Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Tikka t3 aftermarket stocks

HA! I know, I know, but that is all my buddy had and those old sleds might not be fast but they get you up the trail and they are easy to move around should they get caught in a drift.



The big ones aren’t quite as easy to muscle around.

Was thinking the exact same thing . . . . .

I just thought Scotty was like Paul Bunyon... ha ha..

My 7mm Rem Mag recoil lug hasn’t been an issue. I imagine the .338 kicks a bit more.

You can buy aftermarket recoil lugs.

Stainless baby:


However, I think he was wondering about the aluminum lug on the B&C stock. Mine was on a 204 and now on a 22-250. The funny thing about the old T3 is the Aluminum recoil lug did not hold up well on even the 22-250. I have one as proof. Actually bought that one from a guy that said it didn't shoot well anymore. I'm a di ck, I knew the aluminum recoil lug was shot, so I bought it, replaced it with a stainless lug, glassed and continued to shoot like this:



That rifle ^^^^^cost me $500 and is a varmint model.. It shoots damn well now. Had the same thing happen with my second CTR I bought. The owner bragged about how good it shot at 300 yards, but he only shot 3 shot groups. I found once I started putting more than 5 shots downrange, groups would open up:


The CTR has a steel recoil lug, but this one was kind of torn up and wobbly inside the inletting of the action and stock. When things are loose, your rifle isn't going to shoot well. Just how it is


You can see where the action was eating into the steel lug. The aluminum one on my 22-250 varmint was much worse. After bedding:

Dropped one out of the group on the right. Rifle shoots much better after replacing the original lug with a stainless one. The stainless one fits very tight and I don't have to worry about it wearing out too soon.. I don't shoot this second CTR much, as my first one is the one I normally use, but I had them both out yesterday testing a new bi-bod:


The last time out with my #2 CTR, was a while ago, but did not do too bad at 600:


It holds it's own..

All my groups are eleventeen shots. They just look like three because the other shots go through the same holes.




P

On a "hunting" rifle, it really doesn't matter. I shoot a lot of comps, so my CTR's especially need to be able to hold multiple shots on target, at long range, without deviation. Then when I miss, I only have myself to blame because I know what my rifle is capable of. Was just at the range with my buddy that just went though SWAT training. We were shooting one of my new rifles and we were tagging the small targets (3", so not real small) at 400 yards:


even with the new Ruger m77 mk2 300 RSAUM. Just put that in a different stock, but it's shooting pretty fn good. Not Tikka good, but good enough to slay elk at 600...

All of my Tikkas are finely-tuned target rifles capable of quarter-minute accuracy at 1,000 yards as long as I do my part.

Sure they are.. You have said on many occasions that your Tikka's aren't even glass bedded. However, there are a lot of guys here that think their hunting rifles are just that. One recently said his was exactly .457 moa. or something to that effect. Still wondering how he came to that exact figure??

Come on, man, I threw you a hanging curveball over the plate with the “as long as I do my part” statement.





P

BSA - can you post any more pics of the bedding on the Tikka. I'm a little unclear on exactly what you bedded?

Thanks,

Jeff

I purchased a B&C for a T3. It appeared something was machined improperly in the aluminum or the stock was molded at an angle. The barrel was pushed to one side of the channel. For $340+ shipping, I sent the damn thing back. I do not recommend the B&Cs anymore. That isn't the first sub-par stock I've had from them.

Hi buddy. Sorry for the late response. I was in Washington at a gunshow, selling and trading a few things. I've answered other members here regarding pictures of the bedding work and responded to PM's. Also answered your pm. These Tikka's are very much different than the typical model 70's I normally work on. There is a bit more to them as far as what I'll do to wring them out. As you know, there are your naysayers here that think their rifles shoot good enough as is, or maybe as good as mine, but I know that is laughable. In a mechanical aspect, they are not up to snuff for how I shoot, but yes they will work just fine as a hunting rifle is concerned. Some guys don't shoot the way I do either. In every competition I shoot in, you are going to be sending 10 ore more shots downrange in a string. This does not matter if it is paper targets or steel silhouettes and you are always going to have to shoot against the clock. You can't just sit there and wait for 5 minutes for your barrel to cool between shots. When guys say they do this scidt, I just laugh. That is not the "real world", sorry guys. So I need my rifles to perform to a certain level. Furthermore, I'm shooting against guys that don't fu ck around:

I'll share with you a cool before and after pic of what I call "CTR 1". I call it that because I have 2 identical CTR rifles chambered in 6.5 Creedmire.. It's kind of my baby, because I've had it longer than the other one. It's slightly more tricked out, but still retains the bone stock look.. So, here's how it shot after glass bedding and new stainless recoil lug set in place:


Now, after a little tweaking:

(Warning, this is not going to help all rifles: Some do not like bedding under the chamber, but I felt the barrel may need a little more support). It worked in the case of my CTR 1:


Groups slightly edge out the other groups I was getting. By a small degree, but I'll take it.. Also, as for posting a lot of pics of my Tikka bedding work. I probably won't do that. I gladly answer and send pics to guys that ask for them in PM's, because there are a lot of naysayers here for some reason. They get their panties in a wad... I post pics of my model 70's glass bedding jobs and have tutorial threads on the subject, but those rifles have been around for nearly 100 years. The Tikka's are a little more proprietary when it comes to stock bedding.. As with all of these systems, a little mechanical knowledge goes a long ways.... I'll just leave it at that..

Only 10 shots?

Good looking work BSA! I've painted a bunch of stocks for people and know exactly what you're doing with that recoil lug. I've seen several that look like a beaver chewed the lug. Most is just carelessness putting the action and stock back together. I'm currently down to one Tikka, but when I put the action back in the stock I put the action in my lap upside down, then lower the stock onto it. This way you have the lighter part in hand and can better feel things line up before starting to screw them together.