I want to console you that outside of aesthetics and talking points with friends, custom clone actions, especially Ti actions, aren’t offering anything over a tikka t3x action.

I built off of the Mack bros and while they are an amazing manufacturer and the action is great, there’s no real world advantage over the tikka. Origins are good actions and I advocate for them, but I’d still take a 650 dollar donor tikka over one for a build.

As for weight, there is a point of diminishing returns especially with magnums. whatever build you do, focus more on a manageable weight that still offers forgiveness. You’d be much better off cutting a few ounces in the pack for a few more in a rifle you’re more comfortable shooting at further distances and spending more time behind during the off season.
 
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#35
MountainBum_ said:
OP, coming from someone that has built off of a few premium 700 clone actions and chased the lighter is better scam for years - I want to console you that outside of aesthetics and talking points with friends, custom clone actions, especially Ti actions, aren’t offering anything over a tikka t3x action.

I built off of the Mack bros and while they are an amazing manufacturer and the action is great, there’s no real world advantage over the tikka. Origins are good actions and I advocate for them, but I’d still take a 650 dollar donor tikka over one for a build.

As for weight, there is a point of diminishing returns especially with magnums. whatever build you do, focus more on a manageable weight that still offers forgiveness. You’d be much better off cutting a few ounces in the pack for a few more in a rifle you’re more comfortable shooting at further distances and spending more time behind during the off season.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the insight! That makes sense.
 
#36
R700 actions have several shortcomings, which is why there’s a healthy market for custom actions. If you look up the original shortcomings that the customs were trying to solve, you’ll find that Tikka actions solve them all.

Wider stiffer rear tang to prevent flex - check

Stiffer action - check

Smoother action - check

Shorter bolt throw - check

Consistency in manufacturing to allow pre-fit barrels - check

The fact that they come with a very nice trigger (that hasn’t suffered 2.5 recalls) is an often overlooked financial factor when considering your options.

It’s also worth noting, that unlike some of the custom actions, Tikka accomplished all of that while still maintaining a high degree of reliability in adverse conditions.

They aren’t perfect, but there’s nothing that comes even remotely close to offering so much for so little.

That $600 Tikka is actually 400 when you remember that the custom action you’re comparing it to will need a $200 trigger.
 
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#37
tow2atm said:
Thanks for the insight! That makes sense.
Click to expand...
He can’t see your responses, he got banned because he was the 2nd spam account for the same d-bag who got pissed at me in the other Tikka thread you posted. Even his responses are identical, including his sarcastic “Merry Christmas”. Some people are just really bad at pretending to be someone else. 😂
 
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#38
Evolution 9 said:
R700 actions have several shortcomings, which is why there’s a healthy market for custom actions. If you look up the original shortcomings that the customs were trying to solve, you’ll find that Tikka actions solve them all.

Wider stiffer rear tang to prevent flex - check

Stiffer action - check

Smoother action - check

Shorter bolt throw - check

Consistency in manufacturing to allow pre-fit barrels - check

The fact that they come with a very nice trigger (that hasn’t suffered 2.5 recalls) is an often overlooked financial factor when considering your options.

It’s also worth noting, that unlike some of the custom actions, Tikka accomplished all of that while still maintaining a high degree of reliability in adverse conditions.

They aren’t perfect, but there’s nothing that comes even remotely close to offering so much for so little.

That $600 Tikka is actually 400 when you remember that the custom action you’re comparing it to will need a $200 trigger.
Click to expand...
🤣😂🤣 Maybe compared to an actual Remington brand 700 action, but those custom aftermarket actions are FAR superior to any Tikka action of the line. You can buy 3-4 entire Tikka rifles for what some of these actions cost by themselves.
 
#40
FuhQ said:
🤣😂🤣 Maybe compared to an actual Remington brand 700 action, but those custom aftermarket actions are FAR superior to any Tikka action of the line. You can buy 3-4 entire Tikka rifles for what some of these actions cost by themselves.
Click to expand...

You crack me up. You read without comprehension and then laughed at the version of my comment that you created in your haste/error.

1. Yes, I specifically said that was in comparison to Remington actions 🤦‍♂️

2. Yes, Some customs are superior in some (or several) respects. Some are not. Custom actions initially had a terrible reputation for failing under reasonable use (competition). Some still suffer from this. All the while, Tikka had already solved every initial Remington shortcoming, without sacrificing reliability.

3. You’re making my point: at $400, Tikka actions stand absolutely alone as the deal of the decade for those wanting the improvements over Remington that customs provide.

Now, I’m known to spend a lot for diminishing returns on some of my gear, so I totally get it if someone prefers to spend 3X as much for a small improvement or added feature of a nice custom. I have a GAP I had built on a custom action many years ago. I love it.
 
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#41
For the price of a used action, Tikka's are tough to beat. The only real downside is stock/chassis options, but many of the big manuf inlet for tikkas. They have reliable triggers ($9 spring gets to below 2 lbs), take prefits, actions are butter smooth. Not dogging 700 clones but I'm switching my hunting rifles to Tikka actions.
 
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