Tikka CTR .308 stainless or blued to buy? are they really stainless?

[pwinnall]

Hello, 

I have been looking for a .308 rifle and the CTR ticks alot of boxes in the 1k price bracket.

Are they really stainless steel or painted silver?  Is it worth the extra money for stainless or just go for the blued model?

It is for stalking but i like the silver finish. 

Thanks Phil

[One on top of two]

Yes they are stainless steel 👍bead blasted .

[lapua]

stainless yes, but not rust proof!

 

[One on top of two]

All stainless steels can rust , stainless steel is rust resistant not rust proof . 

[pwinnall]

Thanks for the replies. 
So it is just down to looks of the rifle I am paying the extra for stainless then? 
They will both shoot the same. 

[One on top of two]

Yes they will both shoot the same. 
the stainless should be harder waring but that of course depends on how you treat it and your cleaning  habits 

I have a stainless t3x for 3 years out in all weather conditions but looked after. Had no rust issues at all. 
It’s now on its second barrel. 
 

personally I think the stainless Tikkas do look better but that is of course nothing more than subjectively 

[Chris-NZ]

The stainless will definitely rust, especially if you live in a coastal area. I pulled my brother's one down prior to it being suppressed etc and there was moderate rusting under the action. It had seen action on deer off his commercial boat in Fiordland so we'll excuse it..

[Andy RV]

The stainless will rust less than the blued!

[miki]

Blued Chrome-Moly is a more resillient steel than Stainless. 416R Stainless is easier to machine to closer tolerances than a chrome-moly barrel but wears faster.
As @Andy RVsays, 416R is more resistant to oxidisation. You can get your Stainless barrel blued using Oxynate 84, Niter Blueing doesn't work. Or you can Cerakote it.

If you are thinking of a Carakote, then get a Chrome0Moly barrel. it's less expensive.

 

[pwinnall]

Thank you all for your replies.

You have just confirmed I should buy a stainless. Thanks! 

A second hand one would be fine but they don’t come up very often. 
 

Happy shooting. Phil 😉
 

 

[Andy RV]

Good choice, I had the stainless 308 CTR and it was a brilliant rifle. Sold it for the stainless laminate hunter version for stalking and plan to buy another CTR in 6.5mm for targets. 

[pwinnall]

6 hours ago, Andy RV said:

Good choice, I had the stainless 308 CTR and it was a brilliant rifle. Sold it for the stainless laminate hunter version for stalking and plan to buy another CTR in 6.5mm for targets. 

Well, I have been looking at a Sako S20 Hunter but I do like the slightly heavier barrel on the CTR and a steel mag too. 

[Richiew]

Have a look at the Chris Parkin review on the s20 looks like some issues with the magazine design being  sloppy with miss feeds . Mag has its own release button built in . Gunrat South Africa has a review of the tikka ctr  vers the upr in 6.5 creed these look very nice indeed .

 Cheers 

[One on top of two]

Give the S20 a swerve matey , it looks and feels like it’s been made from the recycled dashboard of a mini metro .

it’s Also got to be the most un-upgradable rifle in the history of Sako rifles . Don’t get me wrong I must be Sako’s biggest fan , the only rifles I own are Sako and Tikka in all the years of shooting but …. It’s like the S20 along with the 85 black wolf just doesn’t know what it wants to be when it grows up .

Sako  tried to design a rifle that you could use stalking in the highlands one day and on the range or your local friendly PRL  shoot the next day by swapping out and changing various bits and bobs …FAIL … while yes you can spend a fortune buying all the bits for it to make the transition but . There all Sako mods  and yet again so very limiting . You can’t even change the Rail on it , I’m going to leave it there but just don’t rush in  😂

the tikka Tx3 and the REM 700 platform have smashed the non- custom rifle route to absolute bits .

there are so many upgrades/mods for these two readily available. 
blimey you only have to look at the thread on here called “ show your varmint rifle “ and just take a look at the Tikka and REM based rifles , most would hold there own if not out perform many high end rifles . 
 

My old RFD  was the one of the very first Sako accuracy dealers in the country ( he’s dead now 😟) once told me that on his first trip to the factory when Tikkas were starting to become popular, he asked the chap who was showing around . what’s the difference between Sako and Tikka then ? 
the man looked him in the eye and said … the Sako is your wife , the Tikka is your mistress  treat accordingly 😂 it was mostly likely bull5hit but hey . 

the CTR will shoot the same as the Sako S20 but handle twice as good . 

 

[Chanonry]

12 hours ago, Richiew said:

Chris Parkin review on the s20 looks like some issues with the magazine design being  sloppy with miss feeds 

What got me was that all the other reviews had the same issue. So either GMK did a poor job and just kept loaning out the same rifle or they all have the issue.

Whatever, why would anyone take the risk?

Concept is fundamentally flawed in any event

[palo]

My mate has a S20. There was an issue with the front rail slot that was out of spec so he used the next slot which was fine.

No issues with the magazine, it feeds great. 

It is also a very accurate rifle but i wouldn't swap my tikka ctr in a bravo chassis for one. 

I would go for the stainless tikka as i have seen and heard of barrel pitting issues with the carbon steel versions. 

[pwinnall]

Ok, I am so glad I mentioned the S20 was in the running! 
 

I too have seen issues with the magazine from the reviews.

So, I am finding out Monday about a used CTR in stainless.  I will keep you all updated if I buy it.

Thank you all for your advice! It really is invaluable when spending hard earned cash. 
 

Thanks again. Phil 

[pwinnall]

Thank you all for the advice. I picked up this S/H CTR in .308 today. 
Can’t wait to try it out. 

[One on top of two]

Fit for purpose 🤙

 

great choice .