Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Purchased my first rifle. Tikka t3. Any suggestions?

Hi everyone. Signed up after I lurked and read some great informative threads, as well as the huge giveaway thread. Never seen anything else like it on a forum!

As the title states, just purchased my first rifle, a Tikka T3 lite stainless steel, .308 caliber. Seems like a really solid rifle! Any suggestions on fixing any weaknesses besides changing the stock rings? I have seen a few things pop up here and there about the recoil lug, but still don't know what to think.

I live in Maryland, will primarily hunt white tail, as well as occasional critters (I live on a farm with soy fields adjacent to our property) and see all sorts of animals.

Thanks in advance for the help! I have gone on a few hunting trips with friends, and am completely addicted now. Am still a complete rookie hunter by my standards!

Hope the weather has not been too bad for everyone.
-Anthony

Welcome to the forum....

That should be a great starting platform. I do prefer Talley rings over the factory offerings.

I'd start slinging lead down range and enjoy your new purchase!

I put on Talley rings as suggested and a precision fit limbsaver pad. That's all I can think of.

Tikka don't require much! It should shoot without a problem. You can adjust the trigger "down" to your liking. Other than that put on what aheider stated and you should be good to go!

Shoot it alot! My 25.06 in my Tikka has a lot of recoil for the caliber. The stock doesn't fit me particularly well. But I manage to kill everything I aim at with it! I go back and forth about selling it but can't. The smoothest action I have felt in a rifle. I like it quite a bit.

Love the Tikka T3's I had, but I LOVE the Sako m75 more so upgraded the calibers I had in T3's to m75's. I prefer the Optilock rings and bases for the T3's myself.

I was recently at a local gun show, and held a lot of the ~$300 price range rifles, the 770, America, Axis; this one just stood out to me. Seems like I am leaning toward what you guys are suggesting. I purchased Talley rings with my scope. Will have to let you know how things go!

If I grab the limbsaver pad, I definitely want to shoot it before, and after to "feel" the difference, instead of just know there is a difference. But that is me just fooling around with it, and getting used to the rifle.

Thanks again for the advice guys! I plan on sticking around and using the forum often, hopefully having beneficial input rather then just asking questions! I didn't grow up in a family of hunters, so I turn to my friends and neighbors for advice (which sometimes is not always the best). This is going to be my day-to-day go to rifle.

Look for a post in the Classifieds where one of the members here uses his dad to modify Talley rings to fit flush on top of the Tikka receiver. It's a sweet setup, I will do it whenever I finally buy one. People also switch out the plastic bolt shroud for a machined aluminum one. Other than that, just shoot it! Everyone claims they shoot lights out.

Wish I would have known about this forum before I bought my first rifle. It was a Rem 710, the predecessor to the 770, and it was not a great rifle and is long gone. By reading and learning beforehand, you made your first purchase a great one. I have 2 Tikkas and they shoot as well as the best and better than the rest in my safe.

Have fun with it and welcome to the forum!

My tikka needed no tweaking, shot great right out of the box. I've taken deer hogs and elk. You shouldn't need to change the pad, in fact I used the stock rings and they seem to work just fine.

Keep it stock, shoot some blue box federals, and fill the freezer up.

^^^^


That.


Load development on a Tikka consists of putting cartridges in it and firing�.

shoot it

This has been my experience.

Amen! The Tikka T3 is the most unfinicky factory rifle made.

I have owned 8-10 (lost track 'cause my buddies keep talking me into selling them to them ) of the Tikka T3s since they first were imported here, and still have a couple. All of them have been very accurate right out of the box. Like several others have suggested, just get some decent factory ammo, sight in the rifle, and go hunting.

As for alleged weaknesses, you'll commonly hear complaints about their scope rings and the recoil lug, but I have not experienced even one serious problem with either. Yeah, it can be a PITA lining the recoil lug up with the slot in the bottom of the action while trying to put the barreled action back in the stock. Here patience is a virtue, go slow, and start over if they don't line up - and don't hammer the lug into place!

As far as the scope rings are concerned, the only problem I experienced was the hex heads in a couple of ring screws started to round out, but who hasn't done that with a Burris, Leupold, or <insert other brand name> scope ring screw? The heads on the Tikka ring screw are a touch soft, so don't try to get them 'farmer tight' (as mule deer would say). Also, the screws are steel and the rings are aluminum, so use some Anti-seize lube on the threads.

Also, you hear folks claim that the rings don't hold, but I've never had a ring move or a scope slip in these Tikka rings and that includes a hard kicking 30'06 T3 with very heavy reloads! But then, I don't put large, heavy scopes on any of my rifles. My big game rifles wear a fixed 4x or 6x, and the varmint rifles either have a fixed 10x or 12x, or a small 4-12x40mm variable.

Another nice option with the Tikka rings is there is plenty of room to move them around on top of the grooved receiver to accommodate scopes of different sizes, and the eye relief needs of different sized shooters.

Go have some fun shooting and hunting with your new Tikka - it's a fine rifle.

Tatelaw, even as much as I tried to read up, i still couldn't make up my mind so I just went with it. Thanks for all the help so far guys, this forum is definitely a wealth of info for a new hunter! Wish i found out about it much sooner.

Contact 16bore for scope mounts.
Buy a precision fit Limbsaver recoil pad.
Stuff a bunch (4 or 5) plastic grocery bags inside the stock to deaden the hollow sound.

Done.


P

TG.....welcome to the forum. You may not know it yet but you most likely have purchased one of the least finicky best shooting rifles made. I purchase a tikka in 270. I can't seem to find a thing wrong with the stock rings and if its not a magnum I see no reason for a different recoil pad.

Best Wishes with your new hobby and rifle.

Shod

Great idea Pharm! Sorry about only responding to Tatelaw guys. Must have not refreshed the thread and saw his response as the most recent.

Thanks for all the awesome, unique ideas, with the milled Talley rings, and the grocery bags in the stock! This has already taught me a few more little tricks to try out.

And thanks again for the great welcome!

Looky:

http://www.ifish.net/board/showthread.php?t=565553&highlight=

I got the ideas here on the fire.


P