Thread: Tikka M55 action build

Gidday team,

I did post this question years ago but have no idea where that post will be now.

Sometime ago I purchased a Tikka M55 in .308 in a short action.

The long and short of it is that the rifle was stolen during a burglary years ago. However they did not get the bolt.

Some years later I was able to acquire a Tikka M55 action in .222 and stock with a worn out barrel.

My question is what are my options?

The bolt fits the action but won’t close which I presume is due to a spacing issue given it’s an entirely different action.

In theory am I able to build something that houses a .308 case e.g .243, .260 or even something a bit different like a.338 federal or .358win?

Any hints, tips, ideas, thoughts, suggestions or disagreements would be much appreciated.

Cheers,

Andrew

The bolt probably wont close due to some sort of bolt nose interference due to the different case head sizes (although you'd think the bolt would be the same OD at the nose, it might be to do with the amount a 222 case protrudes from the barrel versus a 308, can't think what the technical term for that is just now), which a good gunsmith should be able to sort when they rebarrel it, Get the barrel pulled first and that'll probly tell the story.

Cheers

Excellent rifles, inherently accurate. Good basis for a custom build. From memory the M55's used 2 lengths of action, a med action and a long action. The med action was used for the 222 as well as a number of other calibres, but had a block in the mag for the smaller 222. I think a decent gunsmith could sort that for you, and most of the 308 based cartridges should work, 22-250 included.

I have owned 3 M55's and still have one, opening out the bolt size to .308 generic should not be a problem, however if you want to change calibers you will need a different magazine, as far as I recall they are available ex the UK but are not necessarily easy to procure, and not cheap. Before you embark on any serious project take your bits to a reputable gunsmith and have him carry out a technical assessment. I bought one a couple of years from a forum member to fit a 1:8 twist barrel to, I test fired it and found that the grouping was around 1.5" at 100 yds which is less than spectacular for these guns. The gunsmith found that someone had modified the bolt locking lugs by removing metal from their aft end to effectively taper them, probably in some misguided effort to make the action smoother, problem is that it was ineffectively locking on two points rather than on two large flat faces and to repair it was not an option. The rest of the gun was in very good condition. This modification work was not carried out by the forum member that I purchased the rifle from and he was unaware of it, he took it back. While it's highly unlikely that you will have the same issue, these guns are generally about 40 years old and have seen a lot of life go by.

Funny thing is that I re-read your post and see that the global effect of the Coronavirus has seemingly affected my normally acute focus, just ignore all what I said about the bolt face and mag as they are .308 already.

Originally Posted by Andrew46826

Gidday team,

I did post this question years ago but have no idea where that post will be now.

Sometime ago I purchased a Tikka M55 in .308 in a short action.

The long and short of it is that the rifle was stolen during a burglary years ago. However they did not get the bolt.

Some years later I was able to acquire a Tikka M55 action in .222 and stock with a worn out barrel.

My question is what are my options?

The bolt fits the action but won’t close which I presume is due to a spacing issue given it’s an entirely different action.

In theory am I able to build something that houses a .308 case e.g .243, .260 or even something a bit different like a.338 federal or .358win?

Any hints, tips, ideas, thoughts, suggestions or disagreements would be much appreciated.

Cheers,

Andrew

Sounds like a good idea.
Entirely up to you re calibre.
If you still have 308 reloading gear etc. Stick with it.
Or join the man bun club and build a 6.5 Creedmoor.

Originally Posted by dogmatix

Sounds like a good idea.
Entirely up to you re calibre.
If you still have 308 reloading gear etc. Stick with it.
Or join the man bun club and build a 6.5 Creedmoor.

Or be a real man and build a 260rem!

Do you have the bolt for the .222 action?

To clarify .308 bolt and a .222 action. Also spanner in the works is I have no magazine whatsoever so would need to source one or it’d forever be a single shot

Unfortunately no .222 bolt for the action. I got the action cheap as chips for that reason.

I do still have .308 reloading gear but that seems a bit boring when I already have one!

Great info and advice from everyone, cheers.

Magazines can be sourced, I got 2 from the NZ agent a few years back. BUT you will have to take out a mortgage to pay for it! They are a simple box mag, a decent machinist/hobbyist/gunsmith could make one up, have one here for you to copy if you need it.

@Andrew46826 ,
Pm sent re magazine
This guy is making them, I have bought his products before this situation, easy to deal with and the product works, some assembly required.

Hey there Andrew46826, have you still got the original 222 magazine from the M55 donor action. I'd be keen to purchase it it you wanna quit it

The magazines bring big dollars here. Not uncommon to see them listed at $300. After market magazines starting to appear now. I have a .17 Remington, beautiful rifle but heavy compared to a T3.

do t3 barrels screw in this model?

that would be the best way to breath life into it at low cost