I can't figure out how, but I seem to have lost the bolt for a Tikka T3 Hunter that I have in .30-06. From my searches, I can't seem to find anyplace that actually has replacement bolts, and even those that don't have them in stock list very high prices. Does anyone know what options I might have if I can't find the bolt?

Thanks
Nate

Have you contacted Tikka? I'd call them and let them know...bet they have a solution for you.

Brownell's. And yes, a new Tikka bolt is $$$$$$$$$.

Yep when I thought messed mine up with hot loads I researched this. The bolt was almost as much as a new Tikka rifle.

Nate 76 I would research on where to find yours. Likely culprit is always the wife, followed by kids.

I'm sure we have someone on here who can explain the details but it's my understanding the bolt for every rifle is matched precisely to that rifle, meaning they are in no way interchangeable between rifles of the same model. They can't just go to a bin and pull out a replacement.

That probably explains why a replacement is so expensive since it involves machining a one-of-a-kind part.

Thanks yall - I appreciate the responses.

I do need to search the garage again - my wife likes to "help" clean it from time to time and that does seem a likely culprit, although I can't imagine why I would have taken the bolt out. I've never even shot the gun - it's been sitting in the safe for a few years, and I have no recollection of taking the bolt out.

Along the lines of Texas Dan's post, the Beretta store (Beretta owns Sako/Tikka) told me I might have to send the rifle back to Tikka, but the guy wasn't sure (he offered to look into it for me, but I was hoping to find a solution without having to send it back or pay $300+).

I guess for now, it's finally time to get serious about cleaning and organizing the garage...

Nate

Wonder if the bolt was ever removed from the box when it was new?

My thought too.

Exactly what popped in my head.

YEP

I've worried the same, I bought it a few years ago and just never have used it. I typically keep the boxes, but can't find the box I got with that rifle - I think it was thrown out.

Damn... that sucks man

It isn't that the bolt is machined to fit the rifle. It is that each rifle needs to be headspaced correctly. In a nutshell the distance between the bolt face and the datam point on the shoulder of the chamber is what headspace is. There is a band that is considered "acceptable", but that band is only around 0.004". Therefore, if you just throw a new bolt that happens to be 0.002" shorter than the bolt that the gun was headspaced with and there is 0.003" of slop in the chamber, you end up with an excessive headspace issue.

If you do end up getting a new bolt, you need to check your headspace with a set of go / no-go gauges before you attempt to fire that gun.

A buddy of mine moved a few years back and lost a bolt, he never found it. I can’t remember what rilfle. Your not the first to loose one.

Thanks for the info.

So how does the factory come up with a solution when such tight clearances must be met? Do they remove the barrel and machine it to match another bolt, or perhaps put a new matching barrel and bolt on the rifle? I could easily see where the latter would cost as much as a new rifle, or perhaps even more.

Rule #1 after purchasing a new bolt-action rifle - Remove the bolt from the box and place it in the rifle. Always remember to re-insert the bolt after routine cleaning and oiling of the firearm.

I believe that a lot of major manufacturers do it this way:

A barrel comes off the line and is screwed onto an action. That barreled action is then sent over to the bolt fitting area where there is someone with a pile of bolts in a bin. They insert a bolt and check headspace with a go gauge and a no-go gauge. If it is within tolerance, they mark the serial number on the bolt (or a portion of the serial number) and send it on down the line. If it doesn't they grab another bolt. If they go through more than X number of bolts and none work, that barreled action gets set aside for QC reasons. Most times it just gets another barrel and the process is repeated.

It would seem that would make finding a replacement bolt a simple matter of having the owner send the rifle to the factory so that a new bolt could be identified in the same manner. I can't see that costing the manufacturer enough to justify such a high cost for a replacement bolt.

One thing is certain, that some of the reader's of this thread have gone and located that bolt they had stored somewhere and put it back in their rifle.

That's interesting - thanks yall. I haven't had a chance to look for mine yet, but this weekend I'll either find it or have the cleanest gun safe and garage in the neighborhood!

Nate