I've bought a couple of Tikkas in the past couple months and they seem like ok rifles but the clips are certainly short not allowing one to load anywhere near the lands for accuracy as well as gaining precious powder capacity in the SA carts.

That said, it appears this is an easy fix on the SA carts. Since the LA and SA cart mags are interchangeable on these rifles and the only difference is the bolt stop/bolt release lever, it appears a new mag and a new bolt release is all that's needed to make the short action carts in the T3s capable of reaching the lands.

This mod would greatly help the selection of bullets as well in my 338Fed. The plastic tipped bullets(200 NBT & NAB) have to be seated so deep they rob a ridiculous amount of powder capacity as well as the looonnng jump to the lands.

Have any of you done this simple mod to get more performance from these rifles?

Thanks,

Reloader

Surely there are some SA Tikka shooters out there looking for a longer mag?


It seems to be an easy fix with a new bolt release and a new LA cart Magazine, just wondering if anyone has done this and where they bought the new LA bolt release.

Thanks,

Reloader

I have a T3 in 308Win.

I wanted to seat bullets out farther, so what I did was:

-take the bottom plate off the mag

-use a dremel to cut out the spacer. Use a chisel to make it nice and clean

-cut out the spacer at the top of the mag

-cut out a thin strip of 1/4" lexan and glue it to the inside rear of the mag (leaving the all of the extra space resulted in poor feeding)

-epoxy a piece of plastic to extend the follwer to the correct length (I cut the spacer out in one piece and used a piece of it to glue to the follwer)

-take out the bolt stop and use a hacksaw to cut out 1/4" to allow the bolt to move farther rearward

Works perfectly and I didn't have to spend any money.
I gained 1/4" extra capacity.

So Reloader, have you tried it yet?

Buying a long action mag and cutting your own bolt stop would be the easiest fix...but the mags aren't cheap.

quote:

So Reloader, have you tried it yet?

No Fumbler, I haven't shot or tinkered with my rifles in two weeks as other stuff has been going. I did however look on the net for the bolt releases and I can't find them anywhere. I guess I'd have to buy them from Tikka. Surely Tikka parts are available from some source?

Have a Good One,

Reloader

The "L" magazine on the standard caliber Tikka's limit your OAL load to 3.365". While this can lead to a long jump to the rifling, it doesn't affect accuracy. I usually try to start at .030" off the rifling but sometime have to settle with .060 to .115"! The odd thing about this is that all my 4 Tikkas shoot moa or better.
Is it the Sako barrel showing off what it can do or doesn't the COL matter as much as we think? Its too bad US made rifles can't duplicate out of the box Tikkas. A 6# 3oz. long action rifle for around $560 is pretty hard to ignore and I am not a fan of detachable magazines.

quote:

Originally posted by M774now:
The "L" magazine on the standard caliber Tikka's limit your OAL load to 3.365". While this can lead to a long jump to the rifling, it doesn't affect accuracy. I usually try to start at .030" off the rifling but sometime have to settle with .060 to .115"! The odd thing about this is that all my 4 Tikkas shoot moa or better.
Is it the Sako barrel showing off what it can do or doesn't the COL matter as much as we think? Its too bad US made rifles can't duplicate out of the box Tikkas. A 6# 3oz. long action rifle for around $560 is pretty hard to ignore and I am not a fan of detachable magazines.

It reminds me of shooting weatherby's with their unusually long throat. I think the idea of getting the bullets .30 off the lands is to minimize gas blowby on the front of the bullet thereby minimizing shot to shot pressure variances, but I could be wrong on that one.

John

Hello M774now,
Don't believe the concern was accuracy as much as loss of powder charge due to the bullet being seated so deeply. Can assure you all the years shooting long range matches, very few if any shooters would seat their bullets some .115 from the lands and grooves!! (Talk about a leap of faith!!) I might further add that for every Tika sold in the U.S. there are probably some 100 or more Rugers,Remingtons, and Savage rifles sold and obtaining parts is probably not going to be a hassle compared to the Tika. Like Remington or hate Remington, the Model 700 will shoot far better than most shooters ever will out of the factory box. Good luck with you Tika.