Well, after a looooooooooooooooooooooooong wait, at least one has shown up here in yUK.

'Tis said, 'All is not well in the state of Denmark' - or, in this case, Finland - as you can read from the post in a well-known British gun forum on which I also post from time to time.

The gentleman concerned had been jonesing after this rifle since it was announced, way back in the New Year, and..............well, read it yourself.

Quote - 'Well that was a bit short lived. Picked it up yesterday, returned it this morning. Lovely gun but quite a few quality issues with it. Firstly the action was quite marked up with light scratches here and there. Especially in the scope rail. Something weird was going on underneath the bluing in some places. Looked to me like rust starting to come through. Magazine was pitted on one side and looked awful to me. And to top it off, the bolt was scored. Deep enough that I could hear my fingernail clicking as it ran across it. I know that this is only a £500 [$650-ish] gun, but I expected better from Tikka.

Anyhoo, on the positive, it’s beautiful to shoulder, light and well balanced, lovely stock and looks better in real life than the pictures. Quality issues aside, I Like it.

Roll on September for a replacement.'

When you collect your rifle, take it out of the packaging and inspect it closely before you walk out of the door. If it's a COS, then you can ask the gun-store clerk for another one until you get what you expect from a Tikka product. However, here in the yUK that little episode is going to cost time that could have been spent shooting - at least three months, depending on which county he lives in - while he gets a variation done. See, here in yUK he bought that gun, and has the serial number indelibly reproduced on his Firearm Certificate, so returning it means that he has, in effect, disposed of the gun to a dealer. To get the thing replaced, he has to send off his FAC plus £££££££££ for a one-for-one/like-for-like variation. It will eventually come back to him with a new authorisation to acquire and possess ONE .22LR rifle/carbine, and the whole thing starts over.

Anyhow, I hope that this has not put anybody off getting ahold of one of these gems - just be very picky is all I'm sayin'.

tac

Im too invested in the CZ 455 line to get one but I'm hoping this was just a one-off. Not too often a company is known for quality and value just falls off the deep end one day.

quote:

Originally posted by WARPIG602:
Im too invested in the CZ 455 line to get one but I'm hoping this was just a one-off. Not too often a company is known for quality and value just falls off the deep end one day.

Same.

I’d get one in 17hmr if I came across it but I’m in no rush. My 77/22 is working just fine.

I hope so. too. There have been well over a thousand firm orders for this new rifle - there are a ton of Tikka and SAKO owners in this country.

tac

I had been waiting for one as well. Even bought the Leupold VX Freedom rimfire 2-7x to put in it when it showed up. Alas, hasn’t shown up I. The states yet and was offered a CZ 452 blued with walnut stock for 350. Couldn’t hold out. That Leupold looks great on my new 452.