Someone recently was asking about adding a rail to a Tikka T1X factory stock (yeah, I know ... KRG Bravo) and since this turned out to be a little more tricky than I was expecting I figured I would post a quick howto for anyone else wanting to make this mod. I chose a Seekins SRS rail because I wanted to keep traditional sling swivel fittings. I briefly thought about adding a Grovtec bolt-through flush cup to the rear of the stock and going with a B&T rail but I liked that the Seekins SRS has a lower profile. The main issue with the Tikka stock is the interior cross bracing that limits your options lengthwise if you want to utilize the front sling swivel stud mount.
But ... the 3" Seekins rail has just enough wiggle room in the front slot that you can make it work. Given that the stock base is pretty thin, I also wanted a decent bearing surface for a fastener. By using an M10 nylok flange nut slid as far forward as you can go in the rearmost cavity and relieving the rail bolt slot a tiny amount (a fine round file and 400 grit wet and dry paper are your friends here) you can make it work. I used the nut as guide for a center punch and drilled a small pilot hole from the top of the stock (making sure it was level in a gun vise) through the stock and beavertail fore-end I had previously installed.
Flipping the stock over I then drilled and tapped the hole for M5. Normally I would use a drill press for this but couldn't easily source a 4.2mm bit and M5 tap. Home Depot had combination bits however and, provided you use an impact driver on the slowest setting and are careful reversing the bit out, they work exceptionally well. If I add a Titan cheek rest I'll use this method again.
The next issue is that the Seekins rail has a curved profile on the back and the Tikka beavertail fore-end is basically flat. Even the bare stock does not have a small enough radius for the rail to sit with a sufficient amount of surface area contacting the stock. Your choice of epoxy here (I only had JB Weld or a 72 hour slow cure variety on hand so JB Weld it was ...). I made a dam at each end of the rail with duct tape and floated the epoxy with a Stanley knife / box cutter blade on a level surface.
Four hours later the tape was removed and some excess epoxy trimmed off.
The epoxy is still pliable at this point so it is easy to clean up and will conform to any irregularities in the stock during final cure. Nothing should stick to the synthetic material but I wiped on a little Ballistol as a precaution.
I'll let it cure fully overnight and then add a little Vibratite threadlocker to the bolts. Job done.
Hope this helps anyone else looking to do this ...
Cheers.
But ... the 3" Seekins rail has just enough wiggle room in the front slot that you can make it work. Given that the stock base is pretty thin, I also wanted a decent bearing surface for a fastener. By using an M10 nylok flange nut slid as far forward as you can go in the rearmost cavity and relieving the rail bolt slot a tiny amount (a fine round file and 400 grit wet and dry paper are your friends here) you can make it work. I used the nut as guide for a center punch and drilled a small pilot hole from the top of the stock (making sure it was level in a gun vise) through the stock and beavertail fore-end I had previously installed.
Flipping the stock over I then drilled and tapped the hole for M5. Normally I would use a drill press for this but couldn't easily source a 4.2mm bit and M5 tap. Home Depot had combination bits however and, provided you use an impact driver on the slowest setting and are careful reversing the bit out, they work exceptionally well. If I add a Titan cheek rest I'll use this method again.
The next issue is that the Seekins rail has a curved profile on the back and the Tikka beavertail fore-end is basically flat. Even the bare stock does not have a small enough radius for the rail to sit with a sufficient amount of surface area contacting the stock. Your choice of epoxy here (I only had JB Weld or a 72 hour slow cure variety on hand so JB Weld it was ...). I made a dam at each end of the rail with duct tape and floated the epoxy with a Stanley knife / box cutter blade on a level surface.
Four hours later the tape was removed and some excess epoxy trimmed off.
The epoxy is still pliable at this point so it is easy to clean up and will conform to any irregularities in the stock during final cure. Nothing should stick to the synthetic material but I wiped on a little Ballistol as a precaution.
I'll let it cure fully overnight and then add a little Vibratite threadlocker to the bolts. Job done.
Hope this helps anyone else looking to do this ...
Cheers.
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