Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles PROS and CONS of Tikka T3 Lite (specifically the SS/SYN version)

Pro: Hunts out of the box, shoots crazy well.
Con: No soul.

I'm not hanging it on my mantle, so I love 'em.

I have two of the Tikka T3s ss syn. One is a 223 and the other a 270 win and I am very fond of both. The are accurate as hell and easy to carry. The only thing I would suggest is a precision fit limbsaver recoil pad (they fit really well) and Talley one piece rings. I also had my stock painted which helps the plastic "feel" but the regular stock is nice to beat up on and you don't have to worry about it.

The pros & cons have been said....you guys that don't have one should go buy one & try it out...I introduced two of my shooting/hunting friends to the Tikka T3 just today...a SS/syn Swede & a syn/blue 308....first con comment..what a cheesy magazine from the 308 buyer....the Swede buyer after wiping the drool off the super slick bolt action...said 'I like it'...'The bolt feels like its on ball bearings'......I told them both...try my handloads in each one and see how they shoot....Again for the $$ out lay...just get past the space age plastic trigger gaurd/magazine & bolt shroud...go shoot it & hunt with it...its a $600 tool....use it...whats not to like about a laminated/SS 6.5x55 Swede as in pic ?

The laminated ones are a bit heavy...

But hey, I know a guy that dries Birch for Rutland Plywood. Us old Dryer Tenders stick together You won't find a denser or more stable stock than A grade 1/12" thick laminated birch. You can beat hippies to death with that stock and not lose your zero (if you're running a Loopy)

Cheap rings can be replaced. I swapped mine out for a set of Warne's.

Hollow stock sounds like bull meese when hit with brush. I think this'll work to my advantage. However, if it's not for you there's always a can of expanding foam to be found at Home Despot to fill in the voids.

I found that a Limbsaver really is.

Pro - super accurate with just about any ammo, light weight, great trigger, made to use and abuse, and magazine load

Cons - change to limbsaver recoil pad and stuff the stock with styrofoam packing peanuts, and use different rings if your inclinded to.

Great gun in a lot of calibers. Accurate out of the box with no tweaking. Camo'd my .308 and use it all the time.

Somewhat my thinkin' as well, as to the "bit heavy", but when compared to the stats of a standard T3 syn stock, the laminated is said to be only 1/2 lb. heavier. So, movin' up only 1/2 lb. from a really light feelin' syn stocked T3 to their laminated version.....it really isn't much gain in weight. Still lighter than many offerings/brands out there......inclusive of syn's, laminated and traditional wood stocks.

The T3's syn stocks clearly work well and make for an easy to carry, all day long rifle. The laminated versions don't slow one down all that much in that catagory, but they definitely have more of a heft to them. When chambered in harder kickin' cartridges, the laminated versions seem about perfect for me. Owning the 270WSM and 300WSM in T3 Laminated with both employing near or max loads, I feel it works well for me. I owned both these cartridges in T3 synthetics prior to purchasing the laminates (I liked the lams looks better) and they were never punishing....far from it. Just made one of those "loonie" changes, whether necessary or not. Hard to beat the looks and efficiency of a laminated stock......IMHO.

Just what we do...................

tent stake

I have a T3 ss/syn in 270 win and right now it is my only big game rifle and a constant range companion. I have over 400 rounds down the tube and never had a single real issue with it. It has been on every hunt I have been on since I got it and helped me take my first big game animal , a rag-horn bull elk in 2007 at 120 yards.

Pro: A joy to carry, shoots better than guns costing many many times more than it, Despite its "cheap" plastic parts I have never been able to do anything to harm it, Feeds so smooth some times I have to make sure it actually cycled a round (it always does). Trigger is fantastic and fully/ easily adjustable

Cons: mostly due to its extreme light weight: Hard to hold steady while standing/ sitting (a real sling helps), the factory recoil pad is a joke and mine was not pleasant to shoot untill I put a Limb Saver on it, If you get one in a good all around cartridge it becomes harder and harder to justify buying another rifle because it will unlikely do anything much better than the T3.

They are the Glock of hunting rifles. Reliable, light, non-traditional, low on aesthetics.

I've got one in 300 win mag and it doesn't shoot for crap...

T3 Lite ss/syn .338 Fed w/LA bolt stop & magazine.

Pro: Accurate, light weight, excellent trigger.

Con: factory rings stink. mags are a bit spendy.

Very old post but here it goes. I bought my 14 yr old son a Tikka t3 in .270 win. Read the pros and cons. All seem fair. Pros= what everyone else said. Cons= why do they even bother with that pos recoil pad? With a gun that light it's a must to have a good pad.. I would have bought the Marlin xl7 but the gun dealer said Tikka was way better. I;m not so sure, at least they have a real recoil pad. I like the gun except made over seas and recoil pad.

Cons: Plastic construction, very expensive detacable magazines,foreign made.

I'd buy the Marlin.

Swamp translation....OUtshoots any POS I own.

Chuck makes some excellent points here. If you want a plastic deer rifle the Tikka might be it. For $350.00 you can buy something better.

http://www.chuckhawks.com/critical_look_T3.htm

Pros- Incredibly Accurate, Feeding is the smoothest of any rifle out there, excellent trigger

Cons- Scope mounts could be better, recoil pad needs changed.

Chuck Hawks, Randy Wakeman are stooges of the highest order...when you grow up you can be part of that elite group.

Chuck Hawks, Randy Wakeman are stooges of the highest order...when you grow up you can be part of that elite group.

Just read the article.