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Thread: I"m thinking of rebarreling and rechambering a Tikka T3

  1. #1
    Boolit Master
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    I"m thinking of rebarreling and rechambering a Tikka T3

    Next year will be the first year in a long time that I have more free time than work time. I retired in August of this year but I've been working like a dog to finish up all my previously scheduled work. I'll have it all done and I'll be a free man in March of 2019. (if you can believe that)

    Anyway; I've had my eye on one of the rifles chambered in the new 6.5 PRC cartridge. After checking the specs on that chambering I'm thinking I can rebarrel a Tikka T3 that's in a native chambering of 300 WM. If I'm understanding bolt-face sizes correctly, the bolt-face on a 300 WM chambered rifle should be an eligible candidate; and since Tikka rifles have always been tack drivers for me, (I've owned four-still own two) I thought that by rebarreling one so chambered, it would save me some money when compared to the prices of some of the custom rifles being sold in the 6.5 PRC chambering.

    I can't really afford a gunsmiths' services and I've already rebarreled and rechambered two of my other rifles with good success. I don't think this would be much different. My only problem is that I need confirmation that the Tikka in the 300 WM chambering really is a good candidate for the 6.5 PRC.

    Please understand; I'm not asking for permission. I'm asking for wisdom from (hopefully) someone with hands on experience in doing such a project. The Tikka actions are all long-actions; even those chambered for short action cartridges so the length of the receiver shouldn't be a problem. I guess my concern is the bolt-face. If that's compatible I think I'll be good to go. With the other rifles I've rechambered the existing bolt-faces were nearly identical to the bolt-faces of the cartridges I was replacing them with.

    One other thing of importance; in those other rebarreling jobs I did, I threaded my barrels so as to make them "Switch-Barrels" kind of like the "Savage-Barrel-Nut" design. I did it this way to make the headspacing easier for me; and it really worked out well. It really simplified things in terms of machining and time in front of my lathe. Another benefit of this is that if I ever get a wild-hair up my butt again I can chamber another barrel for some other caliber and be able to swap from one to the other with relative ease. (funds permitting)

    It's not a new idea; in fact there are at least two online barrel suppliers that offer pre-fit barrels for the Tikka line of rifles featuring this type of "Barrel-Nut/ Switch-Barrel" concept. I've thought of just buying one of their offerings but still, it's a money and budget thing that will be driving this project.

    HollowPoint
    Last edited by HollowPoint; 12-31-2018 at 05:26 PM.

  2. #2
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    Go for it. The bolt face is the standard magnum size for both cartridges. Or you could swap the bolt and rechamber a T3 6.5 Creedmoor. IMHO a 7mm mag would do as well but I totally understand the custom bug bite.

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  3. #3
    Boolit Master
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    Thanks Texas: that's what I was hoping to hear. I just needed some confirmation first.

    After checking ballistics charts and recoil charts and such I think I'll go with the PRC. Taking game at long range is all well and good but whatever distance we make our harvests from, it's always twice that distance to go and get it and then have to drag, pack or somehow carry back to where your shooting position was; and then from there back to the truck.

    This is where hunting becomes working for me. The older I get, the less I like having to work so hard so, I can still make the shots but I'm beginning to care less and less for making an otherwise exciting hunting experience into a hard work experience. I'll just keep practicing the long shots and hunting for the short shots. Hopefully in the upcoming year I'll be doing it with a 6.5 PRC.

    When I used to bow hunt exclusively, I used to take pride in the fact that I made my own wooden arrows and alot of my other archery equipment. I can't bow hunt anymore due to elbow problems but, I can smith my own long guns so that they're as accurate as that of a competent gunsmith. I guess in a sense it's kind of the same in that I can say I harvested such and such a game animal with a rifle that I worked on myself; and with bullets I put together myself.

    HollowPoint

  4. #4
    Boolit Master
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    Seems like a 7mmPRC would be the perfect magnum target cartridge

  5. #5
    Boolit Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by GARD72977 View Post
    Seems like a 7mmPRC would be the perfect magnum target cartridge
    Yea; I'm surprised that they skipped the 7mm variant for this Hornady PRC line of cartridges and went straight to the 300 PRC instead. If these new caliber offerings catch on I'm sure that if someone hasn't already done so, a necked up to 7mm from 6.5 variant will be along by some wildcatter in the not to distant future.

    I suspect that Hornady just didn't want to make it to blatantly obvious that they had jumped on the same band wagon that Nosler had jumped onto by introducing their line of 6.5, 7mm and 30 caliber magnum cartridges. I think the PRC line will be just about right in terms of recoil. That's really one of the main factors in making my choice. Me and recoil don't get along any more.

    HollowPoint

  6. #6
    Boolit Master
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    The 6.5 PRC is a fine cartridge, identical in performance to the 6.5x284, either one will be within 100fps of each other, and duplicates the 264 magnum, without the barrel wear, in a hunting rifle. I have built three of the 6.5x284's, still have 2 of them, both built on Savage actions. One is a stainless steel single shot with a Benchmark 30" bull barrel, and the other is a 24" Savage factory sporter I put on a 110 30/06 action, to hunt with. My longest shot to date is 517 yards on a coyote with a 142gr. Sierra, at 3100fps, his nose was touching his but when he hit the ground. I don't like recoil either, and these guns are sweet to shoot, the sporter gives me more of a push when shooting it.

  7. #7
    Boolit Master
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    I'm just waiting to get all my ducks in a row so to speak before I pull the trigger on this project. I don't want to have to spend any more than I have to and still end up with a quality end result. I'm thinking I'm going to have to build myself a barrel vice so that I don't have to buy one.

    I made a barrel vice when I did my milsurp rebarreling projects but that initial home made vice required more assistance to secure the barrel of those old military rifles. No matter how tight I torqued them down my barrels still started to spin so, I'm pretty sure I can just copy one of the many barrel vice iterations I've come across on the internet. The problem with my initial home made vice was that it wasn't wide enough from front to back so it didn't apply enough bite to a large enough surface area of my barrel.

    I want to be able to re-install the factory barrel if need be so I don't want to mess it up if I can help it. I thought about a 6.5x284 Norma as well but it seems that now days most of the latest and greatest offerings tend to be barrel burners. I can see how this would be a problem for a competition shooter who shoots a whole lot of rounds down the tube but for the average joe who just wants an accurate rifle it should work out ok. I'm pretty sure that the bulk of the rounds I'll be firing will be during the load workup period. Once it's dialed in it will be a two or three times a year shooter. Maybe a long range coyote hunt now and then but, I've got other rifles already dialed in for that application. I'll just have to wait and see.

    I mainly dream of using this project rifle to hunt elk with. I have the 6.5 Swede that will do the job but I have an itch for something with just a bit more velocity and energy. As far as elk hunting goes; in our state we stand a better chance of winning the state lottery that being drawn for an elk hunt but maybe I'll have beginners luck.

    HollowPoint
    Last edited by HollowPoint; 01-01-2019 at 08:21 PM.

  8. #8
    Boolit Master
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    I have a 96 swede that I sporterized in 1985, in 6.5x55, man if that rifle could talk! I turned the bolt down, cut the barrel at 24" and crowned it, tapered it also, drilled and tapped, parkerized the gun and mounts, added a Timney deluxe featherweight trigger w/safety and glass bedded it in a Ram LIne stock. Thousands, literally of rounds later, it still shoots into 1/2 Moa out to 300yds, last 3 shot group I shot with it at 300 went into 1.240!! I shot my longest shot this year on a deer to date, 510 yds, shot with a Leica 800 rangefinder, and the 120 gr Sierra so went in behind the last rib quartering away, pulped the lungs and heart and blew the leg off when it exited, was hanging by some skin. This made me around 50 deer with this rifle, hunting here in KY and Tenn. Also used to have a place in western ky where you could buy unlimited doe tags, 2for $10 and a buddy I had lived over there, and had tons of crop tags, doe only. I hunted a day and a half one weekend and killed 8 does. I donated 2 of them to HUnters for the Hungry, and boned the rest of them out, ground most except the backstraps, and did make up 3 gallon freezer bags of Jerky. The 6.5 swede has been awful good to me over the years, and made several shots that I felt like the gun just naturally made the shot. I guess that comes from hunting mostly with one gun over30+ years, deer,grounhogs, crows and yotes!

  9. #9
    Boolit Bub
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    I had a Tikka T3 bareled in 6.5SAUM(was a 300wm) a few years back, runs great, shoots great and still shoots great at 1800 rounds fired!
    I put it in a XLR and run AI Style mags.
    If you end up wanting a shorter bolt stop look up "mountain tactical tikka"
    Good luck on the build!

  10. #10
    Boolit Master
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    I'm still slowly accumulating the funds for this project. I'm hoping for some kind of tax refund this year to help me along. The longer I have to wait the more options run through my mind. I still have my eye on the 6.5 PRC chambering but I already have a 6.5x55 reamer that's only been used once on my K31 project from a couple of years ago.

    I know that the 6.5x55 is more than enough for what I'll be using it for but I've always had a longing for a slightly longer barrel. Right now the 22 inch barrel my Tikka wears just sort of seems to put limits on its' full potential. I'm thinking if I get a 26" carbon fiber barrel with a three inch long shank I'll be able to run the 6.5 Swede at it's full potential and if down the road I decide to ream it out a bit more with something like a 6.5-284 Norma I might be able to do that too. I've heard that this chambering is a "Barrel/Throat-Burner" but this argument I think was raised by competition shooters who burn through many more rounds than an average joe hunter does.

    Even if it did turn out to be a "Barrel-Burner," with a three inch long shank I'd be able to chase the lands by facing off the tenon and running my chamber reamer in a bit deeper until I eventually run out of shank length. With a longer barrel I can get my velocities up to where I may not have to go any farther than rebarreling my existing 6.5 Swede but, for some reason I can hear that 6.5 PRC calling to me at night.

    HollowPoint

  11. #11
    Boolit Master
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    I'm nearing the completion of this Tikka Rebarreling project now. Unfortunately for me, my budget did not allow for the Carbon-Fiber barrel blank I had dreamed of but I did manage to get a good deal on a quality Stainless Steel barrel blank from an online vendor that worked out for me budget-wise.

    It's a "Light-Varmint" contoured barrel that came in 28". I cut an inch off of each end to give me a 26" overall length and with the muzzle end I cut off I was able to use it to make a matching thread protector.

    I used the Barrel-Nut method of mounting my new barrel but I ended up not using the pre-made barrel nut I purchased from Patriot Valley Arms. It looked kind of tacky sitting against my new Stainless Steel barrel so I dug around in my scrap bin for a small chunk of stainless rod scrap I could use to make a matching barrel nut. The home made barrel nut looks more like it belongs on this project than the black colored pre-made barrel nut I spent a fair amount of my budget on. (by the way I'm going to be selling the pre-made barrel nut for any who are interested. I'll post it later in the "Swapping N selling pages)

    It wasn't really the color of the pre-made barrel nut that didn't look quite right against the stainless steel barrel, it was the fact that although it's well made and serviceable, it just didn't flow with the contour of the new barrel.

    I was afraid that having a longer and larger diameter barrel where a short pencil thin barrel once sat would throw the balance of my rifle off to much but the heavy scope I'm using on this Tikka Hunter rifle acts as a sort of counter balance so the balance of the rifle is only a bit forward of where it was with the factory barrel in place. If I mount my suppressor, then it really gets nose heavy but I generally only shoot with the suppressor on when I have a solid rest underneath the rifle.

    The pics I'm uploading aren't the clearest but I was in a hurry again. I put it all together hoping that I can get out to the range tomorrow for safety testing. (if it stops raining) I'll take it back apart and color the barrel once I know that everything is in safe working order. I'm thinking of a flat-dark-earth color for all the metal parts. That's a good color contrast with the Tikka Hunter stock. I haven't decided what I'll use to color with. I'll probably go cheap just to get me started, then as I save up more nickels and dimes I'll invest in a better coating.

    HollowPoint
    Last edited by HollowPoint; 02-14-2019 at 08:39 PM.

  12. #12
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    Can't wait to see it! Did you go with the PRC?

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  13. #13
    Boolit Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by Texas by God View Post
    Can't wait to see it! Did you go with the PRC?

    Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk
    No; no PRC. My budget for this project would not allow for it; plus the bolt head of this particular Tikka Hunter would not allow for it either. The one good thing about this method of rebarreling is that if I did decide to re-chamber it's a simple matter of just reaming out the existing chamber provided the dimensions of a different chambering would allow for it.

    The PRC would require a rifle chambered in a magnum caliber like the 300 WM in order for the bolt head to work with the PRC. My present Tikka Hunter has a bolt head the will work with chamberings at or about .470 or there abouts. I've found that even with the 6.5x55 reamer I used for this project the Norma brass I typically use works perfectly but the Privi brass I have tons of will not chamber smoothly. The one or two thousands difference in diameter at the case head makes that Privi brass less than optimum.

    I found this was true when I used this same reamer to rebarrel and rechamber my K31. Same problem. If I find myself with some more free time I'll see if I can experiment by chucking up one or two pieces of that Privi brass on the lathe and skimming off a thousands or two from the diameter of the base of the brass just to see if that will allow me to safely use that Privi brass in this chamber. Since it's just removing the tiniest amount from the diameter at that base, it's not really effecting the integrity or strength of the brass itself. The problem with not being able to chamber the Privi brass really has nothing to do with the new chamber, it has more to do with the diameter of the base of the brass just below the extractor groove. It will not easily seat into the bolt recess. The outer diameter of that brass bass hangs up on the inner diameter of Tikka bolt face. Not all of them do but just to many of them. When they hang up like that it give the illusion that the brass is not compatible with the chamber itself.

    HollowPoint
    Last edited by HollowPoint; 02-15-2019 at 12:18 PM.

  14. #14
    Boolit Master
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    I'm a happy home gunsmith

    I got a chance to get to the shooting range this morning to see if my newly rebarreled Tikka Hunter rifle was going to perform as I'd dreamed it would with a slightly longer and heavier barrel in place of the shorter -thinner factory barrel. At 100 yards, I think it's showing signs of great potential.

    I also took out my Tikka Lite in 223 to see how it would do using Varget powder. That particular powder and bullet combination didn't do very well but no matter. It was the 6.5x55 Tikka Hunter that I had high hopes for. I only had some 95 grain 6.5 varmint bullets on hand so I loaded those up for now. My plan is to work up some 129 grain loads in hopes of participating in this years deer season.

    Below is the photo I took of this project gun. I have it next to my .223 Tikka-Lite which in it's factory configuration wears nearly the same length barrel that my newly rebarreled Tikka Hunter was wearing before the swap. I'm really happy with the way it turned out.

    HollowPoint

  15. #15
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    Cheers to the Tikka nuts!

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  16. #16
    Boolit Master
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    Good job on the build! There's a Tikka in 300wm in a pawnshop here, that's just begging me to take it home. I'm thinking about turning it into 264 WM.

  17. #17
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    I always thought my T3 Hunter in 25-06 could use a longer barrel; but it is so accurate at all ranges I've shot it at I'll just leave it. My first Tikka was an Ithaca LSA55 deluxe in .308Win. It impressed me so much that when the T3 came out I wasted NO time in getting one in 22-250. Then a 25-06. Then an 8x57. The only complaint is the angled butt and ineffective recoil pad. I cut the butt at 90° and installed a Hogue pad on the 25-06 and will do the same on the 8mm. It makes a big difference in shooting comfort with full power ammo.

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    Last edited by Texas by God; 02-16-2019 at 12:40 PM.

  18. #18
    Boolit Master
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    For a while there I thought of biting the bullet and purchasing the cheapest Tikka I could find in any magnum caliber just so I could use it as the platform for the 6.5 PRC build I initially dreamed about. I'll just have to be patient and see what happens over time. For the time being I now have the re-barreling-bug out of my system but I have to admit, with a slightly heavier rifle I have in the 6.5x55 Tikka, I can now hold on target alot more steadily so my groups seem to tighten up. It could just be a type of placebo effect from having something new but I could swear that a heavier gun helps me hold more steady.

    If some spare change comes along in the near future I'm thinking I'll put a more rigid barrel on my 223 as well.

    I noticed too that on all four of the Tikkas I've owned over the years the subject of the recoil pads have been just as TBG described. On the lighter recoiling Tikka rifles it's not so bad for me but as I switch to heavier bullets the recoil gets a bit more pronounced. All of these upgrades are "Change-Jar" upgrades for me. I have a jar at home that I put all my spare change in. Every few months It gets counted and used to spend on upgrades.

    HollowPoint
    Last edited by HollowPoint; 02-16-2019 at 02:45 PM.

  19. #19
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    Hail the change jar! I never could stand change in my pocket so into several jars and vehicle consoles it goes. I paid my apartment rent at age 19 once from my 5 gallon "silver jar"!
    TbG

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  20. #20
    Boolit Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by Texas by God View Post
    Hail the change jar! I never could stand change in my pocket so into several jars and vehicle consoles it goes. I paid my apartment rent at age 19 once from my 5 gallon "silver jar"!
    TbG

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    And here I thought I was the only one with a change jar. I also thought I was the only one who did their book keeping with a file system consisting of envelopes and a shoe box too. It turns out that lots of old timers do it the same way. There's not beating the common sense ways of doing things of yesteryear.


    HollowPoint

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
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GC Gas Check