MAH
Well-Known Member
I thought I'd share a wee story..
I’d called into a dealer's shop, I was looking for an Tikka LSA65 .270 Magazine.
The conversation went something like; “do you have any old Tikka Magazines.....blar blar...?”
The reply, “No, sorry, but we do have an old Tikka in .243 if you’re interested”.
I was curious, so he brought it out from the back and plonked it on the table with a thud.
It was covered in thick dust. Clearly been on a rack in the workshop for a long time.
When I first saw it, I fell in love.
The engraved magazine caught my attention first.
Then the prestige condition of the checkering.
But the thing that really ‘hooked’ me, was the 3 round storage compartment in the stock. I’d never seen the likes of that before.
I tried it, it mounted perfectly for me, and presented a full and clear sight picture.
It was a LSA55 in .243Win with a fabulous custom stock.
Buying it seemed extravagant, did I need another Tikka? I already had several, including an M55 in .243 for stalking.
I foresaw problems, what would I say to the good lady? Would the FLO give me a slot on my ticket for another?
However, this was just a very special thing.
Someone had put a lot of love into making this rifle look this good, it was fabulous and I knew I’d really enjoy using it.
The dealer didn’t know the history of it, “we’ve just had it in the back for a while..” he said. No kidding I thought.
I knew it looked fabulous, but would it shoot straight ?
I took the bolt out.
What struck me, was that the main shaft of the bolt and the bearing surfaces on the lugs still had a sheen to them.
This bold hadn’t been cycled that many times.
The crown looked ok, the rifling looked ok to the naked eye.
My mind was in over drive.
This rifle looks like a classic London gun, the exquisite engraving, the pistol grip rake and the cheek piece contour were all reminiscent of a Rigby stock.
The stock and the barrel had a few dings, typical of being carried around a mountain in Scotland, I thought.
May be it’s been carried for more miles, than rounds shot?
May be this thing of beauty has shot 20 rounds a year, over 30 years, and spent the last 10years in the dealers workshop.
The dealer said if I paid in full, he’d hold it until I got the paper work sorted, or give me a refund.
No turning back now.
We agreed a price.
Six months later I picked it up.
I tried it on the dealers range the same day. The groups with factory ammo varied around 2 ½” at 100yards.
Trepidation scratched at my earlier confidence, and I said to myself – “get it home, give it a good clean and it try again”.
Since then I’ve given the barrel some TLC to remove copper fouling, made some home loads with a COL to suit the barrel, and been to try it out again.
Yippeee....
Several groups are below 1”, the best is just ½”.
I am delighted.
View album 872
I’d called into a dealer's shop, I was looking for an Tikka LSA65 .270 Magazine.
The conversation went something like; “do you have any old Tikka Magazines.....blar blar...?”
The reply, “No, sorry, but we do have an old Tikka in .243 if you’re interested”.
I was curious, so he brought it out from the back and plonked it on the table with a thud.
It was covered in thick dust. Clearly been on a rack in the workshop for a long time.
When I first saw it, I fell in love.
The engraved magazine caught my attention first.
Then the prestige condition of the checkering.
But the thing that really ‘hooked’ me, was the 3 round storage compartment in the stock. I’d never seen the likes of that before.
I tried it, it mounted perfectly for me, and presented a full and clear sight picture.
It was a LSA55 in .243Win with a fabulous custom stock.
Buying it seemed extravagant, did I need another Tikka? I already had several, including an M55 in .243 for stalking.
I foresaw problems, what would I say to the good lady? Would the FLO give me a slot on my ticket for another?
However, this was just a very special thing.
Someone had put a lot of love into making this rifle look this good, it was fabulous and I knew I’d really enjoy using it.
The dealer didn’t know the history of it, “we’ve just had it in the back for a while..” he said. No kidding I thought.
I knew it looked fabulous, but would it shoot straight ?
I took the bolt out.
What struck me, was that the main shaft of the bolt and the bearing surfaces on the lugs still had a sheen to them.
This bold hadn’t been cycled that many times.
The crown looked ok, the rifling looked ok to the naked eye.
My mind was in over drive.
This rifle looks like a classic London gun, the exquisite engraving, the pistol grip rake and the cheek piece contour were all reminiscent of a Rigby stock.
The stock and the barrel had a few dings, typical of being carried around a mountain in Scotland, I thought.
May be it’s been carried for more miles, than rounds shot?
May be this thing of beauty has shot 20 rounds a year, over 30 years, and spent the last 10years in the dealers workshop.
The dealer said if I paid in full, he’d hold it until I got the paper work sorted, or give me a refund.
No turning back now.
We agreed a price.
Six months later I picked it up.
I tried it on the dealers range the same day. The groups with factory ammo varied around 2 ½” at 100yards.
Trepidation scratched at my earlier confidence, and I said to myself – “get it home, give it a good clean and it try again”.
Since then I’ve given the barrel some TLC to remove copper fouling, made some home loads with a COL to suit the barrel, and been to try it out again.
Yippeee....
Several groups are below 1”, the best is just ½”.
I am delighted.
View album 872
Try Riflemags.co.uk
