stooxie
03-19-2005, 20:03
Hi all,
I thought I'd post an update about the Tikka now that I've got a good number of rounds through it.
BTW, here's what I did with it, and a few other guns:
http://homepage.mac.com/courtj/Weekend-2005
The ergonomics of the stock and the overall action are excellent. Recoil is nicely transfered to the body through the rubber butt pad while the heavy barrel soaks up some of the energy. Cycling the action is smooth and flawless with any kind of ammo (125 PSP, 150 ball, 150 PSP, etc). The small ejection port does make it a pain to manually insert a round into the chamber but you certainly can do it. I actually rather like the fact that the chamber is somewhat surrounded by the steel. Good strength and keep crud from falling in.
Accuracy was dead on, round after round. All caveat that by saing that I was plinking at fairly close distance (50 yards) but there was always a hole exactly where I put the cross hairs. That should be more than adequate for hunting accuracy.
Something that really amazed me was how clean the rifle stayed. That is probably more a function of bolt actions in general but it sure beats semi-autos! With the obvious exception of using a bore-snake on the barrel, there was nothing else on the action except some of the pink primer sealant on the bolt face. That cleaned right off with a little solvent. Otherwise, the action remained spotless after 60 or 70 rounds.
I still love the sping loaded ejector. I know I've crowed about that before.
As for recoil in general, it's pretty common knowledge that 30-06 certainly packs a punch. However, after shooting some 3-inch shotgun shells during the weekend 30-06 is freakin tame by comparison. I had little trouble controlling my flinch and I'm sure the crisp trigger and good ergonomics help considerably. I just can't believe how punishing shotguns are. Like being hit in the shoulder with a 5 lb hammer! I'm quite comfortable with 30-06 after that! Not bad at all.
I have a Burris Fullfield II scope with the Ballistic Plex reticle on it. Yes, the one that's on sale from Natchez all the time. The scope lets in plenty of light and there is lots of eye relief. Never even thought about getting wacked in the eye from the recoil. With the right stance, I'm not sure how that would even happen. I really like the reticle. You can use it or not, the extra notches are not at all distracting if you just want to "zero at 200 yards and forget about it." The scope rings supplied with the rifle held tight and did not shoot loose.
That's it for now. I wonder how it would compare to a Browning A Bolt II.
-Stooxie
I thought I'd post an update about the Tikka now that I've got a good number of rounds through it.
BTW, here's what I did with it, and a few other guns:
http://homepage.mac.com/courtj/Weekend-2005
The ergonomics of the stock and the overall action are excellent. Recoil is nicely transfered to the body through the rubber butt pad while the heavy barrel soaks up some of the energy. Cycling the action is smooth and flawless with any kind of ammo (125 PSP, 150 ball, 150 PSP, etc). The small ejection port does make it a pain to manually insert a round into the chamber but you certainly can do it. I actually rather like the fact that the chamber is somewhat surrounded by the steel. Good strength and keep crud from falling in.
Accuracy was dead on, round after round. All caveat that by saing that I was plinking at fairly close distance (50 yards) but there was always a hole exactly where I put the cross hairs. That should be more than adequate for hunting accuracy.
Something that really amazed me was how clean the rifle stayed. That is probably more a function of bolt actions in general but it sure beats semi-autos! With the obvious exception of using a bore-snake on the barrel, there was nothing else on the action except some of the pink primer sealant on the bolt face. That cleaned right off with a little solvent. Otherwise, the action remained spotless after 60 or 70 rounds.
I still love the sping loaded ejector. I know I've crowed about that before.
As for recoil in general, it's pretty common knowledge that 30-06 certainly packs a punch. However, after shooting some 3-inch shotgun shells during the weekend 30-06 is freakin tame by comparison. I had little trouble controlling my flinch and I'm sure the crisp trigger and good ergonomics help considerably. I just can't believe how punishing shotguns are. Like being hit in the shoulder with a 5 lb hammer! I'm quite comfortable with 30-06 after that! Not bad at all.
I have a Burris Fullfield II scope with the Ballistic Plex reticle on it. Yes, the one that's on sale from Natchez all the time. The scope lets in plenty of light and there is lots of eye relief. Never even thought about getting wacked in the eye from the recoil. With the right stance, I'm not sure how that would even happen. I really like the reticle. You can use it or not, the extra notches are not at all distracting if you just want to "zero at 200 yards and forget about it." The scope rings supplied with the rifle held tight and did not shoot loose.
That's it for now. I wonder how it would compare to a Browning A Bolt II.
-Stooxie