Tikka M65A

About the Tikka M65A

The Tikka M65A is a Finnish purpose-built sniper rifle variant of the Tikkakoski M65 bolt-action rifle, introduced in 1988 near the end of the platform's production run. It uses the M65's 90-degree rotating bolt with two locking lugs and two safety lugs, and a free-floating, cut-rifled barrel with six grooves. The M65A distinguishes itself from the sporting M65 rifles through an aluminium-bedded stock built around an internal aluminium chassis, an adjustable walnut cheekpiece, an adjustable trigger, and a UIT accessory rail for mounting a bipod. It feeds from a detachable single-stack box magazine holding five or ten rounds and is most commonly chambered in .308 Winchester (7.62x51mm NATO) for precision and marksmanship use.

Arriving in 1988, the M65A was Tikkakoski's attempt to turn its accurate but conventional hunting action into a dedicated marksman's rifle just as the company's rifle business was being absorbed by Sako - making it one of the last true 'Tikka' precision rifles before the brand's post-1990 reinvention.

Tikka M65A specifications

The M65A was the last and most specialised member of the Tikka M65 family, which itself succeeded the M55 and was superseded by the Tikka M658 in 1990 following Sako's acquisition of the Tikkakoski rifle line. Base M65 rifles were offered in roughly eleven chamberings from .25-06 Remington and 6.5x55mm Swedish up to belted magnums such as .300 and .338 Winchester Magnum; the M65A sniper configuration centred on .308 Winchester.