308 tikka

[reconstyle]

I'm looking for a bolt action rifle that would mainly be a range gun, but could be used very occasionally for small-ish game (hogs, small deer)

I think I've settled on a T3x, but I'm wondering if I should try to find an in-stock model, or maybe buy the action and drop it in a bravo chassis. This is my first bolt action gun, so I'm admittedly unfamiliar with the modularity of it.

Looking for some guidance on this as far as buying a stock gun, or piecing one together.

If I go with the piecing together route, is all I'd need the CTR action, a barrel, and the bravo chassis?
What length/type barrel should I go with for a 308?
Is the CTR SS action the best one to go with?

I'm sort of a buy once cry once type of person, so I want to do this right the first time if at all possible.

 

[MK20]

All you need is the rifle and the Bravo stock. Assembly will take less than 10 minutes.

I would recommend the CTR.

 

[MK20]

If you are new, get the complete rifle and swap stocks. Much easier than buying action and barrel seperate.

 

[hafejd30]

I have and recommend the Tikka CTR 308 20” barrel. I have the blued model. But stainless or blued is up to you. Stainless will be a bit more corrosion resistant and tend to shoot faster (according to others). I haven’t tested speeds of mine against one

I recommend the krg bravo that uses the ctr mags. They make a ctr and AICS mag version. I prefer the double stack ctr mags. They feed super smooth in my rifle and the double stack is the same size as the AI AW mags. Which are comparable in size to the 5 round AICS. Saving you a decent amount of mag hangin out of the bottom of the rifle vs AICS 10 rounders

This is what a CTR 20” 308 in krg bravo would look like. Just a factory ctr pulled from stock and dropped in a bravo. No other modifications other than a few krg add ons to the bravo

 

[MK20]

Is that scope a burris? If so, how do you like it?

Sry for thread derail.

 

[hafejd30]

Is that scope a burris? If so, how do you like it?

Sry for thread derail.

It’s a Burris 3-15 XTRII. Love it. I’ve owned and used every XTRII model. The 1-8 and 3-15 are excellent. The 4-20 and 5-25 really start to suffer on the high end of magnification.

This is my November deer slayer in Michigan and backup to my primary crop damage rifle for deer during summer. Shots 100-500 yds typically

 

[MK20]

Looking at the xtriii as I get a pro deal. Might have to try it.

 

[MK20]

I miss the old Bushnell LRTS glass and scope quality for price and these seem close.

 

[hafejd30]

Looking at the xtriii as I get a pro deal. Might have to try it.

The XTRIII have better glass than the XTRII. You’ll likely be very happy with it.

 

[beetroot]

A 308 CTR in a KRG Bravo is definitely the easiest option.
You end up with a rifle that is more than capable enough for target shooting yet light enough for hunting.

If you were thinking over ordering a different barrel then don't bother with a CTR, just get the cheapest T3x you can find.

Some folk would recommend getting an AICS Bravo rather than the CTR version.
I personally prefer the CTR magazines but AICS is the industry standard (more or less) so I can see an argument to go that route from the start.

 

[Steel+Killer]

This is my first bolt action gun, so I'm admittedly unfamiliar with the modularity of it.

I don't see where you would gain anything from buying a Tikka action and going with an AM barrel other than just to say you have a "sort of / kind of" custom Tikka. Even if there was any accuracy to be gained from it doesn't sound like you got the experience to hold the difference anyway. (I don't mean that in a bad way) If I were you, I would do what others have said get a Tikka CTR and drop it in a Bravo chassis shoot it until you burn the barrel up then change out the barrel.

 

[reconstyle]

Got it, I will get a stock CTR rifle and then eventually swap it into a bravo chassis.

I take pretty good care of my things, so I'm not really worried about any potential corrosion on the non-stainless models, but I really do actually like the look of the stainless models better.

What's the functional difference between the 20 and 24in barrels?

 

[DeathBeforeDismount]

Here is my recommendation after owning a bunch of tikkas both stock and custom.

If you ever think you want a different barrel or plan to shoot enough to wear one out, buy a bare action and a action wrench. Trust me when I tell you getting a stock barrel off is not worth the time or cost unless you have a lathe, and the barrel will be trashed as a result.

Buy an action, Bolt, grab a prefit or have a smith make a barrel for you. Timney makes a nice trigger but the $5 trigger spring with a stock single stage tikka trigger is actually pretty nice. The spring on a stock tikka 2 stage is REALY nice but cost more than a custom trigger like the krg if you can even find one.

Mpa, acc, krg, manners, XLR all make stocks and chassis. I'm sure John Kyle would even make a foundation for you when he's not making babies.

The real benefit of the tikka is cheap take off barrels. $100-250 depending on what kind but you can have a whole pile of barrels to swap for less than a grand. Can take your action put a lw .243 and go deer hunting or put a 300wm barrel and drop into chassis and go shoot to a mile. Then you can take a CTR or TAC takeoff 24" in 6.5cm and go shoot some prs matches. It's a great platform if you plan to do a bunch of stuff and be be done cheaper than a full custom.

Here is one in a mpa matrix with a 6gt bartlien and a strek bolt.

 

[TheJeanyus]

What's the functional difference between the 20 and 24in barrels?

These may or may not matter to you depending on use, but:

Pros to a 20": Much nicer to maneuver around in the woods or a shooting house/blind if you're hunting with it, especially if you like to hunt with a suppressor. A little lighter if you're going to be carrying it around a lot.

Cons: ~100 fps lower velocity, balance point is not as far forward (will not balance as well off of barricades/props)

Personally if it was primarily a hunting rifle I'd go 20". For a target rifle I'd go 24".

 

[reconstyle]

These may or may not matter to you depending on use, but:

Pros to a 20": Much nicer to maneuver around in the woods or a shooting house/blind if you're hunting with it, especially if you like to hunt with a suppressor. A little lighter if you're going to be carrying it around a lot.

Cons: ~100 fps lower velocity, balance point is not as far forward (will not balance as well off of barricades/props)

Personally if it was primarily a hunting rifle I'd go 20". For a target rifle I'd go 24".

It's primarily a target rifle, I live in central Florida and I don't plan to be lugging it around the swamps/forest here.

 

[reconstyle]

Here is my recommendation after owning a bunch of tikkas both stock and custom.

If you ever think you want a different barrel or plan to shoot enough to wear one out, buy a bare action and a action wrench. Trust me when I tell you getting a stock barrel off is not worth the time or cost unless you have a lathe, and the barrel will be trashed as a result.

Buy an action, Bolt, grab a prefit or have a smith make a barrel for you. Timney makes a nice trigger but the $5 trigger spring with a stock single stage tikka trigger is actually pretty nice. The spring on a stock tikka 2 stage is REALY nice but cost more than a custom trigger like the krg if you can even find one.

Mpa, acc, krg, manners, XLR all make stocks and chassis. I'm sure John Kyle would even make a foundation for you when he's not making babies.

The real benefit of the tikka is cheap take off barrels. $100-250 depending on what kind but you can have a whole pile of barrels to swap for less than a grand. Can take your action put a lw .243 and go deer hunting or put a 300wm barrel and drop into chassis and go shoot to a mile. Then you can take a CTR or TAC takeoff 24" in 6.5cm and go shoot some prs matches. It's a great platform if you plan to do a bunch of stuff and be be done cheaper than a full custom.

Here is one in a mpa matrix with a 6gt bartlien and a strek bolt.

ok, forgive my ignorance as I'm trying to learn here, but are you essentially saying to just buy the tikka short action, drop it into a chassis and then with barrel swaps I'd be able to shoot basically whatever short action cartridge I want? (243, 308, 6.5 etc?)

 

[DeathBeforeDismount]

All tikka actions are the same. Only difference is the bolt size and bolt stop ( and magazine). Buy a tikka bare action with the bolts you want and put it together. It's easier than a Lego kit.

 

[carbonbased]

I too recommend a Tikka for the OP. I can’t really believe how nice they are. I was thinking of going for a Zeus, but wtf the Tikka is pretty amazing.

I guess if you prize the lowest bolt lift effort possible you should get a custom Rem version (Lonepeak? Something else? Not my area of expertise).

I wonder how Tikka manages to consistently produce that slick action in every single one of their rifles. And what is this space magic, anyway?

 

[noremorse92]

I have a switch barrel tikka and can confirm the hype is real. I got both my take offs for under 250 bucks a piece and for what is basically a match grade barrel you can't go wrong. I also have a custom Bartlein and it hammers too. Swap calibers in about 10 mins without removing the stock.

 

[Steel+Killer]

All tikka actions are the same. Only difference is the bolt size and bolt stop ( and magazine). Buy a tikka bare action with the bolts you want and put it together. It's easier than a Lego kit.

Just curious could you give some insight on the ones you have done in the past? Do you go prefit or do a barrel with a nut system to adjust headspace? If you did prefit did the headspace work out correctly? Also what tools did you need and the overall cost involved did you save a good bit of money?

 

[DeathBeforeDismount]

Tools depend on what you already have and what you need specifically for tikka. Only thing you really need tikka specific is tikka action wrench and maybe different bushings depending on barrels.

I don't do barrel nuts. Prefits are fine for factory ammo. There is about a .010 headspace range across tikka actions. If you really care about accuracy and saving brass I would get a barrel cut by a smith and record the dimensions so he can make more without the action.

I just buy take off barrels from ebay, gb or places like ja outdoors , throw them on and go shoot factory ammo. For hunting , plinking, ect they are awesome. For actual prs matches I would get a headspaced barrel, but plenty of people Yolo it with decent results.

I have a bunch of customs but like the tikka for its modularity and cost. I use them for hunting and for cheap customs like that prs rig that's used as a loaner.

 

[DeathBeforeDismount]

I too recommend a Tikka for the OP. I can’t really believe how nice they are. I was thinking of going for a Zeus, but wtf the Tikka is pretty amazing.

I guess if you prize the lowest bolt lift effort possible you should get a custom Rem version (Lonepeak? Something else? Not my area of expertise).

I wonder how Tikka manages to consistently produce that slick action in every single one of their rifles. And what is this space magic, anyway?

The fins actually sacrifice a Christian like the good old days for each action made. Their souls are used to smooth out each action. Then they drink mead and have a big orgy.

 

[1911Shootist]

If you’re interested in barrel swaps and tossing the factory stock, Tikka becomes an expensive option since you have to buy the whole rifle for just an action and trigger.

You can get a Solus Bravo on sale (20% off) right now. Add an action wrench and barrel vise and you can enjoy even more cartridge swaps thanks to the interchangeable bolt heads, for way cheaper than Tikka since you don’t need a whole new unobtainable bolt, and the factory Solus barrels come off easy - no chance of difficult removal Tikkas are known for.

Tikkas are great, but if you want modularity and high value, go full custom.

 

[DeathBeforeDismount]

Solus is a piece of shit. It's been beaten to death.

Tikka blows it out of the fucking water and it's not close. You can also buy action and trigger. Just have to pounce when a good deal pops becuase they go fast.

 

[hafejd30]

Some pop up in the sale section here as well. Both rifles or barreled actions

 

[carbonbased]

Ok, ya ready for some Tikka bolts?



Bolt bodies only (in CA, not sure if you can git ‘em in the USA):

Tikka T3 Bolt Body — PRPrecision - tikka bottom metal

Couple Tikka’s single action length with the increase in pre-fit and factory take-off barrels on the market today, aftermarket bolt bodies have been the final missing link to full, switch barrel capability on the Tikka platform. My T3 bolt bodies are CNC machined from 4340 and Nitrided for excellen

www.prprecisionrifles.com

Info from here:

Why is it near impossible to find Tikka bolts?

I apologize you believe I was nitpicking. But in my defense you did state "For a gun that claims to be so modular", then when questioned stated, "I didn’t infer that the manufacturer touted it as such." I find that to be kinda confusing. Who did then? I'd suggest either buy a donor rifle, or...

rokslide.com

Modular bolt in the works from Unknown Munitions?

UM Tikka Bottom Metal

Starting a new thread so the topic doesn't cause us all to 'ride the endorphin rollercoaster' more than necessary on the Rokstok thread where it was mentioned most recently. Also wanted to get a few of the questions that have been posed already in one place etc. A lot going on at @Unknown...

rokslide.com

 

[carbonbased]

The fins actually sacrifice a Christian like the good old days for each action made. Their souls are used to smooth out each action. Then they drink mead and have a big orgy.

That is some funny shit!

 

[LeftyJason]

Great advice above.

A few years ago I put this post together to help understand tikkas.
https://www.snipershide.com/shooting/threads/tikka-t3-thread.6252615/post-7301418

 

[carbonbased]

Great advice above.

A few years ago I put this post together to help understand tikkas.
https://www.snipershide.com/shooting/threads/tikka-t3-thread.6252615/post-7301418

A couple updates to that excellent post:
The KRG Midas trigger is offline as they are updating it – “expect early to mid 2024” was the answer I got (I had contacted them a month ago)

Bolts
LRI stopped making them I believe. Could be wrong. That Canadian shop is making them (link sbove).