too bad tikkas are slow, how rough is the Seekins Havak action?

Meh
So maybe you lose 50-100 FPS.
That’s hardly a good reason to not buy the tikka.

You could do a Bighorn Origin and drop it in a Bravo. Then you can get the barrel of your choice. Or if you Hand load buy the Tikka and hot rod it with RL26 if it ever comes available.

Dont buy the TacA1, buy a T3x, chassis, and rebarrel and you're done.

How do you know it will be slow? A few internet users report that? I had a 260 tikka sporter, 142smk@2860fps with 44.5gr h4350. Amazing that no one ever had a problem with tikka, until a few internet gurus say they're all slow. Kinda reminds me of people that swear 243 burn out the barrel in less than 1000. Gets regurgitated enough lemmings latch on. Try some rl16 if you reload and the barrel is actually slow.

The barrel is going away eventually, the action is sticking around....

Get the Tikka. If you do see a reason to change the barrel because you want more speed, then go that route. I did. FWIW, I had the 20” barrel. It was around 2570 fps with factory 140’s. I had no issues hitting my targets; just a little more wind hold.

BLKWLFK9 said:

Dont buy the TacA1, buy a T3x, chassis, and rebarrel and you're done.

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Skip the rebarrel, the factory barrels are awesome accurate. Unless you're consistently in the top 10% of the comps you compete in or you're sponsored for barrels, just shoot the factory barrel out first.

The Havak i had briefly wasn’t rough. Actually like glass when the bolt actually moved, but the bolt stop interface with the bolt was extremely sharp and cause a lot of binding I was never seeing in any other rifle I owned. Knocked the edges down a bit and a little lube and it was way better. But ended up running into a local AX308 for sale and it went bye bye so I can’t speak to much after that. I didn’t like the bolt stop design with the spring and 2 pt pivot. Was over engineered for what it did and not sure what they thought was wrong with other proven bolt stop methods. Almost my feeling on the whole Havak action. Tried too hard to be different.

Who cares if the barrel is a little slower, just come up a few more clicks.

This has to be one of the most earth-shatteringly stupid reasons to not buy a particular rifle.

Gun forums never cease to amaze.

Buy the tikka

Tikka varmint, krg bravo chassis.

308pirate said:

This has to be one of the most earth-shatteringly stupid reasons to not buy a particular rifle.

Gun forums never cease to amaze.

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That’s what I was thinking!

pineoak said:

Skip the rebarrel, the factory barrels are awesome accurate. Unless you're consistently in the top 10% of the comps you compete in or you're sponsored for barrels, just shoot the factory barrel out first.

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I agree. I only suggested the rebarrel if the speed was that big of an issue for him. Otherwise, shoot the factory barrel out.

Buy the Tikka. Unless you’re pushing it to the max range, it doesn’t even matter.

My CTR 6.5CM shoots 140 ELD-M at 2,775 with my hand loads. Stupid accurate. Consistently .5 MOA unless I induce shooter error.

I had a TAC A1 in 6.5CM and it was a consistent 0.4-0.6" performer with every factory load I tried in it. Turned out Prime 130s worked best. And yes, it was slow. Comparing velocities of every brand of factory ammo in the Tikka vs. its Stiller-actioned, Bartlein-barreled replacement showed a 100-125fps difference. @Lowlight talked about it here.

The reason I sold my Tikka (which took one day) was because I had an opportunity to buy the custom rifle at a very good price, and I didn't need two 6.5CM bolt guns. With handloads, it's easy enough to make up the velocity deficit until it's time for a re-barrel. With factory loads, just add a couple of clicks elevation and done.

Run the data on 100 fps, it's not the end of the world and won't be the reason for you missing the target. If speed is that important, maybe you should step up the prc and not worry about it.

I am shooting a Tac A1, 143 eld-x, 43.5 grains of Rl16, Hornady case, BR2 primer. Avg. of 2834 and SD of 8. .4" 5 shot groups.
I don't think that is slow at all.

Smokerroller said:

I was all decided on getting a TIKKA CTR in 6.5 creed and dropping it into a KRG Bravo and then I started thinking about how slow they are. Then I saw the Havak Bravo on sail for just a little more than what I would have put into the TIKKA to get it set up. I really like the TIKKA action and how SMOOTH it is, ( and with a STERK knob it looks amazing). If the TIKKA was as fast as a normal or custom barrel this wouldn't even be a question. I would go with a HAVAK because of the comparable price, accuracy, and custom barrel speed, but I read they are quite rough, which is a turn off. Any thoughts?

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You can get high 2700 to low 2800 with Re16 and 140 grain bullet pretty easy with a factory 24" barrel. I get 2835 fps with a 23.5" Bartlein that replaced my 20" 260 barrel. I use Peterson brass and so does a friend with a 24" CTR. Similar loads, 41.4 gr of Re16 with 140 ELDM. 30-60 fps isn't enough that will hurt anything and the factory barrels are very accurate.

I shoot with a guy that has re-barreled his HAVAK. He had some wear on the bolt lugs that was more than any of my Tikka actions. He also had problems getting replacement parts in a timely manner. If you are going to go custom, there are better choices.

Get the Tikka.

Slower is not a rumor. My Tikka is slower than another rifle I have with the same length barrel.

That being said, it's just as accurate as the custom barrel.

We can correct for elevation. The change in velocity doesn't rightly matter between the two barrels.

Smokerroller said:

Thanks for the useful comments guys. I am going tikka.

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Now you’re using your head! I’ve got the T3x Lite in -06 and a Superlite in 6.5cm. They both shoot outstanding.

As the ballistics work out with 6.5cm a barrel running 100fps slower costs you 100 yards on ALL performance parameters. Losing 100 yards of supersonic range isn't the end of the world but losing 100 yards of ethical hunting range on all game sucks especially in a caliber that's become so popular because of it's versatility givin that the Tikka is a light handy rifle it sucks even more.

In regard to velocity, the 20 inch barrel on a CTR will allways be a matter of concern, but that said, they are, for a mass produced factory barrel, extrmely accurate!

My own are within 0,4 MOA, while testing with 140 SMK or 147 ELD-M and i just have to accept, that they not are as fast, as they were from my old ( and now discarded ) LW 25 inch barrel, but are still able to make first-round hit, at 1200 yards.

Smokerroller said:

I was all decided on getting a TIKKA CTR in 6.5 creed and dropping it into a KRG Bravo and then I started thinking about how slow they are

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Said who?

Smokerroller said:

Any thoughts?

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Quit reading the internet so much

My Tikka was slow. My factory 7 Mag barrel shot the 162 eld at 2860. The same loads through my custom barrel we’re 3035.

That being said, unless you’re at the max effective range of your projectile on a regular basis, a bit of speed loss won’t matter.