Dave Markowitz
Member
About a week and a half ago I took several guns that have been gathering dust for years up to a local FFL, who is one of the bigger sellers on Gunbroker. He'll put my guns on Gunbroker on consignment. He'll take a 15% fee of the final selling price, which IMO is fair.
Those guns should more than pay for my new left handed Tikka T3x Hunter in 6.5x55 Swede, which I intend to use as my new primary deer rifle. I ordered the Tikka from Europtics on a Friday and it arrived at my FFL on Monday. I picked up the rifle two days later.
Why 6.5x55? Well, I wanted a rifle with plenty of power for whitetail deer but which would not have a lot of recoil. I have a Ruger Gunsite Scout in .308 but I've come to not really enjoy .308-level recoil any more. The 6.5 Swede has milder recoil, offers excellent accuracy, and more than enough power for deer. (It's popular for moose in Sweden, from what I've read.) 6.5 Creedmoor would serve just as well but the 6.5 Swede has a cool factor for me.
.243 Winchester would also work find for my needs and have even less recoil, but the 6.5s offer a little more margin for error in shot placement. And if you shoot a lot, the Swede probably offers somewhat better barrel life since it runs at lower pressure.
The T3x comes sans iron sights. I mounted a Burris Fullfield E1 3-9x40mm scope that I already had, using medium height Warne rings that mount directly to the Tikka's built-in rail.
I shot the Tikka for the first time today. I am very impressed with this rifle. It’s accurate, the action is very smooth, and it’s got the best trigger of any of my breechloaders. It breaks a 3.25 lbs. with no creep or overtravel. (I have muzzleloaders with double set triggers, which have let offs measured in ounces.)
The fit and finish of the rifle are superb. The stock is walnut with a matte finish. It is fitted with a thick, soft recoil pad. This is a nice-to-have on a rifle in 6.5 Swede but would be very welcome in more powerful chamberings. The stock has nicely-done checkering, which I ASSume is done by machine. It came equipped with studs for a quick-detach sling. I have a 1.25" width Montana sling on order from Midway.
The T3x uses detachable box magazines, which is a feature I like. They are made from plastic and that's the only thing I'd change on the gun. I'd prefer them to be made from steel. It comes with one flush fitting 3 round mag. I also bought a 5 rounder from Tikka's American distributor, Beretta USA. (Berretta owns Tikka.) The mags for this rifle are single column, so the 5 rounder comes down about even with the bottom of the trigger guard.
To get it on paper at 50 yards I used some 1980s-vintage PPU 139 grain ammo. After that I switched to 100 yards. After I shot up 1 box of the PPU I zeroed is ~1” high at 100 with the Federal 156 grain Fusion. It shoots about MOA with either load.
I also shot at 200 yard gongs. The 8 - 10” gong is no problem to hit. There’s a bowling pin hanging in the gong bunker and that is also pretty easy to hit. Finally, there is a ~4” round gong. I cranked the scope up to 9x and as long as I did my part I banged it more often than not.
At some point I'll start handloading for the Tikka. I plan to use 139 or 140 grain bullets, which are plenty heavy for deer with a little less recoil than 156s or 160s.
Next weekend I'm heading up to our deer camp, for a work and shooting weekend. PA's rifle season opens up after Thanksgiving. I plan to get some offhand practice in on this trip.
Those guns should more than pay for my new left handed Tikka T3x Hunter in 6.5x55 Swede, which I intend to use as my new primary deer rifle. I ordered the Tikka from Europtics on a Friday and it arrived at my FFL on Monday. I picked up the rifle two days later.
Why 6.5x55? Well, I wanted a rifle with plenty of power for whitetail deer but which would not have a lot of recoil. I have a Ruger Gunsite Scout in .308 but I've come to not really enjoy .308-level recoil any more. The 6.5 Swede has milder recoil, offers excellent accuracy, and more than enough power for deer. (It's popular for moose in Sweden, from what I've read.) 6.5 Creedmoor would serve just as well but the 6.5 Swede has a cool factor for me.
.243 Winchester would also work find for my needs and have even less recoil, but the 6.5s offer a little more margin for error in shot placement. And if you shoot a lot, the Swede probably offers somewhat better barrel life since it runs at lower pressure.
The T3x comes sans iron sights. I mounted a Burris Fullfield E1 3-9x40mm scope that I already had, using medium height Warne rings that mount directly to the Tikka's built-in rail.
I shot the Tikka for the first time today. I am very impressed with this rifle. It’s accurate, the action is very smooth, and it’s got the best trigger of any of my breechloaders. It breaks a 3.25 lbs. with no creep or overtravel. (I have muzzleloaders with double set triggers, which have let offs measured in ounces.)
The fit and finish of the rifle are superb. The stock is walnut with a matte finish. It is fitted with a thick, soft recoil pad. This is a nice-to-have on a rifle in 6.5 Swede but would be very welcome in more powerful chamberings. The stock has nicely-done checkering, which I ASSume is done by machine. It came equipped with studs for a quick-detach sling. I have a 1.25" width Montana sling on order from Midway.
The T3x uses detachable box magazines, which is a feature I like. They are made from plastic and that's the only thing I'd change on the gun. I'd prefer them to be made from steel. It comes with one flush fitting 3 round mag. I also bought a 5 rounder from Tikka's American distributor, Beretta USA. (Berretta owns Tikka.) The mags for this rifle are single column, so the 5 rounder comes down about even with the bottom of the trigger guard.
To get it on paper at 50 yards I used some 1980s-vintage PPU 139 grain ammo. After that I switched to 100 yards. After I shot up 1 box of the PPU I zeroed is ~1” high at 100 with the Federal 156 grain Fusion. It shoots about MOA with either load.
I also shot at 200 yard gongs. The 8 - 10” gong is no problem to hit. There’s a bowling pin hanging in the gong bunker and that is also pretty easy to hit. Finally, there is a ~4” round gong. I cranked the scope up to 9x and as long as I did my part I banged it more often than not.
At some point I'll start handloading for the Tikka. I plan to use 139 or 140 grain bullets, which are plenty heavy for deer with a little less recoil than 156s or 160s.
Next weekend I'm heading up to our deer camp, for a work and shooting weekend. PA's rifle season opens up after Thanksgiving. I plan to get some offhand practice in on this trip.
