Slightly modified Tikka T3 6.5 CM

[Lost River]

So last week I met my dad up at the cabin for a break from everything. We got to spend a couple days goofing around before the girls (and Henry) and the noise arrived.





A few months earlier we got together at the cabin and for my 1/2 century B-day, he handed me a rifle case with a T3 sporter in 6.5 Creedmoor with a 24" barrel, identical to the one he had picked up after having a conversation with me about what I would get if I was going to buy a 6.5.

He knew I would likely not buy one for myself anytime soon, in spite of thinking highly of the setup, since I kill stuff well enough with my .308s and .300s.

I ended up taking it home and doing some mods to it before I even shot it, to make it more suitable for the style of hunting and terrain I most commonly hunt.

I swapped the sporter stock out for a factory composite T3 Varmint stock. The Varmint stock has a raised cheek piece and flat bottomed fore-end, as well as really free floats the barrel. Then I modified the bolt stop to take advantage of the fact that T3s are long actions. I then swapped out the magazine for a 300 win mag magazine. I loaded some projectiles in unprimed new cases and the longer .300 wm mag allowed me to chamber some very long cartridges. They eject without issue as well. More on that later.

The scope I had intended to put on it took an unintended tumble and had to be returned to the mothership (SWFA 3-15), so I pulled my older and much loved NF 5-22 off my target .300 and bolted it on, as it was already in a mount, and the intent was to just get it on paper and see how it shoots/do load development. My first thought was how goofy the thing looked at first, but after shooting it a bit, I admit I am having reservations about changing much up at the moment.












The T3 Varmint stock makes a difference in the handling/shootability of this gun. I shot this alongside a T3 22-250 and it is a bit more steady with the wider fore-end. Really liking how this seems to have a balance of just the right amount of overall barrel length and weight.

[Lost River]

It was pretty hot up at the cabin, and I was not really paying attention to how hot my barrel was getting. The gun in the varmint stock handles like a heavier gun.

The first 3 shot group was just above the paper shown here:



There were a couple of other shots between these next two groups as I made errors on my adjustments (I forgot the scope I just put on was MIL based, not MOA )

The bottom group was #2, and the top group #3. By the time I shot group 3, the barrel was too hot to touch, and it shows by the group size.



This is factory 143 grain ELD-X Hornady BTW.

I figured for not shooting for months, this was a good start.

[ccmdfd]

Sweet!

I have a T3 varmint in 6.5 and love it.

[fatdog]

Appears to be the same stock that came on my 6.5CR T3 CTR, except different bottom metal. Glad to hear the light barrel version is worthy.

[Lost River]

I shot two more groups with 140 ELD-M ammo before it became too hot and we packed it up for the day.




By now it was in the mid 80s and the barrel was too hot to touch so we figured it was time to head for even higher elevation and check out a lake that I had not been into before:



Supposed to be Tiger Musky in the lake. We didn't fish, just took my old Land Cruiser in to the lake, which was an adventure, as the "road" is typical in this part of the country. Part goat path, part Jeep trail, but once on top the view is not bad.





So, back to the rifle; I think it is going to be a winner. Hornady has really cracked the code on accurate factory ammo. I was very impressed considering it is a brand new gun and I am very much out of practice, not having shot hardly at all for quite some time. I have bought dies and some components, but with the 143 ELD-Ms (hunting ammo) giving an initial impression like they are, I will try a couple more boxes and decide if it is worth pursuing custom tailoring loads for the gun or not. I could probably squeeze a bit more velocity but we will see.

CHEERS!

[Lost River]

Appears to be the same stock that came on my 6.5CR T3 CTR, except different bottom metal. Glad to hear the light barrel version is worthy.

Sticking a sporter into the Varmint/CTR stock may be "that one neat trick".

[Bruce Cartwright]

Lost River:

Gorgeous rifle and the shooting is passable. As always, nice looking country.
Serious question: What game do you plan to hunt with the 6.5?

Hopefully our paths cross before too long.

Bruce

[Lost River]

Lost River:

Gorgeous rifle and the shooting is passable. As always, nice looking country.
Serious question: What game do you plan to hunt with the 6.5?

Hopefully our paths cross before too long.

Bruce

Bruce,

My dad would like to try to go for cow elk this year with them.

I have always used my .308s and .300s. Under the right conditions I am sure it will be fine, as I am pretty selective with my shooting. That said, elk are still elk. The primary reason for the 6.5 switch is that my dad is pushing 80 and there is no denying that lighter recoiling guns are easier to shoot more precisely than heavier ones. That said, he normally shoots a .300 Win and does well, but I think this is a good move for him, as he has lost a good bit of upper body mass in the last few years. Actually a lot of weight period.

I know that a lot of guys look at numbers and think that because a 6.5 manbun and a .300win have somewhat similar wind drift numbers, and they both ring steel at extended distances that they are somehow equal. Ringing steel and making clean kills on heavy animals are two entirely different parts of the elephant (as you know).

Lots of elk get taken annually with .243s so I am not overly concerned. Finding them situated where I shoot them, quarter them up, put them in a meat sled and drag them out without killing myself is usually the biggest challenge.

The elk seem to get heavier every year.

Mountains get steeper too:




I agree we need to link up before too long.

[ccmdfd]

I found that mine likes the 147 Match a bit better than the 143 ELD.

Wondering what, if any, difference there is in terminal performance.

cc

[WDR]

I found that mine likes the 147 Match a bit better than the 143 ELD.

Wondering what, if any, difference there is in terminal performance.

cc

My understanding of the Hornady lineup:

Match (aka ELD-M) = Tipped match bullet, not necessarily designed for expansion on game, might fragment more than expand. Probably not a problem on deer and antelope... might be on something like elk.

Precision Hunter (aka ELD-X) = X for expansion I guess, supposedly designed for expansion on game, I'd guess the jackets are a bit tougher, and the cores made of lead of a proper hardness for exapnsion, and with internal geometry to help get expansion going.

Plenty of folks have shot game with "match" bullets, but I prefer something like a Nosler Accubond for my hunting uses (.30-06 inside 500 yards).

I don't own a 6.5, but it interests me as an option for a lighter weight, short action gun that is still capable of making decent hits on something like deer and elk out to 500ish yards. Those Tikka rifles do seem to shoot very nicely. I really don't like to shoot so far, as mistakes tend to compound a lot past 500, IMHO. Lots of folks that think they can shoot 500+ yards on game, probably shouldn't be shooting, IMHO. It can be done, and done cleanly by a small percentage of folks, but it becomes less about hunting, and more about shooting IMHO, at that point.

And getting up into the high country really is a good idea when temps are hovering around 100 degrees... I toted the family a few hours away, and went fishing at a high lake yesterday, for just that reason. 70's instead of 100's was a nice change. Catching a few trout was a bonus.