Project Tacticool .204 Tikka Varmint Stainless

[Stinky Coyote]

Having fun with this one. Was hoping it would like the 39gr federal sierra blitzking load and it did, it liked it best of four i tried. Setting up for coyote calling, didn't start painting until i saw some shooting of course but its all good now. We are just about complete. Talley's off and EGW extended rail on way, will use some weaver style rings on that to get my long arse scope pushed ahead where it needs and have little better ring spacing. Got 30 rounds of 40 gr v-max on it for breakin with 6 cleanings before a scope even went on it. Then 1st day on paper quick laying in field as usual to see if it had a preference of the four ammos. This was second group, 1st with the 39 gr load. .671" ctc at 122 yrds, load averaging 3660 fps.


Stock gun with HSS oversize bolt knob/handle and aluminum shroud combo.



Here i shot at 520 yrds collecting drop data. First two groups on paper. 2.0" ctc and 3.43" ctc.


List of mods:
beadblasted bolt body and upper half of bolt handle to take the polished shine off
hss bolt handle/knob/shroud combo
trigger set 2.0 lbs exact(all shooting done 2.5 lbs but just adjusted it down more)
pillar bedded down to metal inserts in bottom plastic for solid lock up
krylon fusion tan/brown

Whats left:
scope at korth for m1 elevation and move the standard target knob to windage
remount scope on egw rail
rezero and confirm drop data collection
then order kenton speed dial knob to match
then paint the rest, barrel, action, scope/rail/rings and likely bottom plastic and bottom half of magazine, only things not painted will be recoil pad, sling studs, top half of bolt handle and the bolt body

decided to stencil name on this one for comic relief, the big gatlin gun Jesse Ventura uses in the original 'predator' movie he called 'ol' painless', thought that would work on this little peashooter

as said, having fun with this project! Will update with final pics at some point and likely some fur beside it. Hope you enjoy.

As it sat just before i painted bolt knob/rear shroud and removed scope and talleys.


As it sits now, waiting for rail/scope.

[jim-bo]

its a beaut.

Tincy bit jealous

[berjerkin]

don't paint the stainless!

[Stinky Coyote]

i've gone mad, i gotta paint the stainless, okay, maybe i'll beadblast the barrel/action first to see if i can knock the factory finish down a peg or two on the shine factor....then just the rail/scope, magazine etc. and will see how it looks then but this rifle going to war......war with coyotes , scratches so what, i'll paint it again when enough wear and tear showing

[Stinky Coyote]

The EGW 0 moa rail showed up and i'd found some leupy medium quick detach locally, not first choice but pickins were slim. The scope came back from korth (what service btw...love that outfit!) with the m1 knobs and i hunt with standard duplex reticles for everthing coyote size and up so that is how i role.

So back to laying in the snow -21, quick 200 yrd zero, wow does it stack them tight at that range! Love it. Then off to 500 yrds to confirm drop data collected the first try at 520.

So here it is with rail/rings/m1 knobs vs the talley rings and standard elevation knob.


Lined up at 500 yrds, little white dot at the top of the yellow stubble you might be able to see, that'd be the paper 500 yrds away.


Kestrel said wind 2.0 mph from left to right. 1st group held dead center of bull, 28 clicks dialed in, 4.43" ctc and a bit low and 7 1/2" right. 2nd group i held the very left point of the crosshair and dialed up 2 more clicks, it goes 2.25" and 7 3/4" right of aim point.


So in case anyone interested. I only use that simple big game info calculator and its been accurate for me to 920 yrds so far on other guns. When i do this i get a back calculated bc of .195....that matches my wind drift and come up perfectly for the elevation/temp etc. That bullet is published .287 bc above 3600 fps i believe and i get 3660. Anyhow, keep in mind, it appears to have much more consistant bc to the rest of the .204 caliber bullets i see published numbers for. Whateva, its a keeper.

Was neat to see i almost duplicated the two groups i shot at 520 over the caldwell tackdriver bag, so a tiny bit looser over the bipod. So looks like a 250 yrd zero give 4.3" pbr to 300 yrds, added 3 clicks to the 200 yrd zero as per data and good to go.

This morning it got a large old female coyote, three legged and for a long time too, very healthy old dog at 250 yrds (my zero was bang on, hit right where i aimed). Down on the spot spin/bite/flop/done. 106 rounds on the barrel at this point.

So 'ol'painless' starts its life doing what it was intended to do. I will await the custom matched dial from leupold before i paint the metal to match the stock. That will complete this set up and it is now fully at war with the ever so wiley coyote.


Will track this down in couple weeks once the paint job is done and add couple pics to conclude this project.

[Marlin xl7]

I still LOVE that paint on the stock.

[coyotekiller]

nice guns i just bought a tikka

[Skinnydipper]

Does this mean you're not callin' them in close any more

[Rockymtnx]

One question SC. Doesn't it hurt the palm of your hand to shift your Peterbilt without the shifter knob? J/K LOL.

Looks good.

[Stinky Coyote]

ha ha guys, i'll tell ya what spurred this sudden need for a .204 again...so i'm out with the 220f slugger looking for first blood, and call in three pairs that seemed to hang up what felt like out of range for the slugger, one pair i thought about after and i shouldn't have held over but another pair i ranged at 250 and when the third pair stopped to look back after getting spooked i'm sure were around 250 i didn't even shoot at the 2nd pair and gave a hold over on third but just wanted a slam dunk, oh well, the slugger got blood shortly after that anyhow....so in a very short span i was thinking you cheeky buggers, if i was running the sako a7 or one of my old .204's there would have been blood on every stand.....so thats what got me thinking about .204 again and watching impacts in scope and going for slick cycling action to possibly make easier to double up etc. and why i ended up going with the tikka....almost went savage predator max1 (black barrel/fluted one) but happy how this one turned out

[Alberta Bigbore]

Originally Posted by Rockymtnx

One question SC. Doesn't it hurt the palm of your hand to shift your Peterbilt without the shifter knob? J/K LOL.

Looks good.

LOL!!!!

[Alberta Bigbore]

Nice looking rig stinky. Paint job sure is sweet

[Stinky Coyote]

Got it completed! Korth did up a custom dial for me, again, amazing fast service. I blacked out the lines/numbers after 650 yrds as couldn't kill much but a popcan past that so its less busy. Starts at 200 and goes every 50 yrd after, will leave at 250 yrd as gives 4.3" pbr to 300 yrds. Added my wind data on laminate glued inside flip and coyotes beware when you hang up. Mask, mask, mask. Painted all but the critical, inside of action and bits on outside you want to see etc. all masked of course. Then paint paint paint. No flashy nothing on this one, not even the screw in the custom knob...it was shining to the muzzle end so it got the paint too . Had a hoot going from a-z on this project. Final pics.









3 confirmed kills so far.

[wolf308]

awesome meng??? im a big fan of the 204 too,its so flat shooting, i would have mine zeroed for 250y and would only miss when the scope went out of zero(cheaper scope).quiet and super accurate,my 204 is the most accurate handload i have rocketing out of the barrel at 4125 fps and still super accurate. nice rifle you got there.

[puphood1]

Some stupid Q: What kind of scope are you using and who does the up grades to it? Why get rid of the tally rings? I have been thinking of of a stianless T3 light in 204 what are your thoughts for a Coyote calling gun?....puphood1

[Marlin xl7]

Stinky, if you don't mind can you post what kind of paint (color/Brand) you used on this? I absolutely love how it looks. And if you could, a small tutorial explaining how you did it? Thanks!!

[Got Juice?]

Originally Posted by Stinky Coyote

i've gone mad, i gotta paint the stainless, okay, maybe i'll beadblast the barrel/action first to see if i can knock the factory finish down a peg or two on the shine factor....then just the rail/scope, magazine etc. and will see how it looks then but this rifle going to war......war with coyotes , scratches so what, i'll paint it again when enough wear and tear showing

GK, Gun Kote.

Love the finish

[Stinky Coyote]

krylon fusion camo tan and brown, tutorial to come
but google it, lots of guys instructing how to

[Got Juice?]

Originally Posted by Stinky Coyote

krylon fusion camo tan and brown, tutorial to come
but google it, lots of guys instructing how to

It looks very well done. I am not a Camo person, most jobs I have seen are not good to look at. That said, the job you did makes me change my mind on that topic!

[Marlin xl7]

Originally Posted by Got Juice?

It looks very well done. I am not a Camo person, most jobs I have seen are not good to look at. That said, the job you did makes me change my mind on that topic!

X2!! Most guys do a crap job, but i like yours haha.

[bwcweld]

is that a duplex reticle on that scope?

[Stinky Coyote]

scope is vxIII 6.5-20x40LR, i had korth put in standard duplex reticle and standard elevation target knob awhile ago, kind of been my safe scope mounted for testing new rigs so seen no permanent home until now...first round dialing up drop data the whole base turned, so i sent it in to get checked for that and asked to have the elevation knob put on windage and m1 knob installed for elevation....scope comes back with m1 knobs all around and NO CHARGE!

standard duplex is for hunting imo...thats how i role

and google some krylon paint jobs...mine is 'ok' compared to quite a few i've seen, i did simple break-up with some brown, no stencils etc. there are some incredible paint jobs out there with this stuff and guys doing the multi-cam patterns you name it...mine is 100% minimum effort for our brown/tan landscapes we live with so much of the year while its calling season etc.

[bwcweld]

Originally Posted by Stinky Coyote

scope is vxIII 6.5-20x40LR, i had korth put in standard duplex reticle and standard elevation target knob awhile ago, kind of been my safe scope mounted for testing new rigs so seen no permanent home until now...first round dialing up drop data the whole base turned, so i sent it in to get checked for that and asked to have the elevation knob put on windage and m1 knob installed for elevation....scope comes back with m1 knobs all around and NO CHARGE!

standard duplex is for hunting imo...thats how i role

and google some krylon paint jobs...mine is 'ok' compared to quite a few i've seen, i did simple break-up with some brown, no stencils etc. there are some incredible paint jobs out there with this stuff and guys doing the multi-cam patterns you name it...mine is 100% minimum effort for our brown/tan landscapes we live with so much of the year while its calling season etc.

I've got a 4.5-14x50 lr vx111 and its got the varmint hunters reticle. I would like to switch that reticle out for a duplex reticle and maybe put on a custom elevation and tactical turrets and make better use of it on my 22-250. Is it worth doing?

[Stinky Coyote]

my first tikka varmint stainless .204 wore that scope, i wasn't a fan of the reticle either, my vxIII came with that reticle but it had to go

on a big game rig i think i like having dust caps, on a coyote rig i'm not too worried about externally rubbing or bumping a turret off zero, i check my gear enough and if i miss a coyote because of it oh well, i miss enough for other reasons no biggie, i think safer to go dust caps on big game rifle though...my preference...and i wanted a dust cap on windage as i don't move that one anyhow but hey...he did it all warranty so not going to complain, as said, coyote rig plus it adds to the tacticool look lol

the m1 turret is growing on me, perfect for coyote rig, big chunky turret, gloved hands, cold winter stuff etc....good match

i have a mk4 4.5-14x40 with standard duplex reticle and standard target elevation knob with windage knob replaced to standard low profile (same as vx3 with elevation target knob added)...it is my main big game rig, mountains to prairies, and does coyote work when in between projects too, have a bit of a love affair going on with that gun, this tikka is more like a flirty thing, its fun but not quite the same as the sako a7 i've developed a pretty hot relationship with

korth rocks, the #1 reason i love leupold is that i can get a scope exactly how i want it, take advantage of that!, sure you can get finer glass but i don't spend that much time looking through them, utility tool imo, not luxury tool like binos or spotters