Tikka T3

[montgomery381]

Hello all, I am primarily a handgun guy but am now looking into getting my first rifle. I have researched a number of different rifles and am still looking but pretty much everything I have found on the Tikkas has been quite good. That said, there isn't a ton of stuff out there. Usually I hit youtube to get people's reviews. I don't take them for gospel but I always seem to find out little bits of info that you don't get anywhere else. Anyways, I would like to here from anyone who has a T3 or has experience with them. I am looking for any info, good, bad, or otherwise. Any responses are appreciated and thanks in advance.

 

[Lateck]

I have a Tikka T3 lite in .30-06. It came (NIB) with a Burris Fullfield scope for right around $800. It is a smooth bolt action. (I can only really compare it to my Ruger Scout Rifle and others I checked out before buying the T3)
As for accuracy, IT's fantactic... Much better then I am.
Some have said it is a MOA rifle right out of the box. I believe this..
I replaced the butt pad with a Limbsaver and it is a rifle I can run 30~40 rounds through and not feel it the next day.
The only knock I'll give the Tikka is that extra mags aren't cheep.. if you can find them...

I would get another when I need one again...

Good luck and if the price is right GET IT!

Lateck,

 

[Fullboar1]

Hello all, I am primarily a handgun guy but am now looking into getting my first rifle. I have researched a number of different rifles and am still looking but pretty much everything I have found on the Tikkas has been quite good. That said, there isn't a ton of stuff out there. Usually I hit youtube to get people's reviews. I don't take them for gospel but I always seem to find out little bits of info that you don't get anywhere else. Anyways, I would like to here from anyone who has a T3 or has experience with them. I am looking for any info, good, bad, or otherwise. Any responses are appreciated and thanks in advance.

Hi Montgomery

I just picked up my 5th Tikka T3 last week so you could say I like them (alot). IMHO the Tikka T3 is by far the best value for money rifle on the market.

Here is what I like about them.
1. The synthetic stocks are fibre re-inforced so they dont flex like the blow molded stocks
2. The nicest, crisp user adjustable trigger on any factory gun
3. The Tikka's are made by Sako and use exactly the same barrels as what is used on Sako rifles (I have looked down alot of barrels with my fathers borescope and compared to most other brand factory rifles, Tikka's are some of the best).
4. By far the best accuracy guarantee of and factory production rifle on the market. 1" (Sub MOA) 3 shot groups at 100 yards using any factory hunting ammo (most others accuracy guarantee is with Match ammo). The only better accuracy guarantee is Sako's which is the same but with 5 shots.
5. The fit and finish is second to none.
6. You always know when you buy a Tikka that you are getting a accurate as hell well made rifle that wont have to be sent back to the importer/factory for some problem.

What I dont like about them.
1. Because of the small port they are hard to load single shot (you use the magazine).
2. Because they shoot everything so darn accurately you have to shoot really well when finding a handload that works best. (Not really a dislike).

What is not to like about the Tikka? The only factory production gun better then a Tikka is a Sako (I just put a deposit on a SS Sako 85 Varmint in 260 to replace my SS Tikka T3 Varmint in 260, so yes I can give up my Tikka's).

 

[Six-Gun]

I don't want to drive this place mad by posting the same pics over and over again, so here's a link to a thread I responded to about this very rifle using the two that I own as an example. The bottom line is that they are insanely good shooters right out of the box, especially if you handload:

http://www.thehighroad.org/showpost.php?p=7828817&postcount=16

I took two deer with the 30-06 version earlier this year and just got another in .243 Win because I liked that other one so much. As an aside, I actually had a guy from another forum put a custom speckle paint job in an AlumaHyde II finish on the new T3 Lite Stainless in .243 Win. It cleaned up quite nicely. The plain, black stock makes for a nice canvas for whatever finish you would like. Eventually, that Redfield Revolution will get bumped off for a VX-3 with a B&C reticle like the 30-06 has on it now.

 

[tikka-guy]

I bought a blued T3 in .223 so that I had a centerfire rifle that was a little cheaper to shoot at the range. Also in case I ever get into coyote hunting. I loved it so much I went out and bought a stainless in .308 to use for my big game rifle. I'm very pleased with my .308 as well. Smooth bolt, decent stock, and very accurate. I took my first elk with the .308 this past fall.

As someone mentioned, spare mags are a bit pricey, but if it's for hunting you generally don't need more than a couple mags anyway. The only other downside to me is I wish it had a 3-position safety or a bolt unlock. Both are relatively minor disadvantages.

Oh, and one other disadvantage: after showing it to my buddies a couple of them are going to go and get one... so you may end up surrounded by Tikkas

 

[Elkins45]

I have a lefty in 308. It's light, smooth and one-hole accurate even with inexpensive bulk Remington bullets. The only thing that could make it better would be if I could have bought it for <$600.

 

[dubbleA]

I drank the Tikka koolaid, that T3 was absolutely the worst shooting rifle I ever had. It didnt shoot groups it shot patterns with factory and handloads. The factory rings are junk and the stainless barrel showed rust under close examination. Took it back to the dealer and got a full refund. This is just my personal experience with Tikka. I have a few Sakos and they are night and day better rifle.

 

[Six-Gun]

I don't know about anything being a "koolaid" affair with Tikka. In fact, this is literally the first time I've seen or heard anything negative about a Tikka rifle. You may have got a lemon and that can certainly happen with any brand, but the overwhelming number of Tikkas I've personally shot and seen shot by others do anything but shoot patterns. Quite the contrary if you see the post I linked above. I'm not trying to be a smarta**, but did you let anyone else shoot that gun before you hawked it back to the dealer? The two I own are sub-0.5" or even one-holers @ 100 yards all day long with my handloads. The .243 Win group I show in that linked post is .294" and .30-06 group is .440". I won't be looking to give up either of those guns any time soon. No arguing that the Sako is a nicer gun, but the Tikkas are running a good deal of identical hardware to the Sakos at under half the cost in many cases.

 

[montgomery381]

Just wanted to say thanks for the posts and I love to read some more, good and bad.
Thanks again. Also anyone can make direct comparisons of the Tikkas to more common rifles that would be awesome.

 

[tikka-guy]

Are we strictly talking bolt action here?

I can make a comparison between my Tikkas and a Browning A-bolt and a Savage 116. The Browning is in 7mm-08. The action on the Browning isn't nearly as smooth. The wood stock of the browning looks better, but after having it in the field a couple of times, I realized that I was spending too much time worrying about dinging it up. When hunting I shouldn't be thinking about that at all, and that pushed me towards my first rifle with a synthetic stock (my Tikka). Synthetic stocks are just more durable and it gives the rifle a more utilitarian feel, which is something I've grown to appreciate in all things, not just rifles. At first impression, the magazine of the Browning feels much better than the Tikka. Tikkas come with a polymer magazine, which feels like cheap plastic. However, if I had to bet which one would hold up better I'd probably guess the Tikka mag. It's instinctive to think that something made of metal should be better than something made of 'plastic', but metal bends and is susceptible to weather. The polymer is likely stronger, or at least comparable to the strength of metal. Just look at the polymer p-mags that have become popular for ARs. People love them, and for good reason.

My Savage 116 is in .270. I grew up with that rifle, and I've taken most of game with it. It's very accurate. This one has a laminate wood stock, which again looks great. It seems to be a bit more durable than a regular wood stock, or maybe it just hides the scratches and dings better. The savage has a 3-position safety which I love. There is no detachable magazine, which isn't a big issue most of the time. Usually you don't need more than 4 rounds in a hunting situation, although it's nice to be able to swap out mags like you can with the Tikka (and others). Another time when it can be a pain is when you are getting in and out of vehicles periodically, which comes up in some hunting situations. The only other downside is it's just more convenient to carry ammo in a magazine than it is to carry a box of it or to carry it loose in your pocket. The bolt on the Savage is so-so, but you need to lift the handle about 90 degrees to cycle the action, which is more than it takes to lift the browning or the tikka (I think they are 60 degree). The only other disadvantage is the weight and size. It has a 26" barrel and isn't terribly heavy, but you start to feel it if you're walking around for a day. The tikka is a bit lighter, and is handier to carry around, especially in the woods.

All three rifles are great, and I'd be happy hunting with any one of them. The tikka fits me best though. Light, durable, simple, and accurate. That about sums it up.

Let me know if you have any questions. There are a lot of great options for rifles out there. You won't be disappointed in a Tikka, but there are plenty of others that won't disappoint as well. That's why you need to buy one of each

 

[Six-Gun]

Tikka-guy made some good points about parts vs. other manufacturers. I'll give some expansion on that with a comparison to a modern Remington 700 and, since we're discussing the virtues of synthetic stocks a Savage Model 16 Weather Warrior. First of all, I agree with Tikka guy completely about pretty much abondoning my wood-stocked rifles for field work in favor of synthetics. I need something that can handle the elements and that I won't feel heartbroken over scratching and gouging. In the field, I'm taking the Tupperware all day long.

I love my Remingtons, but the modern ones in the SPS series are hardly a prize out of the box. Typically, you will want to glass/epoxy bed them right off the bat to make up for that awful, injection moulded stock they give you *if* you plan on keeping it. Personally, when I buy a Remington, I do so knowing that the factory stock is going in the trash for an H-S Precision or other quality stock that doesn't flex so badly. Even then, I have the new stock bedded because the inherent design in Remington's recoil lug leaves too much space to move inside of the stock, which can lead to erratic point of impact issues. Effectively, most of my Remington are a starting point for a full custom build because of the stock and the heavy factory trigger settings. That's fine, but know what you're getting into with a modern Remington.

Savage's injection moulded synthetic stocks are not much better or different Remington's at first glance. However, while the stock material itself is plain plastic, with the advent of the AccuStock, the area holding the rifle is steel reinforced, making for a study action/stock fit. The AccuTrigger needs no introduction. Savage made an excellent, user adjustable trigger here and it works as advertised. I have had excellent accuracy with my Model 16 in an AccuStock with no work to the rifle other than lightening the trigger.

Tikka's synthetic stock does not have a metal bedding block or rail system like Savage, but is extremely strong and inflexible. The recoil lug is actually in the stock and fits very tightly into the slot on the action. Neither of my Tikkas have needed any sort of bedding work. Also, like the Savage, the trigger pull is easily user-adjusted to a nice pull down to around 2.5 lbs. It's crisp with no creep and a real winner for target and field work. You have already seen the groups these guns can put up.

 

[Gtscotty]

The first Tikka T3 I bought was pretty much the exact same set up as Lateck's, a blued lite in 30-06. I like it so much that when I found a deal on a lightly used 270 WSM T3 Hunter, I scooped it up as fast as I could. With hand loads, the 30-06 will do .7 - .8 inch 5 shot groups fairly consistently. The 270 WSM is a blast to shoot because its such a tack driver, I pretty regularly get .5 inch 3 shot groups when I'm "on". I usually keep it to 3 shot groups on the WSM so as not to cook the barrel too much. These two Tikkas both wear limbsaver recoil pads, and have accounted for 4 deer (3 this year).

Like everyone else has already said, the T3 action and trigger both tend to be superb from the factory.

When compared to my Ruger Hawkeye African the Tikka's are a little slicker (action wise), have a better trigger and are a good bit lighter. I think both stocks fit me well.

In comparison to the Savage 30-06 I used to have.... well there is no comparison, my Tikka was nicer in every way, although admittedly I did have a base model 110 and I'm sure the more expensive Savages are nicer. I'm not a Savage guy (not that they aren't good guns), mostly because the bolt feels so clunky to me, my follow up shots are noticeably slower than with the Tikkas and Ruger.

You should definitely pick up a Tikka T3, they are a great value and I highly doubt you will regret it.

 

[tikka-guy]

Six-gun reminded me that I forgot to talk about triggers. I've found that triggers are like wine. You don't mind the cheap stuff until you've tried something better. The trigger on my Savage was fine, until I got my Tikka, and now it feels a bit heavy. I might not have been clear when I talked about my Savage, but it is probably 15 years old at this point. That means that it doesn't have an accu-stock or accu-trigger, so things have changed in the Savage world since they pumped out my .270. The browning's trigger seems to be on par with the Tikka.

 

[tikka-guy]

Oh, and hey... I got excited to talk about rifles and forgot to ask the #1 question: What's the primary purpose for this rifle? Target? Hunting? Both?

And do you have a caliber in mind? Hopefully that question doesn't kick of a good-ol' caliber debate

 

[a-sheepdog]

I have a Tikka T3 Hunter in 7mm Rem Mag that is a laser. Had the same rifle in 308 win and sold it to a friend, it too was a laser. I have been extremely happy with mine, miss the 308 winnie.

 

[montgomery381]

Well, Tikka-Guy since you asked. I am looking for primarily a hunting rifle with some recreational shooting on the side. I just recently went on a Georgia boar hunt and took my first animal with a rifle. I used my late uncle's Ruger M77 in 270. It is a good rifle but compared to my brother's light weight Browning BLR it is kinda weighty and I could definitely tell after packing it around in the woods. So I am looking for something that I don't have to baby in the woods and is a little on the lighter side. I would like something with a relatively short barrel but that is not a major concern. As for caliber, I like the idea of .308 or 7mm mag. I like the idea of the short action and price of 308 ammo and it would be plenty powerful enough for anything in the eastern US. I like the idea of the 7mm for longer distances and the off chance that I may one day get the chance to go out west for something like elk. Thanks for asking.

 

[tikka-guy]

I've always been a fan of short-action.

The rifle purists will tell you that another knock on Tikka is that the bolt and everything is standard length no matter what size round it's chambered for. I guess what they've done is decided to install a bolt stop to save money on manufacturing. I personally don't much care. The only downside is that you don't get the weight savings, but it's already a pretty light rifle. Some folks are bothered by that. I'm not.

I won't get into 7mm mag vs .308, but .308 is a great elk caliber. I just took my first elk at 230 yards this past fall. A good 6x6. I'll take cheaper ammo and less recoil anyday (both of those translate into more practice at the range). There are plenty of experienced elk hunters that would have no issue with a .308. You'd probably be limited to a 400 yard shot at an elk with a .308, but I wouldn't want to shoot further than that anyway.

It's hard to talk about calibers on here without derailing the thread completely, so I'll just leave there

 

[35 Whelen]

A couple of years ago buddy of mine bought a wood stock, bolt action Tikka (sorry, don't know the model) in .308 from our local Academy, mounted a Leupold 3-9X Vari-II, and it's INSANELY accurate. Accurate as in 3-shot groups with Hornady factory ammo UNDER 1/2". I handloaded him some Hornady 150 gr. SSX's and they too shot extremely well.

35W

 

[30Cal]

I've shot one and liked it. I us bolt guns mainly for hunting; if they made one with a fixed magazine, I'd consider buying one.

 

[NCdrummer]

Tikka

I recommended Tikka to a friend who wanted to buy a first rifle for his son. He topped it with a Zeiss Conquest 3-9x40. I told him to buy some cheap ammo so we could get it on paper and show the kid around the rifle. I set up the rig, bore-sighted it, and took it to the range with Remington 150 grain corelokt ammo. Three shots to zero 1" high at 100 yards. Then shot 5 more rounds for group. Just under 1 inch ctc. Amazing. All for less than $1000. Hard to beat! 8 shots, never cleaned the bore, under 1 MOA. BTW, the rifle is a .308.

 

[TwoEyedJack]

I have a T3 Lite in .223 that is extremely accurate. I normally just buy the cheap Winchester 45 gr. white box stuff and it puts that in about 1/2" at 100 yards and it is poison on coyotes. The only factory loads I have tried that have not shot well is commie steel cased .223.

You can tell the barrel is really smooth when you clean it. Compared to my Ruger #1 in .223, the Tikka takes about half the patches to clean.

 

[Waywatcher]

I recommend against it (Tikka T3s). Read about my ordeal:

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=584839

 

[Six-Gun]

That seems to be the only problem with Tikka: if you happen to have a defect, which seems to be rare enough, you have to deal with Beretta's notoriously bad customer service.

 

[montgomery381]

Tikka-guy, with the bolt stop you mentioned, you still get the feel and benefit of a short action?

 

[Birdhunter1]

Tikka T3 Laminated stock stainless barrel chambered in .243 topped with a Sightron SII 6-24x42 AO. I mounted a second stud in the foreend for a bipod to move it back from the factory stud (this was a two fold reason). For one I carry mine on a sling and to attach a bipod in a hurry it is faster to mount to a new stud than to undo the sling and attach. Second is when shooting off of bags or any other rest Iwant the foreend resting in the same place. My additional stud is in that exact place, so on bags or my tripod rest I am in that spot.
I have no complaints on my gun at all, shoots 1/4 minute accuracy with my loads and I have taken coyotes out to 530 yards a few times. My only limit on range is the scope as I run out of elevation adjustment long before running out of accuracy.

My wishes: I wish for long range shooting the gun was a tad heavier with a longer heavier weight barrel. For long range stuff it is a bit flippy on the end but I have practiced enough to be adequate and know how to handle the gun to get it to do this. However if I rebarrel it someday it will be a slightly heavier weight barrel but for 99% of the hunters out there it will be more than an adequate rifle.

Trigger.... what's not to complain about, it isn't a Timney or Jard trigger but it's as good or better than any other factory trigger out there and in my opinion beats the heck out of an Accu trigger.

Action.... smoother than any other rifle I've ever picked up.

Plastic... some guys complain it has too much plastic on it. I guess if you were using it to drive posts into the dirt this might be an issue, I however care for and pack my guns in such a nature that the plastic parts on the T3 are not a problem.

Stock... I love the look and feel to it, to me this rifle was designed for my hands/frame/length/weight/feel. I am a quail hunter so fit and feel of a firearm is everything, a true wingshooter's shotgun is simply an extension of his arm and eye. This rifle was built for me, I swear. I would sleep with it but the wife won't let me!