Thread: Rifle choice: $1600 budget

Originally Posted by Moa Hunter

They shoot well because Tikka got the bearing points correct. Tikkas are pressure bedded, so they will shoot well in a given repeatable situation like a range, but in a different situation - over a log, bonnet etc can produce and unexplained WTF miss. They shoot even better in an aftermarket stock

This is 100% correct and thought this was common knowledge? Get away with maybe shooting a 223 tikka off a bipod like a varmint as not much recoil, but others you are better off over a pack or bags.

Have a Tikka in a Manners and had that bedded and free-floating same as a custom in a Ken Henderson, it has a alloy bedding block but I still bedded that as thought the action load wasn't spread out enough where it was loading on the bedding block.

Tikka's shoot well because they make great barrels and have amazing quality control, the action tolerances are also excellent.

Originally Posted by jackson21

This is 100% correct and thought this was common knowledge? Get away with maybe shooting a 223 tikka off a bipod like a varmint as not much recoil, but others you are better off over a pack or bags.

Have a Tikka in a Manners and had that bedded and free-floating same as a custom in a Ken Henderson, it has a alloy bedding block but I still bedded that as thought the action load wasn't spread out enough where it was loading on the bedding block.

Tikka's shoot well because they make great barrels and have amazing quality control, the action tolerances are also excellent.

Was the Ken H stock noticeably better after bedding?

Originally Posted by rimubay

Was the Ken H stock noticeably better after bedding?

Yes is the answer, but I'm not sure exactly that was the issue? Was more of routine process of elimination. Rifle was double grouping, like stock was pinching. Talked to Ken about it and had never had any problems with the alloy bedding block stocks, just drop in and away you go. I sent down to him and got him to bed anyway and he was happy to do it at quite reasonable charge regardless, if that's what I wanted?

One of the other things it possibly could have been bolt release not quite fitted in correctly when reassembled and was pinching. Long story, short I had also been using RE26 in a suppressed 20 inch 22 Creedmore and had created a carbon ring. When I got rifle back I had also been doing quite a bit of research on this and took quite a bit of CLR to remove. I changed powder to RE16 and rifle has shot awesomely ever since.

So could of been any of the 3 things, I'm not sure? The bedding block stocks shouldn't require bedding, but I just like to in nearly all my rifles and I wanted to get more surface area on where action bares on the bedding block. That's why I like the old cheapy Ruger American's, they have an awesome bedding system.