Customized tikkas?

[Mtnwalker]

Seems like I see a lot of customized tikkas for sale, i.e. Manners stocks, fluted bolts, bedding etc. So are those of you who have modified yours happy with the improvements or is it not worth the money? I have a super lite that I thought about putting some money into but not sure if it's worth it or not

[hogslayer]

I have a sako that I am turning into a custom.  One thing I am not getting about those I see for sale is the barrels seem to be stock.  I would start with a barrel and a stock. The triggers seem nice to me.  I could be wrong but seems like most of the ones I have seen are mostly cosmetic improvements that don't necessarily increase accuracy.

[Reidus]

Cosmetic improvements to a factory rifle are not worth it imo. I'm more of a performance based guy. First thing i would do is a new barrel, then stock. Bed action. After that i might think about some cosmetics. Tikka triggers are pretty good. I'm going to put an x-caliber barrel and manners elite hunter  stock on mine. Got a rem style recoil lug for it but not sure if I'm going to go that route or not. Waiting on gumsmith x. In the research i did most all the custom builds on tikkas had good results.

[Mtnwalker]

I guess my main question would be if anybody has seen enough improvement from a stiffer stock and bedding to make it worth the money, the factory stock definitely seems to be the weak point of the whole setup

[bod]

Customizing a Tikka is wasting ones money
Do yourself a favor and take my advice

[high country]

Tikka barrels tend to shoot well......their stocks are gross.

[Bofire]

customizing a Tikka kinda defeats the real value of the rifles. Cheap, Accurate and Reliable. Sort of like custom work on a Ruger American, why?
If you wanna spend money, buy a custom or customize a Remington or custom action. Sometimes customs are great and sometimes money pits.
Carl

[Bushcraft]

I wouldn't necessarily characterize doing a little "custom" work on a Tikka as a waste of money.  For the money they are perhaps the best OTC bang for the buck a guy can get right now.  I've yet to see any of the five or so I've hand-loaded for shoot over 1/2" groups.  From my perspective a guy can use the savings towards a few simple upgrades and quality glass and come out way ahead of other production guns...and dare I say some so-called custom guns costing upwards of several thousand dollars more.

Muzzle Brake: If you are shooting a magnum - say for example a .300 Win. Mag. or 300 WSM, and don't want the crap kicked out of you by a relatively light rifle, go ahead and have a good brake installed. I have one from Defensive Edge and it makes my 300 WSM an absolute *censored* cat to shoot. 

Butt Pad: The OEM buttpad isn't a pad at all. It's a piece of plastic with a hard rubber film around it.  If you are not going to replace the OEM stock, immediately replace this POS with a LimbSaver pad.  Thank me later.

Stock: The OEM stock is the epitome of lightweight plastic fantastic. It works if you are into that sort of thing.  But, if you prefer something more substantial you might take a look at Bell & Carlson or McMillan.

Bolt Shroud: Swap the plastic fantastic for a good looking metal one of your choice.

Bolt Handle: For a hunting rifle that you intend to carry a lot and shoot once, the OEM bolt is unobtrusive, strong, and works just fine.  If you want to gussy it up a bit, there are any number of plug & play aftermarket offerings.

Trigger:  The OEM trigger is excellent when adjusted down, which anyone with an Allen wrench can do in a few minutes with ease.  Frustratingly, mine breaks cleaner than my premium Jewell triggers.

Scope Base & Rings:  The rings and bases they provide are absolute garbage.  Toss 'em.  Install a Picatinny rail that has an integrated recoil lug.

Done.  Now go work up a load and shoot one-ragged-hole groups with your mostly stock rifle.  After all, it's kinda fun pissing off the guys that dropped $5-10K on name brand rifles (Gunwerks for example) that aren't any more accurate.   

[lord grizzly]

customizing a Tikka kinda defeats the real value of the rifles. Cheap, Accurate and Reliable. Sort of like custom work on a Ruger American, why?
If you wanna spend money, buy a custom or customize a Remington or custom action. Sometimes customs are great and sometimes money pits.
Carl

one good reason to build off a tikka is weight. there actions are way lighter than 700's. if your counting ounces and building a mountain rifle its a pretty good platform.

[Dan-o]

Rumor has it that you can customize a Tikka and for less than a grand have a rifle as accurate as a Savage 111.


 

[KFhunter]

I would not customize a Tikka.

Get a Remington, they need to be customized.  Last few I bought won't shoot worth a crap.

[BreezyBear]

Mine's too accurate to customize!  7mm rem mag superlite   + 160 gr acccubonds = 1/2 groups!

[Bofire]

huh! all my tikkas are stock, 223 thru 338, garbage factory rings work fine, triggers are fine, cheap stock works ok, recoil pad is fine, Bolt is fine, muzzle breaks are noisy. I see no reason to put money in an ugly $500.00 rifle that works.
Carl

[kukusya]

huh! all my tikkas are stock, 223 thru 338, garbage factory rings work fine, triggers are fine, cheap stock works ok, recoil pad is fine, Bolt is fine, muzzle breaks are noisy. I see no reason to put money in an ugly $500.00 rifle that works.
Carl

 

[Dan-o]

huh! all my tikkas are stock, 223 thru 338, garbage factory rings work fine, triggers are fine, cheap stock works ok, recoil pad is fine, Bolt is fine, muzzle breaks are noisy. I see no reason to put money in an ugly $500.00 rifle that works.
Carl

 

Kinda like some of the high school kids putting $2K worth of rims and tires on a $1,500 car.......

[Mtnwalker]

Mine's too accurate to customize!  7mm rem mag superlite   + 160 gr acccubonds = 1/2 groups!

Mind sharing your load? I've got some accubonds at the house, haven't tried em with this rifle yet, same setup though. Who knows I might get lucky