Tikka 6.5 CTR any regrets not going 24”?

[berry79]

Getting ready to grab a SS Tikka 6.5 CTR in 20” but, now having second thoughts, lol. Anyone regret not going with the 24”. It’s just going to be a target paper puncher. Like the compactness of the 20 but, would hate to have wished I’d got the 24 down the road. Might go suppressed eventually. Probably only shooting out to 1000yds. I’m very OCD with accuracy. Is there much of a difference accuracy wise between the two. Haven’t reloaded in years. I’ll probably just stick with the factory loads for now, but who knows.

 

[ARShooter91]

Factory loads and mostly under 1k won't make a big difference. Doing a lot of shooting at 1k then the extra fps helps and if reloading you can eek out even more velocity from the 24"

 

[Tiger_Shilone]

I regret getting it in 20” as tikka factory (typical) barrels are very accurate but on the slower side. I bought it to shoot NRA silhouette comps as a factory rifle and I don’t have enough speed to generate enough ke to reliably knock down the rams with 140, 143, or 147 gr bullets. I ring about 1/5 to 1/4 of the rams, they stay standing and don’t count for score. Switched to a 22” bergara and haven’t had that problem.

 

[beetroot]

I say go long, especially if not suppressing and it's just a range rifle.

The added weight forward will help balance out the rifle if you decide to upgrade the stock/chassis.
The extra weight will help tame recoil and the length a bit more velocity.

I regret chopping my 223 from 22.5" down to 18", even with running a suppressor I wished I kept it longer.

 

[trob]

Same accuracy. The difference would probably be 100+fps.

I like my 20” 6.5cm CTR, but starting fresh, I’d go with the 24. I generally like to get the most out of a cartridge.

The 24” wasn’t offered until the year after I bought mine. It’s not enough of a difference for me to sell what I have and get a 24”. But if/when I shoot out the barrel, I’ll replace it with a 24

 

[kentuckyMarksman]

Just wanted to say that I'm happy with my 24" Tikka CTR. You won't go wrong with one

 

[CaptNemo]

24" and enjoy your extrs 100 FPS Velocity.

 

[WyomingShooter]

I have the 20" CTR in 6.5 Creedmoor and am very happy with it. I shoot suppressed 99% of the time and find the longer barrel cumbersome. As for the lost 100 fps, it's not a problem shooting paper and steel at known distances.

 

[plt228]

What type of speeds are the 20” barrels giving?
Been looking for a left hand ctr but can’t find any in 24”. Looks like it’s a 20” or I’ll go the origin or cdg route.

 

[beetroot]

What type of speeds are the 20” barrels giving?
Been looking for a left hand ctr but can’t find any in 24”. Looks like it’s a 20” or I’ll go the origin or cdg route.

My 19" 260 CTR is doing 2800fps with 130 ELDMs and 2700 with 140 ELDMs.

My 24" 6.5cm had too nodes with 130 ELDMs one at 2800fps and the other at 2950fps.
I didn't have any issues with the hotter load but I think it was definitely on the hot side.

 

[TheJeanyus]

What type of speeds are the 20” barrels giving?
Been looking for a left hand ctr but can’t find any in 24”. Looks like it’s a 20” or I’ll go the origin or cdg route.

I cut my 24” Tac A1 to 18” and lost ~130 fps. I’d expect a 20” to be about 100 fps slower than a 24”.

 

[berry79]

Thanks for the suggestions. Ended up going with the 20” as it was in stock. Definitely probably going suppressed in the near future. Here I go back down the rabbit hole. Probably been 15 years since my last rifle build and haven’t had much free time to shoot these past few years. Seems there are many new options around these days(chassis, scopes,etc….). The endless reading begins, lol

 

[LeftyJason]

What type of speeds are the 20” barrels giving?
Been looking for a left hand ctr but can’t find any in 24”. Looks like it’s a 20” or I’ll go the origin or cdg route.

Left handed options in heavier barrels aren't really imported except for these listed.

Limited it to 6.5 and 308 (there is more for 223 but not ctr). There are no imported stainless heavy barrel options in lefty. Hence why I bought my t3x as a lite stainless.

Jrtxc482 for a lefty 6.5 ctr (not showing 308)
jrtac416l 308 a1
jrtac482l 6.5 a1
jrtat482l brown 6.5a1

They only import the Jrt prefix models. Why they list the others I have no idea. Not even the Beretta flagship stores can get them in.

 

[Chris1972]

Beretta refusing to import many of their left handed rifles, then starting to enforce MAP pricing finally cost them my business. No doubt they don’t need it, but at the cost of a left handed T3X just to get an action I jumped ship for custom.

Believe it or not these are available to Canada's much smaller market.