Weight saving on a Tikka t[emoji[emoji239[emoji2388]]39[emoji2389]]x
A while ago I replaced my general hunting rifle which was a Howa 1500 in .308 with a Tikka t3x Superlite in 6.5CM. Went down a calibre to reduce recoil with a lighter rifle and felt like trying something different. Anyway, for a bit of fun I thought id see how much weight I could shave off it. I say for a bit of fun as Im well aware it’s not that logical to spend this much $ per gram saved, so feel free to laugh at me!
Anyway, I started with a Carbon Fisher stock from Rivers to Ranges Canterbury. Beautiful stock and my t3x slotted in perfectly. Nice simplistic finish which I think looks great. Original tikka stock was 820g and the Fisher stock is 500g. This cost me $1500 for a 320g weight saving which equates to $4.69 per gram.
Next I got the action machined at gunworks canterbury. They take some metal out of the top of the action above the ejection port. I forgot to weigh this before and after but I modelled up the missing metal with careful measurements on Autodesk Fusion and based on the volume of the missing stainless steel this has saved an estimated 50g. This cost $130 so a cost of $2.60 per gram. One of the most cost effective ways of saving some weight on a Tikka seemingly.
Also got bolt fluted which I likewise estimate saved about 11g at a cost of $158. Excellent job aesthetically by gunworks. This works out at $14.36 per gram. So as people have said before mostly an aesthetic thing rather than serious weight saving.
Ordered a MTN gear ambidextrous hunter original titanium bolt handle:
https://www.mtngear.nz/products/mtn-tikka-bolt-handle
This was $125 and saves 31 grams compared to the factory bolt handle. $4.03 per gram.
Also got a titanium bolt shroud from High Velocity Hunting Australia:
https://hvha.com.au/product/tikka-t3...d-ul-titanium/
This was also $125 landed in NZ and saves 16 grams relative to the factory bolt shroud. $7.81 per gram.
The whole bolt assembly is now down to 255grams. I didn’t write down what it weighed factory but I think it was about 315g or so.
Ive put some Talley low rings on. I think they weigh about 50g from memory for the pair. Have used a Bushnell Elite 4-12 x 40 scope which weighs 400g. I was originally going to put on a Leupold VX-3 3.5-10x40 which is a similar lightweight scope, however the Bushnell came up second hand so thought id give that a go. I’ve left the barrel at the factory 22” as I want to keep as much velocity as I can for the open country. Anyway thought this might be useful as a guide to those looking to save some weight on the already quite light Tikka t3x.
