Tikka M55 info required.

[Alpha1]

Any body owned a TIKKA M55 I am told they are quality rifles and the action is a good basis to build a custom rifle on. I can get my hands on one for reasonable money. Any info gratefully received.

[ovenpaa]

They are supposed to be very good and are certainly well regarded by those that own them. I was tempted to get one to go with the M65A we have here. They seem to be a bit earlier than the M65A so probably early 80's There are a few articles about them being used by the SAS/SBS and Australian Special forces. having not pulled one out of the stock I am not sure if they are round bottom or flat bottom actions.

Good luck with the build however if you find one with an original Pecar or S&B it would be worth considering leaving the rifle in its original state.

[Chapuis]

I had a M65 which is the longer action some years ago. Rather foolishly I sold it when I got married as stalking had to be put on hold for a few years. An excellent rifle built to last. The trigger is easily adjusted via the magazine well and is simply one of the best on a standard sporting rifle. Magazines are made of steel but are probably hard to replace these days if you should be so unfortunate to misplace yours. It is push fed rather than controlled feed. Barrels were made with Bofors steel. I wish that I could pick up one in nice condition as they were far better built (solid quality) than some newer rifles.

[waterford103]

I have an M65 in .308 .When I got it the barrel was in a poor state and have since re-barrelled it . I restored the wood which had been varnished and copied the profile of the original super sporter barrel , extending it by 1" .The adjustable butt and moveable cheekpiece were novel for the time and as Ovenpaa says ,some went to Special Forces , they are astoundingly accurate up to the best the cartridge will do.As the M65 is the long action a special mag is needed and hen's teeth doesn't come in to it , but , AICS mags are a very close fit and need only slight mods to work well , 10rd capacity !Restore it ,cherish it , please don't mutilate it .

:goodjob:

[ovenpaa]

The earlier Tikka rifles are superb and the M55 and M65 versions are usually available for sensible money if you do some searching. The M65A although not an expensive rifle is rarer than hens teeth and I doubt there is more than a handful in the UK. Magazines for all of them can be problematical to source and I have seen magazines advertised for the M65A at GBP160 and GBP200 each this year. Luckily we have a spare.

Back to the original post my view is these are not the sort of rifles that deserve to be chopped or customised, they have been perfectly good as they were for the last 30+ years so why mess with them?

[Mezzer]

Any body owned a TIKKA M55 I am told they are quality rifles and the action is a good basis to build a custom rifle on. I can get my hands on one for reasonable money. Any info gratefully received.

Alpha;

I was given one of these to play with for 'evaluation' purposes in the early 80's.
Very well put together and accurate ...? Oh YES!
A bit heavy though and I recall that the bolt handle came quite close to the scope at the top of it's stroke. Our standard scope as fitted was okay but anything bigger would have been a problem.
Quality kit and if the price seems reasonable to you then snap it up (subject to the usual bore inspection etc). If I had a spare slot on my ticket I'd have no hesitation in giving one a home in my cabinet.

Mezzer

[Sandgroper]

From the Australian War Memorial http://www.awm.gov.au/collection/REL/16601.001

Summary

This rifle was used by the Australian Special Air Service Regiment when they had the responsibility for urban counter terrorist operations in the 1980s. Marksmen of the regiment were issued with two of these rifles, one like this one for day use and another fitted with a night telescope. A number of these rifles were obtained from the British SAS Regiment who used them for the same purpose as the Australian unit. The choice of the high velocity .22-250 smallbore cartridge was to reduce excessive penetration and eliminate ricochets.

[ovenpaa]

What is not to like about such a thing in the form it was created in.

[Alpha1]

Well we will find out to morrow I have a range day to morrow on a range that goes out to 600yards which is a rarity in my neck of the woods. hopefully I will be able to give it a go.

[lapua338]

OMG

I just found one... deactivated!

This should be considered a gun crime.

http://www.dandbmilitaria.com/deactivat ... .-237.html