Dougfirtree
Well-known member
I've been hunting with a Tikka T3x Lite for the last 5 years, or so. I've had it in a B&C stock, with High Desert Research bottom metal and I've really liked it, but also felt like it was just a little heavy and long to be ideal for what it does most (tracking and still hunting whitetails in the thick woods of the Adirondacks).
So, this summer, I gave it a little update. I started by having a gunsmith chop the barrel down to 20". Then I ordered a Stocky's carbon fiber stock (one of the factory seconds).
I liked the feel of the stock, but wasn't entirely pleased with the inletting. To be fair, it fit pretty well when using the factory bottom "metal", but I found that it wasn't easily compatible with the High Desert one. I ended up having to use shims (5 in the front and one in the rear), in order to get the magazine functional. As you'll see in the photo of the rifle on the scale, that means that the bottom metal sticks out a little more than I wish it did. Not a huge deal, really.
So, I taped it up and got it ready to paint, as I don't really care for the raw carbon fiber look.
I started by sanding it lightly with 220 grit, then wiping it down with acetone. When that dried, I used self-etching primer and gave it a good coat. When that was dry, I gave that a very light sanding and moved on to Rustoleum Textured spray paint. That stuff was a little tricky to get an even coat with, as it has grit and liquid that need to balance out, but it turned out pretty well. It's quite gritty when it dries and it's obvious that it needs a coat of something over it to keep the grit from being too rough, or falling off over time. I went with the Brownell's Alumahyde II epoxy clear coat.
That stuff is also interesting to use. It needs a ton of shaking and it's very sensitive to the distance from the can to the stock. It also takes a long time to dry fully (2 weeks), but it seems like it's going to be a durable finish. I'm pleased with the way it looks and feels. You can still feel the texture of the paint, but it's not gritty. It does grip well. I hope it holds up!
Overall, I really like the end result. It's attractive and significantly lighter. The whole rifle is 40" long now and should be very handy. It still shoots my normal load accurately after the barrel chop, though I'm not sure a heavy load of Big Game is the ideal load for the shorter barrel. I may develop another load for it with Varget, or H 4895. Can't wait to get out into the woods and exercise it this Fall!
So, this summer, I gave it a little update. I started by having a gunsmith chop the barrel down to 20". Then I ordered a Stocky's carbon fiber stock (one of the factory seconds).
I liked the feel of the stock, but wasn't entirely pleased with the inletting. To be fair, it fit pretty well when using the factory bottom "metal", but I found that it wasn't easily compatible with the High Desert one. I ended up having to use shims (5 in the front and one in the rear), in order to get the magazine functional. As you'll see in the photo of the rifle on the scale, that means that the bottom metal sticks out a little more than I wish it did. Not a huge deal, really.
So, I taped it up and got it ready to paint, as I don't really care for the raw carbon fiber look.
I started by sanding it lightly with 220 grit, then wiping it down with acetone. When that dried, I used self-etching primer and gave it a good coat. When that was dry, I gave that a very light sanding and moved on to Rustoleum Textured spray paint. That stuff was a little tricky to get an even coat with, as it has grit and liquid that need to balance out, but it turned out pretty well. It's quite gritty when it dries and it's obvious that it needs a coat of something over it to keep the grit from being too rough, or falling off over time. I went with the Brownell's Alumahyde II epoxy clear coat.
That stuff is also interesting to use. It needs a ton of shaking and it's very sensitive to the distance from the can to the stock. It also takes a long time to dry fully (2 weeks), but it seems like it's going to be a durable finish. I'm pleased with the way it looks and feels. You can still feel the texture of the paint, but it's not gritty. It does grip well. I hope it holds up!
Overall, I really like the end result. It's attractive and significantly lighter. The whole rifle is 40" long now and should be very handy. It still shoots my normal load accurately after the barrel chop, though I'm not sure a heavy load of Big Game is the ideal load for the shorter barrel. I may develop another load for it with Varget, or H 4895. Can't wait to get out into the woods and exercise it this Fall!
