I have the opportunity to purchase a new tac a1 for around $1,100. It is only available in .260 though. I have nothing against the caliber. But I don’t reload and don’t really want to stock up ammo for another caliber. Is it just a simple barrel swap to make it a Creedmoor or is there more to it?
- Thread starter Lmatt
- Start date
That's a good price, if you wanted to shoot 260. Price out which barrel you would want to replace it with and look at the comparable options. If you want to go 6.5 Creedmoor, I've seen those for around $1500 (try searching gun.deals for the UPC). Can you get that quality of a barrel for the $400 difference? I'd doubt it. If you want to go with a different caliber, then that might be a really good deal.
As far as removing the barrel, Tikkas have a reputation for being very hard to remove the barrel from. Doable, but involved. And yeah, that would be all you need if it's a Creedmoor sized cartridge, assuming you get a shouldered barrel (or a barrel nut and Go gauge), plus torque wrenches.
As far as removing the barrel, Tikkas have a reputation for being very hard to remove the barrel from. Doable, but involved. And yeah, that would be all you need if it's a Creedmoor sized cartridge, assuming you get a shouldered barrel (or a barrel nut and Go gauge), plus torque wrenches.
It should be a simply barrel swap. That's what I did on an AIAW years ago. I will say .260 is a great round....better than 6.5CM, but hard to find.
Huh, I didn’t realize swapping the barrel would be such a pain. I have a ctr with a 20” barrel that I really like. I thought about swapping the barrel on it because I heard how slow tikka barrels are. After reading that thread I think I’ll just keep my factory barrel. It is plenty accurate for my use. I am only tempted to buy the tac a1 because I haven’t seen them priced this low. What my collection is short of is a magnum. Wish I could make it a 300 prc. It might be worth the hassle then.
Not really a pain to change a barrel, just a pain if the new one doesnt mate up properly lol
Ive read that carbon6 (mcgowen) is cutting shouldered tikka barrels without having to have the action in hand. Might just be able to swap in one of those if thats the case or another 6.5 creed factory barrel if you can find a take off. I would still check it with a headpsace gauge though before shooting to ensure its correct.
Or set your own headspace with a nut set up.
Ive read that carbon6 (mcgowen) is cutting shouldered tikka barrels without having to have the action in hand. Might just be able to swap in one of those if thats the case or another 6.5 creed factory barrel if you can find a take off. I would still check it with a headpsace gauge though before shooting to ensure its correct.
Or set your own headspace with a nut set up.
I bought a PVA prefit for my Tac A1 and sent it to Isaac over at Southern Indiana Precision to swap for me. He charged me $50 and had it back in just over a week. The prefit from Patriot Valley hammers too, I will say that after putting a few hundred rounds down the barrel I finally figured out that it needed a seating depth test to shoot below 1/2 MOA.
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