Interesting thoughts, after reading them I unwrapped an unused TX3 stock and put a barreled action in it. There is one designed contact point on either side of the barrel about 8cm from the action, nothing at all near the tip.
I don't see those contact points on either side of the barrel as having anything to do with the bedding, I always assumed they there are to ensure that the barrel stays centered in the barrel channel (which has very tight tolerances on the barrel, to keep shit and crap out I imagine). And I assumed that they are deliberately located far enough away from the tip of the barrel that they wouldn't accuracy (I've always removed them anyway).
I'm taken with the genius of the Tikka design that economizes where it can to give hunters a high quality sako barrel etc.
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