Tikka T3 300 WSM F Open Rifle

[ben_g]

A few points to make.

I shoot, among other barrels, a Barnard 300WSM in F-open here in Australia.

My first point is you definitely want it as close as possible to the 10kg limit, the 300WSM is a lot of gun to handle as far as making precision shots all day, day after day in competition.

Mine comes in at 8.8kg with a 30” 1.2parallel barrel. At the ACT queens I ballasted my stock (just forward of the action) to bring it up to 9.8kg which made a huge difference to how much bag upset I got from the recoil.

Secondly, you really want as much barrel on the big magnum as possible to be making that weigh, I have a club mate who used Tikka actions, and they shot very well, particularly with heavy varmint contour barrels. However when he hung a big parallel off one you could watch him fire it and see the barrel vibrating quite significantly up and down at the muzzle after the shot (I assume all this flex was in the relatively lightweight Tikka action) I certainly wouldn’t feel confident to hang a parallel barrel off one. (Hopefully a gunsmith night chime in and say I’m completely wrong)
Interestingly my club mate now has Stolle and Barnard actions.

Thirdly DO NOT shorten the fore end. When you hang a big heavy long barrel off your action, you want to long fore end aid with rifle balance and tracking, you can make small adjustments to this simply by how far forward in the bags you place the stock (this is adjusted with the fore end stop) for example my stock is 600mm from bolt cutout to the front of the fore end.

Have you considered barreling it in 7mm to a SAUM, the recoil and torque is SIGNIFICANTLY less than the 300WSM, particularly if initially shooting it off a bipod. With my SAUM barrel installed and no ballast my rifle is 9.2kg and is quite pleasant to shoot.

Finally, are you trying to pursue the Tikka action purely because you scored a stock for a decent price??
In this game the poor man pays twice. My recommendation would be to hold out for a Barnard action and put it in a good custom laminate stock (plenty of good stock makers here in Australia) you’ll thank me for that advice in the long run.
In the meantime barrel the Tikka with a modest sized barrel, but maybe shoot a lighter recoiling cartridge out of it, the big recoiling calibres need a very good stock, very good bag and rest setup and a bit of practise to make work.

Regards

Ben

 

[260AckImp]

A few points to make.

I shoot, among other barrels, a Barnard 300WSM in F-open here in Australia.

My first point is you definitely want it as close as possible to the 10kg limit, the 300WSM is a lot of gun to handle as far as making precision shots all day, day after day in competition.

Mine comes in at 8.8kg with a 30” 1.2parallel barrel. At the ACT queens I ballasted my stock (just forward of the action) to bring it up to 9.8kg which made a huge difference to how much bag upset I got from the recoil.

Secondly, you really want as much barrel on the big magnum as possible to be making that weigh, I have a club mate who used Tikka actions, and they shot very well, particularly with heavy varmint contour barrels. However when he hung a big parallel off one you could watch him fire it and see the barrel vibrating quite significantly up and down at the muzzle after the shot (I assume all this flex was in the relatively lightweight Tikka action) I certainly wouldn’t feel confident to hang a parallel barrel off one. (Hopefully a gunsmith night chime in and say I’m completely wrong)
Interestingly my club mate now has Stolle and Barnard actions.

Thirdly DO NOT shorten the fore end. When you hang a big heavy long barrel off your action, you want to long fore end aid with rifle balance and tracking, you can make small adjustments to this simply by how far forward in the bags you place the stock (this is adjusted with the fore end stop) for example my stock is 600mm from bolt cutout to the front of the fore end.

Have you considered barreling it in 7mm to a SAUM, the recoil and torque is SIGNIFICANTLY less than the 300WSM, particularly if initially shooting it off a bipod. With my SAUM barrel installed and no ballast my rifle is 9.2kg and is quite pleasant to shoot.

Finally, are you trying to pursue the Tikka action purely because you scored a stock for a decent price??
In this game the poor man pays twice. My recommendation would be to hold out for a Barnard action and put it in a good custom laminate stock (plenty of good stock makers here in Australia) you’ll thank me for that advice in the long run.
In the meantime barrel the Tikka with a modest sized barrel, but maybe shoot a lighter recoiling cartridge out of it, the big recoiling calibres need a very good stock, very good bag and rest setup and a bit of practise to make work.

Regards

BenView attachment 1142850

Thanks heaps for the detailed response, greatly appreciated.

I have been thinking long and hard still about this potential rifle build and the weight of the stock/rifle has me abit worried in regards to recoil which you mentioned to in your post.

Im going to contact the Gunsmith that ill get the work done at and ask his advice as he shoots and builds many F Class rifles. Im wondering if there would be a way to add weight to the stock (maybe into buttstock etc) so by time I get the 30" Heavy Varmint barrel installed its up around 9kg or so.

Funny you mentioned the 7mm as I spent some time today looking into 284 Winchester

 

[Willow]

Thanks heaps for the detailed response, greatly appreciated.

I have been thinking long and hard still about this potential rifle build and the weight of the stock/rifle has me abit worried in regards to recoil which you mentioned to in your post.

Im going to contact the Gunsmith that ill get the work done at and ask his advice as he shoots and builds many F Class rifles. Im wondering if there would be a way to add weight to the stock (maybe into buttstock etc) so by time I get the 30" Heavy Varmint barrel installed its up around 9kg or so.

Funny you mentioned the 7mm as I spent some time today looking into 284 Winchester

A 284 will be much easier to manage in your particular setup, plus it's one of those easy to tune cartridges so its a great way to get into F-open and be competitive.

 

[260AckImp]

A 284 will be much easier to manage in your particular setup, plus it's one of those easy to tune cartridges so its a great way to get into F-open and be competitive.

Had a good chat to Ben_G as he shoots a 300 WSM out of a Barnard, and he did state that while the 300 WSM is a great round it needs to be setup in a big heavy stock with a 1.25" parallel barrel and I'm not confident putting a barrel that big on a Tikka action.

At this stage im definitely leaning towards the 284 Win direction

 

[Bindi2]

I had ally stocks that made Alberts look short and light. Next I had stocks like BenG then I started cutting and shifting the weight to the muzzle shortening the forend. Then we started making stocks with short forends and light timber long pull and the game changed big time with the 30 06AI and the 7 06 AI Maybe I am just a bit further down the road or just a dumb retired grain grower who knows jack shite but is prepared to test or push the limit to find what works .. Still testing forend shapes and front bag rider next on the list. The CROs love me not but it is fun and a sport I enjoy. F O is not for the square thinkers. I will say it the 7mm will fail at the 2020 FCWC if a team is game to think outside the square.

 

[Dud]

My Axis project is a 284 because I didn't want to have to shoot 200+ grain bullets to get really good ballistic coefficients or use much more than 50 grains of powder to get them moving. It should be easier on the shoulder and the wallet, not much more expensive than 6.5 Creedmoor really.

I still don't think you have to worry about a straight profile barrel being too heavy for a Tikka action but there might be other reasons to go smaller. I'm not sure if they are good reasons for F Open competition but they are reasons.

 

[Ringostar]

If you’re going to use a bipod, then it is also included in the max weight of the rifle. The 284 Win is not a magnum bolt face. Since you already have a large bolt face, I would look into the 7 rsaum or 7-270wsm. They can tend to be barrel burners if pushed hard. However you can load them down in the 2800-2900 fps range, and get better life. The bipod can actually help control torque. If you really want 30 cal, using 200-215 gn bullets will be easier recoil than the 230’s if you end up light on rifle weight.

 

[Jeremy NZ]

My Axis project is a 284 because I didn't want to have to shoot 200+ grain bullets to get really good ballistic coefficients or use much more than 50 grains of powder to get them moving. It should be easier on the shoulder and the wallet, not much more expensive than 6.5 Creedmoor really.

I still don't think you have to worry about a straight profile barrel being too heavy for a Tikka action but there might be other reasons to go smaller. I'm not sure if they are good reasons for F Open competition but they are reasons.

Hi, I am looking to do similar as is being discussed here. I have a Tikka CTR 6.5 CM I’m wanting to rebarrel. I have a 30” Krieger 1.25” dia straight contour barrel.
I am conscious of the weight and have read conflicting information so was going to shorten to 26” and flute the barrel. Into a GGS Ranger Stock.


Barrel will be approx 8 pounds @ 26” (assuming fluting reduces by 8oz, less chambering and threading for fitting)
Stock 2.4 pounds
Action 2 pounds
Optic 2.8 pounds
Plus trigger, pic rail, rings.

does anyone have actual barrel weights/lengths they have used on tikka actions with success?

 

[Quickoz]

If anyone is going to hang a 1.25 Parallel of a tikka, no gunsmith worth his salt would do that I think. Just not advisable to hang a 4.5kg barrel of a lightweight alloy hunting action. Doing it off a Stolla Panda, yep fine. Its built for that. Dont do it to a tikka. Otherwise be prepared to bend the action I think. Just my personal opinion.

Why not sell the stock, and build a rifle thats proven to work well for what you want to do. Theres a bloke who runs Savage PTA actions for his 308 and F-Open rigs who is very successful. Just dont ever tell him I said that. I will NEVER hear the end of it. I would consider that option if you want to save a bit of money. Otherwise a Barnard is the best value for money route. If you want the best, get a BAT and dont look back.

Please mate. Your aussie, so smarter then the average yank do it smart and right and once. You will save a bucketload of money in the long run. Even though I know it doesnt seem like it now. Ive been there and done that.

 

[260AckImp]

Thanks again to everyone for their help, ive decided to go with a Barnard action to build a 300 WSM off of. Have almost saved up enough for the action and stock.

While im here, whats a good stock option to suit a Barnard?

 

[KenOath]

Thanks again to everyone for their help, ive decided to go with a Barnard action to build a 300 WSM off of. Have almost saved up enough for the action and stock.

While im here, whats a good stock option to suit a Barnard?

Since your in OZ a Ken Noye or Rob Eager will work well, from abroad the McMillan is hard to go past...

 

[Willow]

Since your in OZ a Ken Noye or Rob Eager will work well, from abroad the McMillan is hard to go past...

What Rushty said. If you have deep pockets and want something more exotic than that, then you could look at getting one of the new DIMA F-open stocks out of the Ukraine, they're gaining traction in Europe right now.

 

[Quickoz]

Go get a Ken Noye. Ask Matt Paroz to build you a rig. It will hammer.