keep tikkas or sell/trade for custom

[baredog]

need help from you experts..im thinking of either selling my tikka t3s to buy used custom or keeping one to use for action. i want a 6mm br or 223 for 300 yard target shooting. both are stainless t3 one in 22-250 ,other 223 both shoot well but i have custom itch.....dont beat me up too bad but im really having hard time deciding..............thanks barry

 

[Rdlningcltchdmpr]

How dare you ! If it ain't Tikka, it ain't sh#t.! All a Tikka needs is a good stock or if it's wood then piller bedding. Adjust trigger down to minimum. A top barrel / Krieger or other and correct twist /freebore for bullet's you plan on using. Good quality rings( Talley) glass bedded to action. Needless to say i am a big fan of Tikka actions. Go 6br no neck turn, 13.5" twist zero freebore. Bullets 55 grain up to about 68-70 ish.

 

[Nvclay]

I had to put a barrel on my T3 270 hunting gun to get less than 1 moa. Stock barrel was junk.

 

[JEFFPPC]

Tikas are good out of the box to a point, but a custom rifle with a good barrel and a bag friendly stock is a totally different animal. If its for match shooting I would use an action with a good 2 oz trigger available. That does not include Savage. Do it right once and you will be a happy shooter.

 

[baredog]

thanks for response..........kinda my thinking but sometimes i see some nice used customs on the classifies and start thinking of easy out i guess...thanks again

 

[baredog]

yea never owned a custom and own 4 tikkas and i thought about moving two to start custom but those tikkas sure shoot but need to experience the custom rife because what most guys say about the experience

 

[ttfreestyle]

Get yourself at least one custom, I like tikkas alot but a good custom and a good tune are soooooo much fun also!

 

[Dusty Stevens]

Tikka is the next best thing

 

[baredog]

everyone loves tikka and every one loves custom sooooooo........tikka custom yea?

 

[Evan]

Consider Jim Borden for your custom. His lead-time and price has always been very reasonable, his Rimrock actions are every bit the rival of BATs, and he really stepped up and fixed it when I had a small issue.

Tikkas are really nice actions but if you've never used a custom action and trigger that has been properly timed and tuned, then you really don't know what you are missing. It's a different beast than a "gunsmith" just bolting on a trigger and spinning a barrel on to a custom action, Rimrock, BAT, or otherwise.

My Rimrock, entirely built by Jim (2nd one is in progress and I'm really excited), puts my completely worked over, timed and tuned Rem 700 to absolute shame. If you can afford it, I think you will find it rewarding.

 

[blisle78]

Turned my Tikka T3 Hunter .308 Winchester into a semi-custom 6mm BR

 

[ckaberna]

Keep the tikkas and go ahead and dive into the custom world!!

 

[baredog]

thats a great looking rifle and the jim borden idea is interesting.......man my head is spinning thanks guys for the great info

 

[baredog]

my real problem is i buy these rifles and all reloading stuff and make loads for all of them and different powders and bullets and really want to have one great rifle and concentrate on it and shoot it more.. i feel im average with all master of none thanks again...sounds like im bitching but loving it all

 

[K22]

My Tikka T3X 223 Varmint (heavy barrel) shoots nearly at good as my custom Rem 700 with a Douglas Match barrel and in time may match it when I'm able to return to the range and do some load development. (We are in lock down and ranges are closed)

I would never get rid of a Tikka unless there was something wrong with it. I have 5 of them and they are shoot terrific. The triggers are as good as it gets for a factory rifle and rival my custom tuned triggers. The action is smooth and work flawlessly. The stock is stiff enough for precise shooting. The extractor is outstanding and reliable. I'm not crazy about the polymer magazine but so far it's held up. Dollar for dollar the Tikka is the best factory offering value that I've experience on the market.

I guess if you're a serious bench rest competitor where extreme precision is needed a custom rifle with a proven bench rest caliber would be an improvement but for my money the Tikka is hard to beat.

 

[GSPV]

I have a T3 in a Manners stock with a Broughton barrel in 7x47 Lapua. It is an awesome rig for everything but competitive benchrest.

 

[jaytee]

I've only owned one Tikka and that was several years ago, a T-3 in 25-06 and it was without a doubt the smoothest factory action I've ever worked. Should've kept it!!

 

[Rdlningcltchdmpr]

Turned my Tikka T3 Hunter .308 Winchester into a semi-custom 6mm BR

The bolt is on the wrong side !

 

[Field_2_Fork]

I'm a hunter, not a competition or target shooter, but I hope to be someday!

With that being said I'm a huge Tikka fan, particularly the old ones. It started with an M65 in 7RM Deluxe that my Dad gave me close to 15 years ago.

Since then in the old M65 or M55 I've added a .270, 2 x .30-06, HB .243 - all in Deluxe model and excellent condition.

Also a 7RM, .243 and .25-06 in the M595 and M695 series.

One day I hope to build one or two of them into trued, semi-customs. I've thought the .30-06 would make a good 6.5-06, though I see very little about that cartridge here, or anywhere really...?

I'm glad to see there is some Tikka love here, among such skilled and knowledgeable shooters.

 

[baredog]

yea there sure is alot of tikka love and for good reasons thats what makes my decision so hard hard to sell rifles that shoot but would need to get rid of a couple to help fund the custom rifle....probably should keep them untill i shot out barrels then and go from there ,but customs really get the juices flowing ....again thanks for all the comments