Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Custom Rifles & Wildcats Using a Tikka Action for a Build

LRI offers a “Tombstone” recoil lug conversion that creates a Remington style washer recoil lug.

Is this a worthwhile conversion?

Axtell

You mentioned that the Tikkas are bedded in factory stocks. Are you referring to the synthetic or wood or laminated stocks?

Are you using the original recoil lug system?

They are in synthetic stocks and bedded according to Nathan Fosters parameters for bedding the T3 stock.

Stock lugs are changed to steel as opposed to aluminum in some older T3's

I’ve seen a few tikka builds and the gunsmith has cut the action face back and installed a rem style lug. I think PTG makes a lug for such a conversion.
Hells canyon arms builds on tikkas if you need a good gunsmith.

I’d still like to know for sure if tikka actions are threaded metric..some research tells me they’re not:

https://rifleshooter.com/2017/09/building-a-custom-tikka-t3t3x-precision-rifle/

https://forum.snipershide.com/threads/gunsmiths-who-have-worked-on-tikka-t3-actions.185177/

I’m also pretty sure the scope base mounting holes are threaded US (or SAE)

They are a standard 1/16 thread. You have twice as much tenon than a factory Remington or Winchester but that is a good thing that custom action makers add to there actions.

Also, I do not see any practical reason for a Rem 700 style recoil lug for the T3.

This is turning into a decent thread with many asking good questions and answers forthcoming. I see the Tikka becoming a more common option of choice in the near future since they’re are a lot of T3 rifles out there that have been hunted hard and relegated to the back of some gun safes.

Learning that most Tikka actions don’t require the extra truing up for accuracy alone was valuable. I may add a link to our “Gunsmith” sub-section and see what additional information may come from it.

I don’t Smith on my rigs. I’m only trusting of myself to set bases, rings, mount scopes and change out stocks where little inletting is needed...

But, I can speak from a “wallet” point of view being I’ve spent tens of thousands of dollars on actions, barrels and triggers alone.

I’ve purchased many a donor rifle just for the Rem700 action. Then extra costs to square it up, etc....Personally, I don’t mind the look of a Tikka action and it’s a heckuva a lot cheaper than buying a Sako action/donor rifle which I’ve also done...😎

Yes he does....But, his issues are mostly about COAL and crap magazines that aren’t AI compatible. This could be addressed with a new build....Or, a guy could stay with a BDL if he liked simple. 😎

I kinda dig how the bolt is locked down on safe as well.. some don’t give a darn, but I kinda like that part.

I don’t think the factory plastic mags suck all around. The 223 mags do limit coal, but for 308 boltface chamberings the M+ mags that were released when tikka started chambering in 6.5cm allow something like 2.9” OAL. You can get them in 5 round extended capacity, which is plenty for hunting. $40-45 each.

For a range rifle, the CTR mags are pretty good also. 2.96” max OAL, 10 round double stack. They’re $85 each, so a little more expensive than AICS.

And I believe grayboe is now making a CTR footprint dbm that uses AICS mags for those so inclined. They also inlet their Terrain stock for tikkas now

I think I have at least 7 tikkas currently and have done a few more builds with others. My latest I just picked up is a 6.5 prc build. This smith did use the tombstone lug after facing the action . This is a first for me, but the rifle shot the factory 147 for him in the .4s, so I'm not going to argue. The m+ mags are a great short action option. I've been running the 180 eldm s for giggles out of my 7mm08 at 2.95 and the damn things shoot, even though everything on computer says factory barrel and sea level should not. I've had at least 5 tikkas re barreled and not one has ever needed any truing

I’ve been considering a 280ai build on a tikka action for quite a while and wondering if anyone has a smith recommendation for tikka work? The only thing that gives me some concern is i’d like to at least have the option to run some high BC bullets up to 168-175gr bullets and the magazine Max COL is pretty short.

I think more and more gunsmiths are working on them these days. I’d probably think of who you’d use for a Remington or custom action build, then ask them if they do Tikkas.

LRI in SD works with them for sure, as mentioned they were offering the “tombstone” lug retrofit several years ago.

Southern precision rifles, bugholes.com offfers his “bugnut” system prefits for tikkas. Criterion makes prefits.

I know of at least a couple gunsmiths in Texas that will rebarrel tikkas, PM me for names if you’re interested.

Ku Geo, I had a 280ackley tikka that I sold to a member here. When throated correctly there is no issue with high bc bullets. I mainly ran hornady 162amax, never tried the much higher as far as bc bullets went. I purposely needed it to shoot barnes and that it did. Also pm me for a smith recommendation, I have one in Colorado

A good machinist should be able to chamber and thread the barrel with out issue, then screw it to the already very good receiver.

I have run 162 ELD-X's, 180 Berger Hybrids, Lapua 180 Scenar's, and the Hornaday 175 ELD-X.

The 162's run ~2850 ft/s the 175 and 180's run ~2725 ft/s.

I load to magazine length and have a bit more than 0.100" jump to the lands.

No issue (when I get the wind right) getting hits on an IPSC Target at 1160 yards (target is roughly 22" tall x 17" wide).

I use a 10X SWFA, side parallax adjustment, in Burris Signature Zee Rings on a Talley pic' rail.

The 175 ELD-X is ideal for the 280ai if you are using a standard cup/core bullet. Its performance window pretty much mirrors the velocity of the 280ai, this is to say the bullet will perform as advertised from under 100 yards to past 800 or so yards. The load is 54.54 grains of H4831, brass is formed from Lapua 30-06, and Federal match primers. Barrel ( Benchmark 8 tw 5R) is 24" from bolt face to muzzle....23" from receiver to muzzle.

Curious about the metric thread, and what machine is producing the desired metric pitch with a gear change.

Whatcha thinkin Mark? PRC? Nice now McMillan has handles for em now.

Kicking around a Tikka for my first semi-somewhat-custom.

Lower priced custom actions like the Bighorn Origin and ARC Nucleus with switchaloo bolt heads have complicated the issue some.

Right now, I'm leaning Origin, because I want a .223 Ackley and a 6 or 6.5 Creed, but I'm still trying to work out the logistics/expense.

Good info on 280ai and mag COL. That’s been one the only major concern I had and sounds like it’s a non issue. Now just need to find an action.

Jud, the PRC is an EVO action...I was just kicking tires on a Tikka for future endeavors. Grin 😎