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Buidling a Custom Rifle

Buidling a Custom Rifle

My hunting life started a more than a few years back now. Not long after getting my Driver’s Licence, I headed out to the local range, joined up on the spot, hired a centrefire rifle, bought some ammunition and away I went. With no direct family connection to shooting and hunting, I started from scratch. For a while, my hunting was really more like an armed bushwalk, but I got better. In thinking back, it’s been a process of self-motivation. Saying I am self-taught might sound impressive; however, in truth, I have learned from a number of people along the way. That has included what I should do, as well as some very good examples of what not to do, either way I’ve certainly learnt from it.

Left hooker

As a left hander, it has always been a little annoying that things didn’t fit quite correctly. Starting out, with left-handed gear being hard to come by, and so expensive I favoured lever-actions, which and apart from the ejection path, are very much ambidextrous in operation and use. My lever guns have included an older Winchester Model 94 in .32-20 Winchester. A Rossi Puma in .44 Magnum, and both a Winchester 94 and Marlin 336 in .30/30. All were very good rifles and served me well, however their calibres did lack the legs of a proper .30” cal, like a 308 Winchester or 30-06 Springfi eld in a decent bolt-action build. And while I no longer own a lever-action currently, I do have my eye on one, watch this space.

As time went on, and my earnings increased, my options began to broaden. About 15 years ago, I managed to locate a left hand 308 Win. It wasn’t much of a rifle, but it was a start. A little while after, I moved it on and bought myself a Tikka T3, probably the best move I ever made.

Tikka rifles have become a firm favourite here in Oz and also in the UK, as I’m reliably informed and I’ve owned a couple. Of the many things I like about them, a big part of that has been their leftie range. With Tikka, I had some real choice and that initial T3 is still with me. It’s a .30-06, a damn fine calibre and, while a good rifle out of the box, I really wanted to make it my own.

Classic build

The thing is, I like to experiment, so it stands to reason that I would begin doing this with the .30-06. My experimenting is often driven by a vision, and with the T3 it was to build a classic hunting rifle. This grand adventure started very soon after I bought it and continues today, although I reckon I’m getting close. So, what came first? Well, let’s start with the initial set up. Along with a friend, who is also a leftie, we bought both new rifles at the same time. I chose a blued Hunter Tikka T3 in .30-06, while he went for a stainless synthetic stocked model in the same calibre.

We had waited a total of nine months for those rifles to arrive. What, I hear you say, why such a long, time delay between the order and arrival? Because we had to order left hand rifles and they had to come from Finland that’s why. As always with anything left hand in shooting, although options are available, the majority of people are right handers, so maintaining the same stocks levels of left- and right-hand types of guns would not be cost effective from a financial standpoint.

Initial glass

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When we finally got them, we almost immediately swapped out the stocks. His was now a blued rifle with black synthetic furniture, while I had a stainless hunter configuration, which at the time wasn’t available from Tikka for the leftie. On top of my gun, I added a stainless fi nish Leupold VX-3 scope. I got a little bit of ribbing about that rifl e. More than one old hand told me you can’t hunt with such a shiny rifl e; however, I never heard any such advice from a Red Deer.

Not long after, I made the first improvement, that was to Tru Oil the stock. The Tikka did have a nice piece of timber; however, the finish was a little flat and I didn’t think it properly showed off the grain. Tru Oil certainly improved the looks, as well as added another layer of protection, which came in handy when the drought broke. For a time, I was visiting the range and shooting a lot off the bench. In conversation, it was suggested I consider getting some work down to the trigger. This led to a lightening of the mechanism, however I found it didn’t really suit my kind of hunting.

As suggested, it was great at the range, as most trigger weights of this type are, but in the field, it became something I used to think about way too much, and that got in the way of my hunting. The worry, I felt was that in the excitement of the chase and even with good gun safety protocols, a lighter pull could result in an accidental discharge at worst, or a misplaced shot at best. The end result of that particular experiment was to return the trigger to a factory setting, which is where it has stayed.

Lop thoughts

Tikka stocks are reasonably long compared to other factory rifles, although they are still a little short for me. Searching around for a replacement, I eventually decided to have some custom furniture built. As life would have it, a little over an hour North from my place there is a small dairy farm that conveniently houses a workshop of a tremendous gun and stock builder. This was my first experience in this area and getting a true custom built item proved hugely rewarding.

Firstly, I had to pick the timber, which took about two hours, after which I had decided on a piece of Afghan walnut that would be finished off with Papua New Guinea Ebony. Next came the fitting. Initially I was leaning towards a Monte Carlo style butt, I took the advice of the expert and went for a very straight combed layout with small pistol grip and pancake style cheek piece, so it would be a true leftie. Once that was done, I made my order, paid my deposit and said goodbye to the Tikka for about six months. I, like most of us, hate waiting; however, the end result was nothing short of magnificent, although to be honest, I’m never getting my money back on that one. But I did not do it for a resale value, just a gun I always wanted, built for purpose.

Plans, plans, plans

Along the way, I bought myself a Swarovski Z6. I had realised that generally I hunted on 3 power, so decided to experiment with my optics, by dropping a chunk of money on some quality Austrian glass. I ended up with a 1-6x24mm. The new scope changed the look of the rifle, and its handling too. The Leupold was a great optic no doubt, however the Swarovski is so much better, especially when hunting in heavy cover. Along with the custom fitted stock, it changed the rifle from rolling thunder, to greased lighting.

So, that brings us to the latest modification, Cerakoting. Deciding to completely recoat my rifle has been a long, slow decision. I had gotten another gun ‘Cerakoted’, a left-hand Ruger Scout and was really impressed with the outcome. It seemed like the Tikka was about ready for a new paint job so off it went. To really complete the job, I also included a new metal magazine and trigger assembly and a metal bolt shroud, both designed to replace the existing polymer versions to really complete the change. The outcome was as I hoped. It certainly has changed the look of the rifle and probably brought a lot of my ideas for a hunting rifle all together.

Plans, plans I always have plans. My next move will again be to change out the optics. I have a plan for a safari rifle, and every safari rifle needs a Swarovski 1-6. Since I already have one of those, I’ll need something new for the Tikka. What exactly is the real point of contention, maybe a new 2-10, maybe another compact, to be honest I don’t quite rightly know; however, I’m sure I’ll get there. Maybe when I do, this rife may then fi nally be finished. As a build project, it’s run long overdue and any ideas of budget have faded to a distance memory. However, everyone needs a vice, and spending big on hunting rifles seems to be mine. I’m close to having the perfect tool I’ve always wanted, well nearly, there’s just a couple more things to do. In retrospect, I suppose this really is a semi-custom job, as I retained the factory barrelled action, which being a T3, was more than up to the job.

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