What would you do?

K1ng C

K1ng C

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Ok so here is the situation...

I recently picked up a Tikka Tac in 223. Ive read a lot of good things about them(made by Sako, nice factory trigger etc etc) Took it out to the range on the weekend with a good buddy who is an experienced shooter.Noticed a couple issues one of them being the ####ty factory stock(also read about how its not all the great) So i contacted North shore barrels and im ordering a XLR chassis .Now here is where i need some advice, When you factor in the 1200 bucks for the stock the rifle is sitting in the 2600 bucks range.I noticed while browsing posts that i could get a build done by NSB with a Trued rem 700 action a shilien barrel and a Mc Millian A5 stock with bottom metal for about 2800. The 200 bucks is such a small number its negligible. What would you experienced long range shooters recommend? stick with the Tikka or go with a build from NSB ? Im set on 223. anything else is up for grabs. The distances i will be shooting are at max 600 meters. I havent had the chance to work up a proper load for the Tikka...yet.. but i wasnt super pleased with the groups i was putting up at either 100-200 or 400 meters. At this point i know its me and not the rifle,im just wondering if im gonna dump some money which would be the better "investment" for a precision long range rig i plan to keep and work on my shooting with for a significant period of time. Tikka tac with XLR chassis or a Build from NSB. What do you guys think would serve a "newish" long range shooter better?


Thanks
 
I recently picked up a new Tikka Vamint HB in.223. from one of our sponsors.I use it for coyote hunting at the most 200 yds.I've been working on this load which is a 53 gr V-max
25gr H-4895,I am getting 1/2'' & 3/4'' groups at a hundred yards. I would like to try different powders but due to the shortage I"ll have to wait.I could be wrong but is the Tac and the Varmint the same model except for the stock.Work up a load and try it first,might be surprised.Good Luck
 
K1ng C said:
Ottawa Valley
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OK before you do anything, head over to Connaught Ranges From Aug 16-24. The first few days the F Class will be shooting the Canadian Fullbore Rifle Competition. Also starting 16 Aug Target Rifle shooters ( crazy bastards shooting iron sighted rifles) will be there until Aug 24 shooting at ranges out to 900m. Take a look around and talk to some of the shooters, see what they are shooting and ask lots of questions.
 
For the $200 difference you're getting a match grade barrel vs a factory barrel.

Granted, tikka have some of the best factory barrels around but if it were me I'd go with the trued Remy and the match barrel.
 
FTRRookie said:
How many 2+7s are mixed in there? :p
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Just the Letson at 300,500 and 600. It is a pain in the arse to shoot. 2+7 at 500 on "A" Range, run down to "D" range and shoot 2+7 at 300m, maybe shoot the Alexander of Tunis at at 900m on "C" range after lunch then back to "A" range to shoot 2+7 at 600 yards. The 2+7 round matches don't last long and there isn't much time between ranges, so you are on the move all day.
 
maynard said:
Ya we stick it out and shoot for 10 days while the guys that rest their rifles on bipods and front rests can only hack it for 3-4 days.:p
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FTRRookie said:
How many 2+7s are mixed in there? :p
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Always nice to see some F-Class vs. TR trash-talking, eh? ;-)

As Maynard said, we only shoot three 2+7s, the Letson Match at 300-500-600 on Tuesday.

When I started shooting, these 2+7s seemed to me to be silly little jokes, anachronisms that we'd really be better off getting rid of or updating (and for a couple of years in the mid-90s the Letson was changed to be 2+10s).

Little did I know.

All matches in the Grand Agg are of course important and have to be taken 100% seriously. But what about these three "silly, trivial" matches consisting of only two sighters and seven shots on score...? Here are a few things about the Letson Match:
- the winner of it receives a Life Membership to the DCRA (arguably this is the biggest $$$ prize awarded in the entire fullbore championships)
- it is the first stage of the Qualifier for the Governor-General's Prize. If you want to shoot the Glory Match you better seek to put in a 102 or higher in the Letson
- one point or one V dropped is proportionally a bigger deal in a 7-shot match than in a 10-shot match. You might screw up, but others won't.

I no longer consider the Letson Match to be trivial, I approach it from a *much* different perspective. Fear and trepidation are not quite the right words but there is more than a bit of each of those.

For some number of years now, I have considered not converting "5"s I might fire as sighters in the first distance of the Letson Match that I fire on Tuesday Morning (300m or 500y, depending on how your personal squadding ends up); this would be done in an effort to take a crack at winning the Letson Match. To say 'I will not convert a 5' is a near-blasphemous thing for an iron-sight TR shooter to be saying w.r.t. a match in the Grand Agg, and yet I have good reasons to make this consideration. I would really like to win the Letson Match, and to do so one needs not only three scores of 35 but also a very high V count; the match is usually won with a score of 105-17V or 105-18V (with the highest possible score being 105-21V).

The only thing more meaningful and significant to me personally in Canadian Fullbore shooting (as an individual shooter) than winning the Letson Match would be to win the Grand Aggregate.

You might say that my thoughts have changed on silly little 7-shot matches.
 
Back on topic...I have one of Sean's Creations, in fact I am on my third and waiting for the fourth to arrive when he gets it all put together. So I guess you could say I like Sean's work! All the rifles from Sean have been shooters, all have been 260 or 260AI capable of shooting sub .5MOA with proper load development. The next rifle coming is chambered in 280AI and I am anticipating that it will be a shooter as well.

Having said all that, my shooting partner just picked up a Tikka T3 Sporter in 6.5X55 and bone stock he was punching the steel plate at 980 meters right along side my NSB rifle. We have not completed proper load development yet for that rifle as he just got it and we did a quick load work up that shot well at 100 and then ran her out to 980 for poops and giggles.

So, I do vote for a custom by North Shore Barrels. Sean builds great rifles and it gives you the option to add your own personal touch to it by customizing some of the specs, this way you get exactly what you want. Tikka makes a great rifle and one of the best right out of the box, but you get what you get with very little after purchase support.
 
Crashman said:
Back on topic..
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Yikes, that was quite a bit of topic drift wasn't it....? (My apologies!!)

To the OP - the Tikka is a really great factory rifle. It's a nice (in my opinion, much nicer) action than a Rem 700; not that it's any better or more accurate, just that it is a nicer-made and more-pleasing-to-use action.

Whereas a custom rifle has a real honest to goodness match barrel, which is a step above even the very best factory barrels (such as on the Tikka).

A bit of a tossup really, hard to go wrong either way. Both would be fine really, and the price is ~ the same. You should probably just choose whichever one happens to appeal to you the most at this time.
 
Thanks for all the replies guys.Some great info here.Im not having any luck getting in contact with NSB.Im wondering if i should just re-barrel the Tikka action.Ive read on a few different forums that they are a nicer action to work with over the 700.
 
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Wait 2 weeks then show up at Connaught Ranges when the CFRC starts. Then go talk to the shooters and see what they are using. You will see rifles built on target actions that you have never heard of before. There will be shooters there shooting off front rests that cost as much as a Remington SPS. And using scopes that cost as much as a used car. Stocks made of everything from fiberglass to excotic wood or aluminum in every colour under the rainbow. Barrels from makers you have never heard of, put together by gunsmiths that you won't find in the yellow pages.

This little trip to the range will give you a better idea of what guys are using to win. It will give you some idea on what to look into buying and things that you don't need like a muzzle brake or monopod. You might also ask what calibres they are using and what the barrel life is like. You really don't want to jump into something that has a barrel life of almost one season. The rifle itself is one of the cheaper things that you need to buy to get into the game.
 
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