Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Tikka Experience

They've been pretty beat up around the fire. I like them, the ergo thing is preference. Haven't seen any failures, although someone will chime in.

But I still bought a Montana. Just had too....

So.... You have absolutely NO quote about experience in this thread EXCEPT for 'looking' at (examining) Tikka rifles UNTIL this post quoted below. You never mentioned any hunting, shooting, or using a Tikka rifle UNTIL...



Now we know at least that you did hunt & shoot a Tikka. We have no idea if that was more than ONCE.


I'm not even close to being "butt hurt" by you. It just took a while for you to say that you actually 'used' a Tikka.

I refer to myself as a commoner 'here' because I don't consider myself in the same category as our Gun Writers and Professionals. That's honesty and not from hurt feelings.

I think the experience of those of us who've used Tikkas for years WITHOUT any problems has more credibility than those who don't like the appearance, feel, & decry 'cheap' parts, in their opinions.

I proved my 2 points. I rest my case. I'm out.

Jerry

What I do not get is why I have to have years of experience in the field with one to form my opinion. Not to sound arrogant, but I do know a thing or two of rifles. I get what I am looking at, and how it works and what it does. If I don't like what I see from the get, I am probably not going to use it much.

And I never used the term "cheap" (that you put in quotes) any where. Quite the contrary. I feel the Tikka should be cheap, or at least cheaper. But it isn't........

I have a bunch of Tikkas. They're all I buy these days. I'm all about accuracy. If a rifle shoots little bitty groups, that's true beauty.

I filled my deer tag this year with a 7mm-08 on a buck at 541 yards. My brother used his Tikka in 7mm Rem Mag on a wide 4x4 at 534 yards.

No complaints.




P

I lost the vision in my right shooting eye. As a retired gunsmith all my rifles were custom. with the loss of my vision I could not shoot most of my rifles because of stock design. The ones I could shoot left handed I could not get use to operation the bolt. I was 72 when my vision went so I had a choice to make. Stop hunting or get left hand rifles. Tikka in 7mag and 7-08 plus a Savage in 308. Money being tight the Tikkas fit my pocketbook. Put new bolt shrouds on them and also raise the combs etc. All shoot under an inch and do everything my custom rifles did for me except they obviously don't look as Pretty. To each his own and also my Daughter has three of them. 7mag, 308 and a compact 7mm-08. All shoot under and inch and the compact doesn't care what you put in it, it is an awesome shooter

Seems interesting to me that the T3X changes came as direct response from Tikka owners. Remington is still decades into sorting out their triggers.

A fella can walk out of the store with his ammo of choice and a Tikka and not worry if it's going to "like it". They are bullet whores.

You sound like a fellow that I met at the range with a 3500.00 custom rifle topped with an 1900.00 scope.

He was plumb apoplectic when my straight factory Tikka T3 .243 topped with a Buriis FFII 3-9 in the factory rings shot tighter groups at 300 yards (just under 1 inch groups)than his custom wonder did at 100 yards.

He could not believe something "so ugly and cheap looking" could do that.

Has somebody with a Tikka done that to you too?

I guess my clearly stating that I know they shoot well and lack of accuracy is not why I do not like them still doesn't stop comments like yours, just as it didn't 10 years ago. People only hear what they want to hear around here.......

What a load of BS. The T3X came about because there were VAST amounts of room for improvement. Told everyone here that over 10+ years ago. Did same with Browning A-Bort. Guess what, they changed it also. What a shock. They call it evolution. LMAO.

This whole statement wreaks of fanboy dribble. Remington triggers are fine. Not one custom gunsmith I have ever talked to had a problem installing an old school Rem trigger or has ever said a bad word about them. They just aren't idiot proof enough.......

On a side note, I am wondering about the new T3X in regards to the A7. The T3X I saw at Eurooptic was actually priced higher than the Sako A7 I saw. Both SS. The A7 comes with a 5 shot accuracy guarantee. The Tikka a 3 shot guarantee. Will be interesting to see how this pans out, because right now, Sako has a bit of a marketing clusterfuuk on their hands.

I think more people would buy an A7 over a T3X simply because it says Sako on it and not Tikka. The rifle particulars would not be the deciding factor. Much as they aren't with current T3 owners.....

I own one in 338 win mag. Nice trigger, tight tolerances, the single stack magazine feeds flawlessly, nice finish, bolts cycles smoothly,nice weight and is one of the few rifles I own that I do not load for. Why? Because the factory ammo I first tied shot so well I wasn't going to mess around with it anymore.

I have tinkered with a few things like I do on most rifles I own. Over the last decade I have recommended them to quite a few who have asked my opinion on best value of a hunting rifle.

I don't know anything about it's soul, or who is or isn't butt hurt but I do know mine has been a great rifle and wouldn't hesitate to buy another one.

This thread has turned in to one man's fight against the tyranny of Tikka.

Well I am not impressed with them either, but didn't want to say anything in case I got dragged out and put to the stake.

I have owned quite a number LSA55 and M55, and couldn't fault a single one of them.


But I won't take a new one as a gift, same goes for new Sako.

You should replace the rings with DNZ or something better. So far I have yet to break any of the other cheap things you talk about. You can buy an aftermarket aluminum bolt shroud if you think it is important, I haven't fallen off any cliffs yet so mine hasn't been broken. I like the two tikka's I have but I am on the prowl for a Sako Vixen which should satsfy my desire for a pretty rifle which also shoots well.

Good thing there are many brands to choose from huh?

I think Deflave still has Vixen 222 Rem mag for sale in classifieds. Same gun as mine in the pics a couple pages back......

Won't be of use to you but when I was down in Ararat Victoria last week I wandered into a local sports store and they had a Sako L461 with original heavy barrel and wide fore-end stock in .222 Remington for au $1100.00...the kicker is they also had a couple of hundred factory loaded Sako 222 rounds from the same fellow...I could only see about 30 fired cases, the rest were still factory loads.

Someone is going to get a screaming deal as that is an au $1800.00 rifle any day of the week here.


ps, the store personnel weren't really forearms literate but they were very easy to deal with and did their level best to help.

I had one of those. It was the most accurate factory gun I have ever owned. Wish I still had it.

I traded it for a Ruger #1 in 243 IIRC. Back then I did not like little cartridges much...

Personally... the last couple rifles I bought were Montanas or Americans. If I'm going cheap... then I'm going cheap. If I want a killing rifle, then the Montana has few peers.

That being said.... if someone asks for a rifle recommendation.... it's Tikka every time... simply to save myself some hassle. The last couple new Remingtons that buddies bought all needed to have trigger jobs done, chambers polished (1 outta 4 would extract fired brass), bedding work/stock swaps, and "load development". I had to do all that work, to the tune of about 8 hours of my time....

Are there "design flaws" in a Tikka? I guess you could say that.... but none of them have ever caused me, or any other Tikka shooter I know, any issues. Every rifle makes compromises, just as every caliber makes compromises. Glocks are plastic.... and "souless"... but they work every time all the time.

The Tikka CTR .260 in the safe is the most accurate factory rifle I've ever owned.... out of about a hundred... and it's more accurate than every custom I've had built except for a 15lb truck-axle barreled 6.5x47... and even then it's aweful close.

I hear 2MG's complaints/dislikes.... and to him they're deal breakers. To me... and 99 out of 100 people... they make no difference. The fact that everything works well, they're accurate as hell, they're lighter than average, they require no tinkering, and are available in a cornucopia of chamberings... makes them an attractive package for your average Hunter/Shooter.

Works well if you chase up one of the target triggers that came with the bottom metal with the hole in the trigger-bow...there was a fellow in Queensland making up three levers for the early Sako (Madden I think, from memory) but I am pretty sure I got the last one from him in the mid 90's...I ended up putting that on an old Sako with the rounded rear bolt, it sported a Hart barrel in a tight neck 22-250 Improved.
The rifle worked fine on 'roos but I wasn't that keen on the slim wristed stock for shooting out of the Toyota.

Another roo shooter purchased it from me and I believe he still has it.


That barrel was a glorious thing to clean, and shot very well.

I might get a T3 in .243 after hunting season. I'd like to get it before but I have a hunting trip coming up and want to make sure I have plenty of money for that.