Well this is how I spent my day...at the shop watching as my latest long range rifle was finished. I have had folks asking me what I was going to do for a target rifle and have been keeping it hush,hush as we waited for parts,etc.
First off I want to give a BIG thank you to my friend Jason Chipley of Chipley Arms for another fine build. He built my last 1000 yard rifle based on a Surgeon 591 and chambered in 6XC. Since then Jason has went from a garage builder to full blown custom shop located here in Redding,CA. Keep an eye open for more rifles by him. So far he has built 4 long range hunting rifles built on the Tikka actions for elk hunting in 7mm WSM and .300 WSM. My rifle makes #5 for the Tikka builds. I think I will have him build me a new coyote rifle very soon as well.
Ok...on to the rifle. It is based on a Tikka T3 action. Why a Tikka? Why not? They are one of the smoothest actions I have every used. Being an enclosed top action they are very strong. The triggers are very nice and with some minor tuning are even better. Jason reports that they are machined extremely well and need very little "truing" so for about half the price of a custom action you can buy a whole rifle and have a great foundation for a custom work down the road.
I know a lot of folks talk about the recoil lug setup on the Tikka's as well as the plastic mags,etc. Well in the factory stock this can be an issue with the larger calibers. But...that is where the KRG Whiskey 3 chassis comes in. And if you do not know, the Sako TRG rifles use the same type of recoil lug setup as the Tikka's.
I am VERY impressed with this chassis. This is their 2nd generation model. It is very sold and has lots of very nice features as far as adjustments,etc.
I had originally planned on making this another 6XC. But I could not find any barrels in the contour I wanted in 6mm so I decided on the 6.5X47 Lapua as the caliber. The barrel is a Kreiger med. Palma contour with a 1:8.5 twist. We ordered the reamer from PTG and it is throated for the 130gr Berger VLD's.
We finished it at 28"....yep...looonnngg. But I wanted to keep the velocity up and this rifle will only be a target rifle for some local benchrest and F-class shoots. And topped it off with a Badger FTE brake. A brake on a 6.5X47??? Yep...makes spotting your own shots VERY easy.
The scope base is a EGW 20 MOA and the scope is a NightFOrce NXS. The rings in the pictures are way to tall, but they are what I had on hand. They will be replaced with lower rings shortly.
Other items we replaced are are the bolt handle and bolt shroud. Both from Hinterland in Australia.
So...now all I have left to do is put some ammo together and shoot it!
I will post a range report soon.
Take care,Stan
First off I want to give a BIG thank you to my friend Jason Chipley of Chipley Arms for another fine build. He built my last 1000 yard rifle based on a Surgeon 591 and chambered in 6XC. Since then Jason has went from a garage builder to full blown custom shop located here in Redding,CA. Keep an eye open for more rifles by him. So far he has built 4 long range hunting rifles built on the Tikka actions for elk hunting in 7mm WSM and .300 WSM. My rifle makes #5 for the Tikka builds. I think I will have him build me a new coyote rifle very soon as well.
Ok...on to the rifle. It is based on a Tikka T3 action. Why a Tikka? Why not? They are one of the smoothest actions I have every used. Being an enclosed top action they are very strong. The triggers are very nice and with some minor tuning are even better. Jason reports that they are machined extremely well and need very little "truing" so for about half the price of a custom action you can buy a whole rifle and have a great foundation for a custom work down the road.
I know a lot of folks talk about the recoil lug setup on the Tikka's as well as the plastic mags,etc. Well in the factory stock this can be an issue with the larger calibers. But...that is where the KRG Whiskey 3 chassis comes in. And if you do not know, the Sako TRG rifles use the same type of recoil lug setup as the Tikka's.
I am VERY impressed with this chassis. This is their 2nd generation model. It is very sold and has lots of very nice features as far as adjustments,etc.
I had originally planned on making this another 6XC. But I could not find any barrels in the contour I wanted in 6mm so I decided on the 6.5X47 Lapua as the caliber. The barrel is a Kreiger med. Palma contour with a 1:8.5 twist. We ordered the reamer from PTG and it is throated for the 130gr Berger VLD's.
We finished it at 28"....yep...looonnngg. But I wanted to keep the velocity up and this rifle will only be a target rifle for some local benchrest and F-class shoots. And topped it off with a Badger FTE brake. A brake on a 6.5X47??? Yep...makes spotting your own shots VERY easy.
The scope base is a EGW 20 MOA and the scope is a NightFOrce NXS. The rings in the pictures are way to tall, but they are what I had on hand. They will be replaced with lower rings shortly.
Other items we replaced are are the bolt handle and bolt shroud. Both from Hinterland in Australia.
So...now all I have left to do is put some ammo together and shoot it!
I will post a range report soon.
Take care,Stan
and he would have if I wasn't there!!! Lol! Nice shooting bud and really nice rig! Props to Jason also-
