Tikka Replacement Stock

[Irrelevant]

I discovered the other night that my Tikka 270 SS T3 Lite's accuracy issues are likely due to a defective stock. Looking at getting a new one. So far I found Bell and Carlson and Boyd's. Anyone have any other suggestions? I really like the look of wood but accuracy trumps looks. Price needs to be under $500. Any and all suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[full choke]

I had a Bell and Carlson (sporter I think?) stock on my 7mm. It was really nice. Definitely an upgrade. Adds a little weight though, but it is worth it. Kind of turns the gun into a sako A7 of sorts. I purchased mine from red hawk rifles- I want to say it was under $300. I ended up selling that gun though. Shot great though.

 

[Deleted member 20812]

I like the Bell and Carlson on my Remington.

 

[Carnage2011]

I’d look at a Manners elite hunter. I put one on a Tikka 300 wsm and it’s been phenomenal. I can’t remember the exact price but it was somewhere around 500.

 

[BlakeA]

I 2nd the bell and carlson. Really liked mine. Quality stock.

 

[Rancho Loco]

in regards to the original problem, how is the stock causing this?

 

[VikingsGuy]

I have 3 in B&Cs - have worked well and I prefer synthetic over wood for modern rifles. (but i do have a few boyd's stocks on rifles and they work well also)

 

[rtraverdavis]

These look nice:

Terrain : Grayboe

A streamlined and minimalistic design, combining the best elements of a hunting and tactical stock This product may take up to 4 weeks to ship.

grayboe.com

I’m also curious as to how the stock alone has caused such drastic accuracy issues.

 

[Irrelevant]

I'll try to explain best I can, but my hunter partner asked the same thing and didn't understand what I was talking about until he looked at it.

I'm not sure how familiar you guys are with Tikka's but they have a small steel lug embedded in the stock. This provides basically the only square face for the energy from the recoil to be transferred to the stock. There's a groove in the front end of the action for the lug to seat into. When the action is seated into the stock the groove and lug do not line up. I don't actually know why. I know the stock and action have never fit very well together. I suppose it is possible the action is mis-shaped but I find that to be less likely than the stock being off.

In terms of how the small difference can have so much effect on accuracy... without bearing on that on surface the recoil is instead transferred to the stock at two screws connecting the action to the stock. Two small round surfaces are just not able to provide enough consistency during energy transfer. At least that's the best I can figure based on the physics involved. I'm all ears to hear other hypothesis.

But for now I'm getting a new stock. If nothing else it will eliminate that variable.

 

[Mtnhunter1]

For the cost, the B&C Medalist is very hard to surpass for the T3. The B&C turned this 7mm RM into a real shooter after struggling with the factory plastic. I was working on, heavy for caliber, load development and the recoil was rocking Tikka's recoil bar in the plastic stock. The B&C cured that problem. It also reduced the felt recoil by a bunch.

 

[nhn2a]

I'll try to explain best I can, but my hunter partner asked the same thing and didn't understand what I was talking about until he looked at it.

I'm not sure how familiar you guys are with Tikka's but they have a small steel lug embedded in the stock. This provides basically the only square face for the energy from the recoil to be transferred to the stock. There's a groove in the front end of the action for the lug to seat into. When the action is seated into the stock the groove and lug do not line up. I don't actually know why. I know the stock and action have never fit very well together. I suppose it is possible the action is mis-shaped but I find that to be less likely than the stock being off.

In terms of how the small difference can have so much effect on accuracy... without bearing on that on surface the recoil is instead transferred to the stock at two screws connecting the action to the stock. Two small round surfaces are just not able to provide enough consistency during energy transfer. At least that's the best I can figure based on the physics involved. I'm all ears to hear other hypothesis.

But for now I'm getting a new stock. If nothing else it will eliminate that variable.

Just to clarify, are you saying the recoil lug does not go into the notch in the action or are you just saying its a sloppy fit? I have a Tikka T3 in 30-06 and noticed a little wiggle room as well as some indentations showing up on the recoil lug. I got a new Titanium recoil lug and glass and pillar bedded the stock myself for about $70 total and now it is shooting really tight groups. Here are my first three shots after remounting my scope.

 

[Irrelevant]

No, it's not sloppy, the groove in the action is approximately 1/16" further back from the lug, if they were aligned then it would be a nice tight fit, but when I seat the action they're offset and not seated at all.

 

[bholt]

Another vote for the B&C, I replace the stock and bottom medal on my Tikka T3X lite accuracy improved greatly. I had never had a plastic stock before but was very impressed with the installation of the stock and the bottom metal I got from High Desert Research.

 

[nhn2a]

No, it's not sloppy, the groove in the action is approximately 1/16" further back from the lug, if they were aligned then it would be a nice tight fit, but when I seat the action they're offset and not seated at all.

Oh ok. Since its a T3 and not a T3X I'm assuming its out of the 2 year warranty but did you try contacting customer service to see what they say as it should be pretty clear its an original defect and not one that developed after the fact.

 

[Tikka06]

My tikka is plenty accurate enough, but I am an endless tinkerer. So I will probably end up throwing a McMillan or greyboe on it eventually. I would like to get my hands on the greyboe first and see how it feels. I just can't get a BC to fit me comfortably and believe me I have tried. I'm looking for the ergonomics of the factory stock in a more rigid platform I guess. Good luck with whatever you choose.

 

[Irrelevant]

Oh ok. Since its a T3 and not a T3X I'm assuming its out of the 2 year warranty but did you try contacting customer service to see what they say as it should be pretty clear its an original defect and not one that developed after the fact.

I bought it used, though it looked brand new. I think the original owner shot it a few times, couldn't hit shit and sold it. I thought I was getting a helluva good deal at the time. Definitely out of any warranty period. I've had it for 5 years, just kept thinking it was a matter of finding the right load... doesn't look that way now.

 

[MinnesotaHunter]

For the cost, the B&C Medalist is very hard to surpass for the T3. The B&C turned this 7mm RM into a real shooter after struggling with the factory plastic. I was working on, heavy for caliber, load development and the recoil was rocking Tikka's recoil bar in the plastic stock. The B&C cured that problem. It also reduced the felt recoil by a bunch.

View attachment 104410

I have the same setup, all around, and had the exact same experience.

 

[rtraverdavis]

Any way you slice it, I think you’ll be really happy with a new stock. I’ve been close to buying a Tikka a couple different times and the flimsiness of the stock is what swayed me off of it. I’d like to hear a report of what you end up getting and what difference it makes.

 

[1_pointer]

While I like the looks of the Grayboe Terrain, it'd add more weight to a Tikka than I'd be willing to add, FWIW.

An Edge McMillan in Sako Classic or Hunter or a Manners would be easy to like. Though I do understand that they're at a different price point.

 

[Deleted member 16014]

B&C is a bump up for sure; I've had a couple on 700's, though not on a Tikka. You can occasionally catch a sub $500 McMillan on their sales page: McMillan Sale Page