Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Custom Rifles & Wildcats Tikka T3 / AG Composites Privateer

Well, the final piece of the puzzle came today. Been in the process of building a Tikka in 7 SAUM, and while I had a Mesa Precision Attitude stock on another T3, I really wanted to try one of AG Composites Privateers. So I had one ordered by a local dealer. (Currently, AG only sells the Tikka inletted Privateer to dealers). It showed up today after 16 weeks (originally quoted as 10-12 weeks).

Prior to the AG stock arriving I did put the 7 SAUM in the Mesa stock and shot some factory Remington 140gr CoreLokts that I had squirreled away in the reloading area. Surprisingly, to me anyway, (never had a lot of luck with CoreLokts when it came to accuracy) this ammo was easily MOA @ 100; velocity averaged 3140fps across my MagnetoSpeed. Ultimately I’d like to load Nosler Partions – 150gr or 160gr, maybe even Switft 160gr A-Frames (hint, in cae anyone has any laying around a are willing to part with.)

Notes of potential interest.

1) Bottom metal stands a little proud of the inlet, however, the magazine seats fine a feeds well.
2) Comes with the recoil lug NOT bedded.

So the build looks like this:

Tikka T3, Mag BF
Proof Pre-fit, 24”, 1-8.4T
Muzzle Brakes and More, 5-port, side baffle, self-aligning brake
Lumley Alloy triggerguard/bottom metal
Mountain Tactical Gen 2 LA billet mag (feeds like butta)
Mountain Tactical 20MOA rail
AG Composites Privateer, w/texturing on the grip and forend, and 2 QD Swivels on the left
Leupold VX5-HD, 3-15x44 (for now)
Receiver, barrel shank, muzzle, and bottom metal Cerakoted H-237 Titanium

Shown with Mesa Precision Attitude stock below.

Pretty sweet setup. How much shorter is the forend compared to the Mesa Precision?

Can you give us a weight?

Looks great! I've had a chance to handle the Privateer on several different builds, its a really nice stock especially for a pure hunting rig.

Scott, forend on the Privateer is pretty close to 2 1/2" shorter than the Mesa.

All up weight as pictured is 8lb 2oz. Stock alone is 26oz.

Played with it a little this afternoon. Tikka's plastic bottom 'metal' fits the inlet perfectly and everything sits in place, and tightens up as it should. Slightly different story with the Lumley alloy bottom metal. Lumley sits a little proud of the inlet and itself is thicker, and action screw thread engagement is minimal. Not sure how I'm going to approach correcting this. I could mill the inlet slightly deeper, or use longer screws. For now I'm going the direction of longer screws. Ordered them from McMaster-Carr, but will likely have to turn the head diameter down .020-.025 for them to fit the recess in the Lumley bottom metal as well as shortening them a tad. Time will tell. If I could bring myself to be content with the factory plastic bottom 'metal', everything would be roses. But I can't . . . . so changes need to be made.

My Privateer came in today for a T3x. I have run into the same problem as you did WiFowler. The rear action screw is about 2 threads away from catching. I have the Mountain Tactical bottom metal on mine and it sits just slightly less proud than yours does.
Which screws did you order for yours if you don't mind me asking?
Thanks

WiFowler, do you have sharp or proud points in your texturing by chance? I received my Privateer a couple of weeks ago and there is a very small area on the left side of the forearm texture where the texture was applied a little thicker. There is also a bit of a sharp point there, and a 2 or 3 small sharp points in the grip texture. Very, very minor in the grand scheme of things, just curious if it was par for the AG course.

Overall, the ergos feel great to me and I’d not hesitate to order another one. Anxious to get the rifle put together and take it for a test drive.

Mine is inletted for a Defiance AnTi short action and weighs 24.9oz.

I ordered longer screws from McMaster-Carr - M6-35 and M6-50 as I recall. I should note that after receiving them, I chucked them in the lathe and turned the head dia down about .030", so that they would sit properly in the recess in the bottom metal, and shortened them as needed. I also thinned the head thickness. These are the screws I ordered.

96970A129 18-8 Stainless Steel Low-Profile Socket Head Screw, Hex with Pilot Recess, M6 x 1 mm Thread, 35 mm Long
96970A133 18-8 Stainless Steel Low-Profile Socket Head Screw, Hex with Pilot Recess, M6 x 1 mm Thread, 50 mm Long

Taking this a step further . . . I am currently working thru an issue with feeding with the Lumley bottom metal / Mountain Tactical magazine. I don't have the original Tikka bottom metal, so I can't use it as a reference point in this stock or for testing. The problem I have is that the front of the magazine doesn't sit deep enough in the mag well. Rounds (dummy) hit the receiver and not the feed ramp when pushed forward by the bolt. In all likelihood, I'll mill the bottom metal inlet deeper. Since the recoil lug came un-bedded, I'll need to bed it. At the same time I may look into inletting the receiver a tad deeper. Because I don't have the original Tikka bottom metal, I can't really point a finger at AG for poor inletting. As for needing longer screws, that's on AG as far as I'm concerned.

Gristle, would be interesting to know whether the screws need to be longer when the original Tikka bottom metal was used. If screw length remains an issue with the Tikka bottom metal, then AG needs to know and make adjustments to their inletting.




No issues with the texturing on my Privateer. 23.5 oz for my Privateer. Nice, stiff forend and all-around ergos.

I have an original bottom plastic for a t3 and t3x I can send you if you would like to compare them. Just pm me your address and I’ll put them in the mail.

Mine feeds slick as snot with with the Mtn Tactical bottom metal. I ordered the M6 - 45mm. The threads catch on the rear of the trigger guard but the head diameter of the screw prevents them from being able to get a couple more threads without being turned down as you are able to do with a lathe.

Edit to add-
Installed factory bottom plastic on with original action screws. Plastic still sits almost as proud as the Mtn Tactical bottom metal. Original screws engage action and torque down easily. Feeds just as well with both factory and Mtn Tactical magazines.


Mtn Tactical


Factory

Gristle,

Thanks for the offer of your Tikka bottom plastic. Before reading this I was exchanging some texts with a local guy I know that put a Tikka in an ioTa stock and used Lumley bottom metal. He offered his original Tikka bottom plastic up for my fitting/testing. (He also has no problem with me removing the 'alignment pins' on the bottom plastic as they won't permit the piece to sit in the inlet what-so-ever, as I'm sure you are aware). He's going to drop it off in the next day or so. With it in hand I'll be able to get a better idea of what direction to take.

One of the things I've noticed is that when the magazine (factory or Mtn Tactical) is inserted, the mag sits at an angle. That is to say the front of the mag sits out further than the rear. When inserted, the front of the mag goes well past the mag release and then springs back to rest on it. The front of the mag can easily be depressed .100-.150" past the mag catch. If I insert the mag and hold it in place, all the way against the bottom of the receiver, rounds feed 'better', but still not as well as they should. It's a 60/40 proposition when it comes to feeding with the mag held in place by hand.

Back to screw length. In my case the original screws gave me about one turn of engagement on the front screw The rear screw was easily a .125" or more away from even coming in contact with the rear tang hole.

Got the feeling that this one is gonna take some time and thought to figure out.

Yeah, I snipped that alignment pin right off. I may a customer that I deliver to, turn down the screw diameter for me. He has 3 lathes and is a retired machinist with time on his hands. It works as is, but it’s butt ugly. The bottom metal does not concern me to much since the it has the magazine hanging out. Could it be better fitted?….sure but it’s not a deal breaker for me. I like the feel of the Privateer, it’s a darn nice stock.

Not to hijack, but where are you guys getting the stock from? Doesn’t look like you can get it off the AG Composite website.

Thanks

I called AG and they gave me a list of people who I could order it through. You cannot order a stock directly thru them. I got mine thru Nielsons Customs in Utah.

Gristle,
Thanks for the tip. I’ll give them a call tomorrow.