New small project gun - Rare Tikka M65 Single shot

  • Thread starter JoeP's old business account
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JoeP's old business account

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Well, I managed to find an action/rifle that I heard about back in the 80s. Its a single shot Tikka. Originally I was hoping for the M55 (still haven't given up) but I did manage to find a M65 in single shot format. Here is a glimpse of a rare bird....

Unfortunately, it was already built up but with a little corrective work she will look just fine. One of the first additions was the restoration of the safety mechanism. The safety and related components were not included with the rifle but since I have a fairly long history of work on Tikka rifles it wasn't really a problem.

The original smith also converted the original trigger guard design to the Remington style :oops: :oops: :shock: but a guy can live with that modifcation. The inletting of the guard was a bit shaky since they did not tie in the front guard screw to the stock. Consequently, the whole trigger guard was off base. This has also been corrected but some further improvements to inletting are required.

Bedding (Devcon Al.) job is functional but will require rework. Full pillars will be fitted and the action rebedded. But first......we'll have to shoot the darn thing to see what is is doing on paper.

I tend to be a somewhat picky with cosmetics and of course important areas, where as some smiths don't care to much about cosmetics as long as the rifle shoots and if that floats your boat, so be it........it doesn't float mine.......probably my cursed square headed German background :roll:

In any case here are some pictures of the rifle. The rings are used as is the rifle. Lots of tiny dust particles etc. can be seen.....so brace yourself...


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The action has an unusally high right rail which aids significantly to action rigidity and helps uniform flexing of the receiver. The previous owner never used the rifle but I did manage to track down the accuracy smith (original owner) to find out if it had any feeding/ejection issues and apparently not; much to my surprise.

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If you look closely at the rear ring, you'll see a stainless steel spacer we fit between the ring and base enabling us to slope the scope in essence creating a tapered base from the original Tikka/Sako rings. We haven't patented the idea (maybe we should :shock: ) :lol: :lol: but do use them on rifles we build. I know it looks a bit butch but it works and one of these days well get some properly contoured shims cut. I guess I'm slipping as I grow older.......at least as far as pickiness goes. Special contoured shims add to the cost so perhaps its my frugalness....

The barrel is chambered in 6.5-06 (my preference is 6.5-284) std industry reamer (shameful as a min spec reamer would have been the way to go as well as the chamber was cut to fall within go/no-go range as opposed to snug close on go gauge). The rifle has very low rounds - no firecracking of the bore at the lands was revealed during bore inspection. Crown looks nice but there are some unusal indications at the lands that may warrant recrowning. We'll have to do a bit more inspection when time permits.

The stock doesn't really flow nicely with the rifle at the tang and really the stock isn't a good choice for group/bench shooting due to the highly radiused corners of the forend but for a general purpose stock it should work nicely. Once I have a chat with the OEM I'll have a better idea on what modifications can be done to enhance the appearance (fit and finish). See photo of one example.

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This photo probably better shows the step at the tang. The tang should be very lightly recessed so the transition from the stock to the metal is seemless. Yes I know its a synthetic stock, but thats no reason to loose common fitting practices we have come to expect on custom wooden stocks. The receiver has a very nice radiused contour or convex shape which doesn't match the stock very well. That item is a bit more difficult to address. Barrel channel clearance should also be uniform to maintain a professional appearance.

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Here is one point that everyone should keep an eye on and that is stock to bolt handle contact. Evidently this can happen to the some of the best smiths. This beauty probably never shot to its potential due to a critical fitting issue which was cleaned up. Check your guns boys.....

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What you don't see is the huge gap (between the receiver bolt cut out and the stock) from the stock inletting. This isn't uncommon on an as supplied stock but can be improved on by the smith if he so choses.

Well thats about it. Its ready to drop a scope on and to test fire......all I need now is time.
 
Just dropped a Sightron SIII 6-24 with side focus on the old girl to get her ready for her first trip out to the range :D under new ownership :shock:

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Nice rig, Joe!
I'm a bit surprised that the original 'smith missed the bolt handle contact, which is one of the basic steps in accurizing a rifle.

This thing should really shoot....
Cat
 
Thanks partner. I hear you! Just proof that even the obvious can elude us sometimes.

I haven't weighed the beast but it sure is heavy. I think I know why the stock oem advertises on their website with a guy standing on the stock :shock:. When we overhaul this one, we'll do some basic comparisions to other brands.
 
Dave, don't be surprised. The bedding job is no hell either. The scarey thing is the rifle was fitted and assembled for himself :shock:
 
Haven't had a chance to load for it. Started doing some cases but never finished. Hopefully in the next day or two we'll report back.
 
Well just made it back from the fireforming session and the rifle shows promise. Conditions were pretty much ideal and I was expecting more. We'll post some pictures in a bit. Keep in mind this was fireforming with heavy pressure into the lands. Starting load of 44.4gr of IMR4350 Lapua 139 gr Scenar.........
 
6.5-06 ...................... Might one day be a 6.5x55 or 6.5-284 min spec chamber. :roll:

Unfortunately this one is std reamer. The reamer was generous enough to do numerous chamberings/regrinds...... :shock: :shock:
 
Well here is a sample target shot by my inlaw at 300yards. We had limited time.... 30min. before the range shut down. Squeezed a few Lapua 30-06 cases formed over to 6.5-06 and with the first powder selected, we had some decent results.

Only a 4 and 3 shot group but better then nothing. Lapua 139grs ..........will follow up with some Bergers.

Stock is really poor in the bags with a grossly high center of gravity, but we expected that. The original trigger guard will likely find its way back on the piece so the poorly installed Rem trigger guard can be retired - creating more space and distance from the pistol grip. Why someone would want a huge gap between the rear of the trigger and the guard is beyond me :roll:

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I should mention the target was fired with a Nightforce 8-32x56 scope. No issues in the field or at the range with the 32x.

The Sightron SIII 6-24x50 30mm scope I originally installed had some issues and is presently back for inspection.
 
Joe, the barrel OBVIOUSLLY shot out, and the crown off center,
Not to mention the triggger guard really contributed to the lack of
consistant POI!!:shock:
I will help you out and buy this POS off you for . oh. $150?
Okay, listen , your a buddy so I will give you $200 for it.
Don't say I never did you a favor! :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

On a serious note, you have a real fine rifle, I don't think I'd be rechambering it any time soon!
Cat
 
I'll be giving your offer some serious thought for sure.....

I'm not a big fan of the cartridge. If the back log of work slows done, I'll yank the barrel off and move it to a repeater Tikka and likely change cartridges. Something that will allow you to seat the bullet at the optimal depth and still feed out of original clip. The M65 might handle the 6.5 Swede or 260 Rem .............

So many options and so little time :cry: :cry: :cry:

You know what its like when the layout isn't perfect when it could be........the trigger guard has too be changed. That’s an easy one which will improve functionality and aesthetics...........
 
Rebarreling another action would certainly be the way to go , as I know that with your type of shooting the '06 case is a bit much.
But for a deer rifle, the 6.5/06 would be a real smoker , or for speed goats.

You lookin' at another PPC for that action?

Cat
 
Not too sure.... since its a single shot, I'd like to make full use of the action. A straight taper barrel would increase the stiffness abit more. The 6.5-284 is a nicer case but I may go to a magnum of some kind. At 16 pounds recoil won't be an issue especially if I install a Holland brake. We may have to part it out and is if anyone is interested in the stock. I'm told its a Canuck stock apparently the best there is :wink: . This one sure is heavy no wonder you can stand on them... Having used both stocks, the A5 is a much nicer stock in my opinion.

PPCs are fine on BR guns or a nice little varmint rifle like the Sako A1 single shot / repeater..... The M65 is too long an action and the bolt face would require some special attention. The M55 would be a better match. The .17 Mach IV works well in it so the ppc line would be ideal in this action........a 20 PPC :D is a good match for the M55 action and a bit of an upgrade on the .17 Mach Iv. Too many options..
 
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