My best friend wanted to have a light 308 for his wife for hunt they are doing out west this summer and asked for my help. The rifle had to be sub-7lb, not crazy custom price, and be accurate to 300yards which is the expected range she is planning to shoot. I advised him to purchase a Tikka Lite 308. He got the Lite 308 stainless that weighs ~6.5lbs. I was very impressed by the rifle when i had it in my hands. I had never handled a Tikka but had read great things about it and the fit and finish for a $550 rifle is pretty amazing. It has a nice adjustable trigger but even out of the box it is about 3.5lbs and very crisp.
I sent the rifle to Mark at Short Action Customs and he did a cerakote finish plus installed a PWS brake and a piccatiny rail on the rifle. I also advised my buddy to get the NF 2.5-10x scope to top it off with NF ultralite rings. Needless to say the rifle looks awesome. It pretty much looks like Tikka's tactical version.
We took the rifle out yesterday to get sighted in and to see how it performs and to see most importantly if his wife who has a small frame can handle this rifle's recoil. The first shot I made was on paper dead center but 8" low at 100yards. One adjustment later and we are on the X ring and the next two shots clover leafed and this was with milspec 147gr ammo.
The goal was the shoot the rifle from 100 to 600 yards just to see what it does. We handed over the rifle to my buddy's wife and she had no problem hitting the 10-ring at 100 yards. At this point we put up a 1/2" 50% IPSC steel hanging with chains and back up to 200yards. She lays in the bed of the truck and makes two shots on the steel and thru by spotter i can see that the shots were 2-3" apart. We continue to drive away from the steel target and range it at 303yards and she takes another two shots and hits steel both times. A this point, it starts pouring rain pretty hard. We put the rifle in the truck and go to a covered area and wait for the rain to slow down.
After about 20min, the rain slows to a drizzle and we decide pack it up and go home. But before we do that, i suggested for her to take a shot at 400yards in an awkward position to simulate real world hunting where you might not have perfect flat shooting positions. So as we are driving to the target, i range the steel at 401 yards. All the passengers put on their ear pros and my buddy turned his truck side ways pointing down range and she rested the rifle and took a shot and "bang" we hear steel.
We drove down to pick up the targets and all the splatters on the steel were 2-4" apart. For milspec ammo shooting from 100-400yards and not in the greatest stable shooting position, wind and rain its performance was pretty impressive. Needless to say i love this this $550 rifle. The PWS brake definitely tamed the recoil of this light stick to a .243 caliber at most which was very manageable by her. I have no doubt that with match ammo, better weather and shooting position this rifle will have no problem shooting 3/4 MOA out to 600yards.
I sent the rifle to Mark at Short Action Customs and he did a cerakote finish plus installed a PWS brake and a piccatiny rail on the rifle. I also advised my buddy to get the NF 2.5-10x scope to top it off with NF ultralite rings. Needless to say the rifle looks awesome. It pretty much looks like Tikka's tactical version.
We took the rifle out yesterday to get sighted in and to see how it performs and to see most importantly if his wife who has a small frame can handle this rifle's recoil. The first shot I made was on paper dead center but 8" low at 100yards. One adjustment later and we are on the X ring and the next two shots clover leafed and this was with milspec 147gr ammo.
The goal was the shoot the rifle from 100 to 600 yards just to see what it does. We handed over the rifle to my buddy's wife and she had no problem hitting the 10-ring at 100 yards. At this point we put up a 1/2" 50% IPSC steel hanging with chains and back up to 200yards. She lays in the bed of the truck and makes two shots on the steel and thru by spotter i can see that the shots were 2-3" apart. We continue to drive away from the steel target and range it at 303yards and she takes another two shots and hits steel both times. A this point, it starts pouring rain pretty hard. We put the rifle in the truck and go to a covered area and wait for the rain to slow down.
After about 20min, the rain slows to a drizzle and we decide pack it up and go home. But before we do that, i suggested for her to take a shot at 400yards in an awkward position to simulate real world hunting where you might not have perfect flat shooting positions. So as we are driving to the target, i range the steel at 401 yards. All the passengers put on their ear pros and my buddy turned his truck side ways pointing down range and she rested the rifle and took a shot and "bang" we hear steel.
We drove down to pick up the targets and all the splatters on the steel were 2-4" apart. For milspec ammo shooting from 100-400yards and not in the greatest stable shooting position, wind and rain its performance was pretty impressive. Needless to say i love this this $550 rifle. The PWS brake definitely tamed the recoil of this light stick to a .243 caliber at most which was very manageable by her. I have no doubt that with match ammo, better weather and shooting position this rifle will have no problem shooting 3/4 MOA out to 600yards.
