Tikka owners Help!! Have you seen this before?

[diego-ted]

My accuracy started to wane a bit, my elevation was dead on but I was stringing horizontally about an inch. After so research I decided to check to make sure my action was secured firmly to the stock. When I pulled the bottom metal off I found bits of cylinder shaped plastic. Upon further examination I found the piece seen protruding from the upper left picture. From the bottom left picture it appears to be a plastic bushing that goes into the stock screw holes and keeps the bottom metal screws from wobbling. As you can see in the right upper picture the bushing is in place. In the bottom right picture there is no bushing in the hole. After putting the plastic back in the front hole I re-tightened the bottom metal screws. When I did this it sucked the stock down so the bolt would not slide back and forth, when I loosed it the bolt moved freely. So I suspect the bushing are needed. My dilemma is where do I get some? Has this happened to anyone else?

Thx Diego

 

[scottishtornado]

Re: Tikka owners Help!! Have you seen this before?

You might be able to put a sos out for a tikka factory stock in the wtb ads. If it were my rifle, I would contact tom manners (Mannersstocks.com) and order a new custom stock from him since you found a weakness in the factory stock. Hope this helps and good luck.

Mac

 

[Massoud]

Re: Tikka owners Help!! Have you seen this before?

It appears that what you see is a plastic version of aluminum pillar bedding. What was the torque setting you used when you tightened the action screws last time? It may have been too much for plastic. I'll check some of ours to see what the deal is on those.
Justin

 

[Massoud]

Re: Tikka owners Help!! Have you seen this before?

After looking at a few take-off stocks here, none of them have any round plastic bushing. Did you buy the stock new? Could someone else have put those there perhaps?
Justin

 

[cowlickkid]

Re: Tikka owners Help!! Have you seen this before?

It looks like the stock had been bedded before. Did you buy the rifle used?

 

[diego-ted]

Re: Tikka owners Help!! Have you seen this before?

No I bought the rifle new, I did have it bedded, the guy who did the bedding did not put in the plastic pieces? With out the bushings the screws would wobble as you can see the fit around the screw and stock holes are exact with the bushing and way loose without. I did have a couple of very HOT rounds with a very hard bolt lift, I think this is when the plastic first cracked. The bushing are so exact, they would have to be factory?

Diego

 

[diego-ted]

Re: Tikka owners Help!! Have you seen this before?

You are all right, I spoke with the guy who did the bedding and the bushings are actually epoxy? The stock does indeed have that much play between the screws?? I think I will check into getting some bushings made out of aluminum.

Thx Diego

 

[Massoud]

Re: Tikka owners Help!! Have you seen this before?

There can be a large amount of free area around the screws, in fact that is desirable. The recoil lug is what hold the action in place, the screws merely keep the action from falling out of the stock. The screws should have free play to make sure that the force of the recoil is being transmitted to the recoil lug and not to the action screws. If you look at aluminum pillars, they have clearance for the screw, they are not a tight fit around the action screw.
Justin

 

[diego-ted]

Re: Tikka owners Help!! Have you seen this before?

Jason, thanks for the input. A couple of ?. So the screws just hold the stock to the action, is there any use for pillars other then to suspend the stock from the action? There is an aluminum block "wedge" forward of the action in the stock that keeps the stock from collapsing into the action correct? So the stock is just there but does not really do anything, except suspend the action? I am just trying to learn here?

thx Diego

 

[cowlickkid]

Re: Tikka owners Help!! Have you seen this before?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Massoud</div><div class="ubbcode-body">There can be a large amount of free area around the screws, in fact that is desirable. The recoil lug is what hold the action in place, the screws merely keep the action from falling out of the stock. The screws should have free play to make sure that the force of the recoil is being transmitted to the recoil lug and not to the action screws. If you look at aluminum pillars, they have clearance for the screw, they are not a tight fit around the action screw.
Justin </div></div>

+1, he did a bad bedding job for you. Find a new gunsmith.........

BTW, I have never bedded any Tikka of mine and all shot very well. The Tikkas do not need to be bedded.

 

[cowlickkid]

Re: Tikka owners Help!! Have you seen this before?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: diego-ted</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Jason, thanks for the input. A couple of ?. So the screws just hold the stock to the action, is there any use for pillars other then to suspend the stock from the action? There is an aluminum block "wedge" forward of the action in the stock that keeps the stock from collapsing into the action correct? So the stock is just there but does not really do anything, except suspend the action? I am just trying to learn here?

thx Diego
</div></div>

The only purpose for pillars are to prevent compression of the stock material as you torque the action screws. Pillars are not supposed to tighten the space between the action screws and the stock. In fact you want plenty of room between the action screws and the stock. Tikka stocks are very sturdy and under normal action screw torque specs will not compress. Have the action screw holes in the stock drilled out to their normal diameter and don't ask that guy to do anymore gunsmithing for you. This is really basic stuff and if he doesn't understnd it he is an amateur.

 

[Flynn]

Re: Tikka owners Help!! Have you seen this before?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Fireball</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Massoud</div><div class="ubbcode-body">There can be a large amount of free area around the screws, in fact that is desirable. The recoil lug is what hold the action in place, the screws merely keep the action from falling out of the stock. The screws should have free play to make sure that the force of the recoil is being transmitted to the recoil lug and not to the action screws. If you look at aluminum pillars, they have clearance for the screw, they are not a tight fit around the action screw.
Justin </div></div>

+1, he did a bad bedding job for you. Find a new gunsmith.........

BTW, I have never bedded any Tikka of mine and all shot very well. The Tikkas do not need to be bedded. </div></div>

I was very close to pulling the trigger on a T3 tactical, still debating. The plastic bolt shroud (falling off) and this stock problem made me question the durability of this weapon (factory delivered). I'm still on the fence.

 

[cowlickkid]

Re: Tikka owners Help!! Have you seen this before?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Flynn</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Fireball</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Massoud</div><div class="ubbcode-body">There can be a large amount of free area around the screws, in fact that is desirable. The recoil lug is what hold the action in place, the screws merely keep the action from falling out of the stock. The screws should have free play to make sure that the force of the recoil is being transmitted to the recoil lug and not to the action screws. If you look at aluminum pillars, they have clearance for the screw, they are not a tight fit around the action screw.
Justin </div></div>

+1, he did a bad bedding job for you. Find a new gunsmith.........

BTW, I have never bedded any Tikka of mine and all shot very well. The Tikkas do not need to be bedded. </div></div>

I was very close to pulling the trigger on a T3 tactical, still debating. The plastic bolt shroud (falling off) and this stock problem made me question the durability of this weapon (factory delivered). I'm still on the fence. </div></div>

Flynn, the issue with this fellow's Tikka is not the rifle's fault, it is his gunsmith's fault, and the owner's fault for assuming it needed bedding. He should have just left the rifle alone and shot it as it came from the factory. Instead he had a "gunsmith" bed the stock which isn't needed in the Tikka design as the recoil lug is embedded into the stock and the stock material is dense enough so that it doesn't compress when torqing the action screws.

Also, I have owned M595s and T3s for many years and have never had a problem with the plastic bolt shrouds (or any other aspect of the rifles as a matter of fact). If you want a nice aluminum bolt shroud they are available after market. The Tikkas are solid designs, the best rifle for the money made today, bar none. Please re-read the thread and try to understand what exactly happened here.

 

[ldunnmobile]

Re: Tikka owners Help!! Have you seen this before?

Forget the Tactical model. Get a Varmint or Scout and drop it in one of the fantastic chassis systems available. Same money as the Tactical, but much better gun.

 

[diego-ted]

Re: Tikka owners Help!! Have you seen this before?

Whoa Nelly, for clarification, my rifle shoots less than .5 MOA with factory ammo and will shoot 3/8 MOA with hand loads. The smith has 3 Tikkas, which he has bedded all. I have been developing ammo trying to improve of the sub .5 MOA, this along with a possible loose scope caused the rifle to string shots, still sub MOA. I thank everyone for their input. I am always willing to learn.

Diego