2 Barrels, 1 Rifle

Alright so here's what I'm thinking for my next rifle.
Tikka T3x .308, 16 or 16.5" dropped in a KRG Bravo stock.
Then a 6.5CM Criterion pre-fit 24" or cut to 22"

So I have the ability to swap between the two where I want too

I will make a barrel vise, buy the necessary action wrenchs and go / no-go Guages.

I understand that the cost to buy the equipment but the hassle, it's probably smarter to just buy a second rifle in the same stock and swap the glass over but the idea is to be able to also others that want to do barrel swaps & lend out to equipment to people on this forum.

My reasons for wanting a shorter .308 and a longer 6.5CM might not make sense to others but they make sense in my head 😅

But give me you honest feedback, am I setting myself up for failure with this or is this something that others on this forum also do?

Might be easier to do it with one of those single shot bergeras or whatever they are

Hardy Hybrid?

Tikkas have a reputation of the barrel being on very tight...

I have been thinking about a switch barrel rifle, just waiting to find a 98 mauser action (because that just feels like the right action to use) at the right price

@blip but then it wouldn't be a bolt gun 😂
@STC Yeah that would be really nice but can't afford the price tag just yet. I'm thinking I'll have a go to get the factory barrel off myself, failing that, I'll get a gunsmith to do it (without relief cuts) after that I shouldn't have any issues with swapping barrels as they won't be so damn tight.
@makka Yeah I feel you with the M98. I'm also considering a savage 110 but Tikkas seem to be pretty priced and more plentiful here

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Originally Posted by STC

Hardy Hybrid?

Tikkas have a reputation of the barrel being on very tight...

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Not after you pull it off once

Hey mate, it's a great idea but . . . I've gathered the bits up for such a project at least 4or 5 times, but never actually completed (unless you count a TC Contender with various barrels as the same thing). Currently I've got 3 or so Savages and at least a couple of spare barrels and the gear to change them. It might just be me but once I put one together I've seldom changed it again. Best of luck with your project.

There are also Criterion "Remage" and Howa prefit "barrel nut" barrels available via Steve's wholesale, have a look at the website!

I thought about buy the bare tikka action on trade me and putting a barrel on it then just swapping all the bit over when I felt like a change


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@Tentman, awesome cheers mate. Will definitely take that onboard, good to hear from someone with experience.
Oh sweet, I'll check them out

If you can bring one of these lugs home….
https://westtexordnance.com/home-extended/switchlug/

Have got a 6CM and a 223 barrel for my Tikka. It’s not a big deal to swap barrels over, but it you definitely want a quality scope that tracks well so you can adjust your zero easily and repeatedly.

Mine are shouldered barrels though, so easy to torque up consistently.

You could also look into the baretta BRX1 - but at that cost you could own 2 tikkas…

@Friwi that's an idea. Might have to look into that
@gqhoon true, what brand barrels do you have?
@SpeightsDrinker nah because then I'd have a beretta ��

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Originally Posted by makka

I have been thinking about a switch barrel rifle, just waiting to find a 98 mauser action (because that just feels like the right action to use) at the right price

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So a Winchester 70 would be perfect .... buy mine :D

Second hand tikka's are cheap. An action wrench, bbl vise, spare barrel is 2/3 of the cost of a good used rifle.
Swapping scopes and barrels is a fuk around.
So yes, great idea, get to it.

Short of two separate barreled actions, you can never be -certain- of the zero if you swap them round. At the very least, you're gonna be chewing through extra ammo checking zeros after a swap.

I'm not too worried about having to re-zero. I can do this pretty quick. I've got a PST gen ii 3-15, from what I've read, when you swap the barrel, it's likely to have a different POI but is consistent enough that others use offsets. I'd however do a zero confirmation and re-zero as it shouldn't be that far out. ��

The idea is to use the .308 in the close country and use the 6.5 for those hunts in the open. The decision on what to run would be made before I step off for the hunt so it's not really something that I'm wanting for field changing.

Oh and reasons for wanting the .308 is cheaper ammo for plinking, and I like it ����

Apart from the "I did that" factor, by the time you set yourself up and get everything sorted out and get yourself into the pattern of thinking ahead about when you're hunting and when you are going to get everything organised ahead of time - it's basically just going to cost about the same as having two rifles. One in .308 and the other in 6.5...

Forgive me for being that guy, but the other issue is the potential for wear and tear in the barrel tenon threads taking barrels on and off (small risk but still) and also the stuff around removing the scope and bases every time as if you are using screw-on bases rather than clamp on usually the front base screws project into the barrel tenon area and interfere with the barrel threads. I prefer the screw-on style rather than clamp on, as I've had the clamp on type come loose and slip about.

Don’t listen to the haters. Do it. My mate runs almost the exact same set up. 14” 308 and 26” 6GT, and 24” 6.5CM all on one tikka action and in a KRG X-RAY. You won’t wear out the thread and you’ll see maybe 2 mils of zero shift between barrels. Use good grease and a torque wrench. I use 80FTLBs for all my barrel swaps.also if a good gunsmith fits your barrels initially, you won’t need go/no go gauges.

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Originally Posted by No.3

Apart from the "I did that" factor, by the time you set yourself up and get everything sorted out and get yourself into the pattern of thinking ahead about when you're hunting and when you are going to get everything organised ahead of time - it's basically just going to cost about the same as having two rifles. One in .308 and the other in 6.5...

Forgive me for being that guy, but the other issue is the potential for wear and tear in the barrel tenon threads taking barrels on and off (small risk but still) and also the stuff around removing the scope and bases every time as if you are using screw-on bases rather than clamp on usually the front base screws project into the barrel tenon area and interfere with the barrel threads. I prefer the screw-on style rather than clamp on, as I've had the clamp on type come loose and slip about.

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Jeez Benchrest competitors remove and fit barrels many times and never have the problem of thread wear!!!
I've got one action and 7 barrels in different calibers and two bolts with different bolt faces and never have I had the problem of thread wear, but I do use an anti seize lubricant on the threads since it's a stainless action and the barrels are stainless, the lubricant is to prevent galling the threads.
My scope stays on the action everytime I change the barrel and a barrel vise and action wrench is certainly cheaper than a rifle or even an action.

If the scope base threads are touching the barrel tenon threads then you will most likely end up with accuracy issues.

If the barrels are chambered and fitted and have shoulder and not a barrel nut you don't need a go - nogo guage, just remove one barrel and screw the other on and tighten it up adjust the scope and go and shoot.

One thing I would highly recommend if you go ahead with this is to have the action checked to ensure the front face of the action is truely perpendicular and square to the threads and the threads are square to the bolt bore.

@gqhoon true, what brand barrels do you have? [/QUOTE]
Bartleins and Kriegers. KiwiGreg on here did all the gunsmithing.

POI of any barrel would always be within 0.1Mils of where it shot previously, provided you torqued them the same every time. I would also remove the barrelled action from the chassis to swap barrels, but I’m confident that if it was bedded correctly then you wouldn’t need to (mine was just v-block).

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Originally Posted by Tuckerbox

Don’t listen to the haters. Do it. My mate runs almost the exact same set up. 14” 308 and 26” 6GT, and 24” 6.5CM all on one tikka action and in a KRG X-RAY. You won’t wear out the thread and you’ll see maybe 2 mils of zero shift between barrels. Use good grease and a torque wrench. I use 80FTLBs for all my barrel swaps.also if a good gunsmith fits your barrels initially, you won’t need go/no go gauges.

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Mean, cheers mate, bloody good to hear! Do you have advice on what barrels to use or what does your mate us?

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Originally Posted by 19Badger

Jeez Benchrest competitors remove and fit barrels many times and never have the problem of thread wear!!!
I've got one action and 7 barrels in different calibers and two bolts with different bolt faces and never have I had the problem of thread wear, but I do use an anti seize lubricant on the threads since it's a stainless action and the barrels are stainless, the lubricant is to prevent galling the threads.
My scope stays on the action everytime I change the barrel and a barrel vise and action wrench is certainly cheaper than a rifle or even an action.

If the scope base threads are touching the barrel tenon threads then you will most likely end up with accuracy issues.

If the barrels are chambered and fitted and have shoulder and not a barrel nut you don't need a go - nogo guage, just remove one barrel and screw the other on and tighten it up adjust the scope and go and shoot.

One thing I would highly recommend if you go ahead with this is to have the action checked to ensure the front face of the action is truely perpendicular and square to the threads and the threads are square to the bolt bore.

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This is exactly what I was hoping to hear, thanks mate!
@gqhoon, legend thanks mate!

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Originally Posted by AMOSK93

Mean, cheers mate, bloody good to hear! Do you have advice on what barrels to use or what does your mate us?

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Two are tikka factory barrels and one is a hardy barrel fitted by them. I swap them for him. I’m about to make my tikka hunting rifle a swap barrel rifle too.

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Originally Posted by 19Badger

Jeez Benchrest competitors remove and fit barrels many times and never have the problem of thread wear!!!
I've got one action and 7 barrels in different calibers and two bolts with different bolt faces and never have I had the problem of thread wear, but I do use an anti seize lubricant on the threads since it's a stainless action and the barrels are stainless, the lubricant is to prevent galling the threads.
My scope stays on the action everytime I change the barrel and a barrel vise and action wrench is certainly cheaper than a rifle or even an action.

If the scope base threads are touching the barrel tenon threads then you will most likely end up with accuracy issues.

If the barrels are chambered and fitted and have shoulder and not a barrel nut you don't need a go - nogo guage, just remove one barrel and screw the other on and tighten it up adjust the scope and go and shoot.

One thing I would highly recommend if you go ahead with this is to have the action checked to ensure the front face of the action is truely perpendicular and square to the threads and the threads are square to the bolt bore.

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This is all true - the thread wear is a little different in the target scenario though as most target barrels go on for the life of the barrel - if a barrel comes off it's for a reason. For a switch barrel the things will likely go on and off many times more than a target setup? Thread wear is something that is a bit weird in my experience, I had an example of it the other day where one bolt came out OK but the next didn't. One part changed out in 30mins (good side), the opposite bolt on the other side 8.5hours driving the bolt in 1/2 a flat at a time over 40mm of bolt length... Painful. I couldn't get the bit off that the bolt screwed into either, prick of a design with no clearance at all around it.

The scope base screws are interesting, the number of rifles I've found where the front base screw holes are into the barrel threads - I think that the people installing the things don't tend to check the screw length vs hole depth. It should be clear of the barrel, but... If the front screw in the front base bottoms before it pulls tight on the base that can have an obvious issue, but if the rear one is too long it can touch the bolt nose and also create issues (more for 2-lug bolts).

The mating faces on the action and barrel are a definite truing requirement - if they aren't square to each other they can come up at different tensions and positions and that can change lots.

Just buy a Blaser

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Originally Posted by PerazziSC3

Just buy a Blaser

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My opinion too. Or any one of the switch barrels already available.
I don't see the point in mucking around with experimental stuff when a simple hex key gets me swapped out with a different caliber.
For the added weight of a barrel and bolt head I can swap barrels while hunting. Takes about two minutes.
If you add all the associated costs with Smithing and tools, Blaser wont be that much more expensive.

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Originally Posted by SpeightsDrinker

You could also look into the baretta BRX1 - but at that cost you could own 2 tikkas…

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I was looking at them. Not so expensive, about the same as a Tikka. Calibre sets??

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Originally Posted by 300CALMAN

I was looking at them. Not so expensive, about the same as a Tikka. Calibre sets??

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I believe they have 308, 300WM, 6.5CM, 243, 30-06.
One of the reasons why I don't want one is because the rail extension is on the barrel so you end up doing an optic swap or have multiple optics on each barrel.
Then there's the other issue of sourcing the barrels. Doesn't seem to be a good supply of them in NZ

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Originally Posted by PerazziSC3

Just buy a Blaser

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Bank says no unfortunately