Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Custom Rifles & Wildcats What would you tweak on a Tikka to improve it for an Elk Rifle

I ordered them and waited. They’ve been about a month lately.

Stainless lug and maybe a slight upgrade to the T3X stock. The stocks come up in the Classifieds at times, you could probably start a WTB thread and find one fairly cheap.

The next most common upgrade is the bottom metal.. I have to wonder though if any who have made this upgrade have noticed an improvement in accuracy?

https://tikkaperformance.com/

That is mountain tactical I believe were you could get springs to upgrade the trigger. The trigger isn't bad as is but it is a cheap upgrade. You can also upgrade the bolt shroud to a metal one. There are stocks out there but most people I have heard said they didn't improve accuracy over the factory one.

My son's 270 tikka has taken multiple deer for him and a 6 point bull this fall. He won the rifle at a youth charity event. The only thing we did is swap a limbsaver pad on it and throw a 6x leupold on it. He was shooting 110 tsx for deer when he first got is as he was pretty young and they helped keep the recoil down and dropped deer like any other larger bullet. He did bump up to the 145 eldx for the elk though.

I would get a good picatinny rail from any of a number of sources (mountain tactical, EGW, Near, etc.) and some good tactical type rings. Once I got it sighted in--so I was sure it was on the money, I would epoxy the rail to the action. Can't decide if I would get a 0 MOA rail or go for a taper.

Elk hunting can be a rough and tumble game, and I think the scope mounting system on the Tikkas may be their weakest link. Overall, I am big fan of the rifles and think they are a great choice (I think there are 5 or 6 of them under my roof right now.) I do think a 300 Win 180 gr load in a rifle that light will be snappy, which would also argue for my epoxied rail approach. The rail would also give you a lot more latitude to get the eye relief just right, which is always a good thing and doubly so with quick recoiling rifles.

You don't have to do anything, although a better recoil bad would be good, and you will need a steel recoil lug after a few shots.

If you want, you can swap into a T3X stock, and get a better recoil pad and a stainless steel lug as well as two different styles of grip.

The plastic bottom "metal" is perfectly serviceable, but the one from Mtn Tactical is worlds better.

Triggers are outstanding and adjustable. If you want to go lower, you can swap in a spring from Mtn Tactical, McCarbo, or Ernie the Gunsmith and be lighter than a hunting rifle ever should be.

If you keep the original T3 stock, you may want to fill the butt with spray foam to decrease the "hollow" noise when something taps against it. The T3X stocks are already filled.

If you want to go all out, the Sako Hunter stock from McMillan is an outstanding choice.

Many folks add a break on the 300WM. Personally I detest muzzle breaks, but I hunt suppressed, so can't really say much.

Oh...and Utah is right, the stock T3 rings leave a lot to be desired. You can go with a rail and rings, get a set of Talleys, or order Sportsmatch rings from England (ebay). All are much better choices than the stockers.

I'd buy something that I didn't feel the need to or want to tweak.

MM

An extra magazine loaded ready to go in an accessible but secure location. Mb

Recoil pad, SS or Ti recoil lug, lighter trigger spring, swap out the bolt handle/knob for one slightly longer and larger, SS bolt shroud, metal BM, bed the action.

That ain't the rifle loony way.

Only thing I would swap out is the factory rings. So many good choices on the market no need to stick with the factory rings.

bed the action?

Is there a material that can be poured into the stock? I'm a little afraid of spraying foam into such a confined area.