They are like the Glock of deer rifles to me.

My .308 shoots as well as some nice Palma rifles I've shot, but it has no soul.

That's fine, as it's a tool.

I tend to recommend Tikka T3s when people ask me what should I buy in this price range, especially if I know the guy will fire factory ammo and will probably never want to 'fine tune' the rifle.

But for some reason I cannot see myself buying one. I know they are accurate and built fairly decent, but there is something I just do not like about them. I have handled and shot quite a few T3s but it feels as if something is missing when I have one in my hands. I personally do not think they are in the same league as some of the older models but apart from that, something feels cheap about them.

I am not saying everyone here owning T3s have crappy rifles as we all know how they shoot and it seems like they get the job done. Just want know whether anyone else feels the same way? What is missing in the T3?

Cheers

Pieter

Seriously? It's like saying "I can't warm up to a crescent wrench unless it handles like a Craftsman."

I resisted the force for a long time and have had vurtually several of everything else. I finally bought a 270 win T3 Lite and painted the stock to my liking with some Rusto multi-colored textured stuff that creates a a good "grippy" surface. Mounted up a Swaro w/BRH reticle in DedNutz 1PC mount. Did black Plasti dip on the bolt handle. It shoots my 140 AB loads into about .5. My go-to for most everything now and would not part with it. Solved that "sole-less" feeling for me. All others are gone except a 788 that I did a similar treatment on and it is my short-range gun.

Mike

I've said that, with the ante upped to my late father's forty+ year old Craftsman. The real good old stuff.

I tend to recommend Tikka T3s when people ask me what should I buy in this price range, especially if I know the guy will fire factory ammo and will probably never want to 'fine tune' the rifle.

But for some reason I cannot see myself buying one. I know they are accurate and built fairly decent, but there is something I just do not like about them. I have handled and shot quite a few T3s but it feels as if something is missing when I have one in my hands. I personally do not think they are in the same league as some of the older models but apart from that, something feels cheap about them.

I am not saying everyone here owning T3s have crappy rifles as we all know how they shoot and it seems like they get the job done. Just want know whether anyone else feels the same way? What is missing in the T3?

Cheers

Pieter

I'm the opposite. Nothing else balances and floats in my hands like a T3. Not all plastics are created, or molded, equal. An H&K is a plastic gun, just like a Glock, but it's a different world of fit and finish. Tikka's plastic is a different world of fit and finish than any Savage, Ruger, or any other molded polymer I've seen.

Just curious how is the speed with your 25-06 and the 22 inch barrel

I'm not interested in any Tikka rifles. That's because of where I hunt and what they I need my rifles to do.
If all I hunted were small varmits and the conditions were pleasant, one would be a good or even great choice.
But I don't do that kind of hunting. My guns need to fuction under constant dusty conditions. They may need to fuction perfectly after hunting under these conditions for many days then endure rain and freezing temperatures. Or really cold temperatures.
Rifles with the Tikka style extractors and ejectors have given me lots of fits over the years. No, they weren't Tikkas, they were Remingtons.
Another area that I've seen or had problems with are triggers and safeties. Usually cheap rifles have triggers that are hard to clean and can't be adjusted much if at all.
The rifles I prefer all have open trigger designs that are fully adjustable. These come, or have come, on rifles made by Ruger, Winchester and some of the Mausers.
It isn't an accident that Rugers and pre-64 style Winchesters are popular the world over by knowledgable hunters that hunt under togh conditions.
As to accuracy, I like it as much as anyone. But experience has taught me that even a 2.5 MOA rifle and load will work. But if the bolt stop fails, or the trigger goes sour on an extended hunting trip, I'm SOL. E

Bad Cop: Convicting a cop, nearly impossible... California - It's been more than three decades since a police officer faced criminal charges for fatally shooting someone in Santa Clara County.

As a county grand jury considers this week whether to charge a San Jose officer in the July shooting death of a Vietnamese woman, the long-ago case of former officer Rocklin Woolley illustrates the long odds involved in trying an officer for killing in the line of duty.

"It's always hard for a jury to convict an officer, particularly in our county, where the public has a high opinion of police,'' said Dave Davies, a retired prosecutor who unsuccessfully sought to convict Woolley of felony manslaughter.

Woolley's case bore many similarities to the July 13 shooting of Bich Cau Thi Tran by San Jose police officer Chad Marshall. Both shootings drew public outrage and involved victims who were not white. The officers said they acted in self-defense and were accused of overreacting with deadly force to a harmless threat.

But what is especially telling about the failed prosecution of Woolley is that in some ways, his behavior seems more difficult to justify than that of Marshall, the officer in the Tran case. While Marshall faced a woman wielding a large, sharp instrument -- which turned out to be a vegetable peeler -- Woolley shot an unarmed man who was running away from him.

Woolley was a 27-year-old patrol officer when he stopped motorist John Henry Smith Jr., 37, for allegedly making an illegal U-turn Sept. 19, 1971. Smith, a black IBM research technician on his way home from a date, angrily protested the traffic stop when two off-duty officers who lived nearby happened on the scene.

Police said Smith threatened the officers with a tire iron. Woolley said he tried to subdue Smith with tear gas, then sent his police dog after him as he slipped free and fled toward an apartment complex.

As Smith reached the apartments, Woolley fired a single shot from his .45-caliber pistol, killing the unarmed man. Woolley later said he acted in self-defense, fearing Smith would arm himself once inside the apartments.

Community tension prompted calls for outside investigations. Two months later, a grand jury indicted Woolley on charges of manslaughter and using illegal tear gas.

At Woolley's trial, Davies told jurors the unarmed Smith posed no threat when he was shot. There was evidence Woolley threatened to kill Smith for suggesting he would sue over being tear-gassed. And officers said Smith had brandished a tire iron, but the tire iron turned out to fit one of their cars, not Smith's.

Then-Police Chief Robert Murphy said afterward that he no longer believed Woolley was justified in the shooting. Woolley, who was later fired along with another officer, lives in Placerville and declined comment. The city paid $30,000 to settle lawsuits on behalf of Smith's three children.

The Finns have just a bit of experience building quality rifles with a reputation for functioning flawlessly in freezing temperatures. And I've never heard of any fatal flaws in these Tikkas. But of course I'd rather have the Sako.

A. Toyota, Glock, Tikka

B. Chevy, 1911, Remington


The only difference between A and B is the tools and time to make B act like A.

And patriotism.

E

No heartburn with your past experiences but you may want to consider what some professionals in Africa have discovered about these rifles. Perhaps things have improved?

To quote:
"I have seen Sako/Tikka rifles run strings of 2000 rounds with no cleaning except for a wipe down. The same rifles had their barrels cleaned for the first time at around 4000 rounds, at no stage was the action cleaned up until the rifles were retired at 12 000 rounds. The only failures that come to mind was the plastic magazine of the Tikka that stopped feeding. Setback on the Tikka recoil lug, a common problem with the standard aluminum recoil lug. The rifles were all fired in rapid strings of 20 to 40 shots per session, time in between strings was around 5 minutes. I ran another CRF gun next to the Sako/Tikka rifles, after 2400 rounds it failed to eject, new extractor was fitted and gave no problems after that, rifle retired at 4000 rounds. I have had a new Sako fail to eject and I have had a new CZ fail to feed."

In torture testing they did have one bad Tikka magazine. I also replaced the aluminum lug on mine with a stainless one, just in case. Wasn't expensive.

The source can be found here
http://www.africahunting.com/thread...sconceptions-the-push-feed-action.18069/

Fragility and failure of the Tikka will likely come as news to these guys. I guess they think they are tough and rugged enough for continuous wilderness duty.

Yes, I can't bring myself to own one. For just a little more you can get a Weatherby Vanguard which looks and feels like quality and is as accurate.

See different strokes... I think the Weatherbys are gawd awful. I will never own one.

Seriously? It's like saying "I can't warm up to a crescent wrench unless it handles like a Craftsman."

My wife carries a Sig 228, I carry two glocks for the same money.

She pays $$$ for mags, I pay next to nothing.

Shiznits hits the fan, there are Glock mags and parts everywhere, not so much for the Sig.

I'm in the process of converting to all Tikka t3 rifles or Ruger Americans. All are drills with respectable ammo, and I can have two to three for the price of one of the prettier guns.

I may keep a Kimber Montana around just for grins, but that's it.

Between my Daughter and me we have 4 Tikkas of which she has three. A 308 hunter with cut down stock, Edwards recoil reducer. Limbsaver pad of Leupold scoped in 308. Her second is a 7mm mag lite again with limbsaver and Leupold. Her last one is a 7mm-08 lite compact again with a Leupold scope. You can't tear this one out of her hands she loves it so much. Which help the less than good stock I put on a got a grip cheek pad and finger grip strip and it really helped when mounting the rifle.

What are the differences between the T3 and the A7?

Differences based on that article? Yes. Advantages? Doesn't appear to be.

They are like the Glock of deer rifles to me.

My .308 shoots as well as some nice Palma rifles I've shot, but it has no soul.

That's fine, as it's a tool.

I don't come on here much anymore, but I'll comment on this..

E is an idiot.

It will take some serious work to kill a tikka. More than his imagination can ever accomplish.
I'm still in a amazement how someone can be absolutely caked with bulls for weeks and never get a shot off, all the while posting on the internet at 1:00 pm every day to tell the tales of his strenuous hunts.

I have had 4 tikkas. 3 shoot lights out. The 4th just got bought back by the factory. Chit happens. It wasn't the lug or the mounts or the magazine or shroud. I'll buy another. But this check is going towards a new 20 ga. shotgun. Probably a Benelli Monte.

Like Remington rifles, the T3 is the 770 of the Finn family.

That was mean!

A lot more to like in a T3 than 770.

David

15 minutes with a rounded off soldering tip and the grip is mo grippy....

after and before, noted...

All right, 4ager, that's enough. You are a lair.
You neglected to tell all that the man I killed had to be stopped by me at gun point from working over an off duty cop with a tire iron.
Said Bad Guy refused to submit to arrest. All lessor means of force failed. As per California case law at the time, 1971, "Police Officer have a duty to arrest those persons they have reasonable cause to believe have committed violent felonies, EVEN IF THEY HAVE TO KILL THEM WHILE IN FLIGHT."
After a long trial, from 1-2-72 until 2-4-72, they took a whole four and one half hours to reach a verdict of not guilty on both counts.....
Oh, and you forgot to tell all that I was also indicted for having an uncertified tear gas weapon. I was aquitted of that on the grounds of selective proscecution. In other words, we were ordered to ignore the law. So, probably ever cop in California had violated that law. I was the only one charged with that crime.
Now, you can believe the jury, or how about the polygraph exams which the two other cops took and passed as to what really happend. Or you can continue to tell lies about a case that was settled over 40 yrs. ago.
Oh, and I've never had my gun rights revoked or reinstated. E

that's about enough of that crap here.

You're right, toad.

All right, 4ager, that's enough. You are a lair.
You neglected to tell all that the man I killed had to be stopped by me at gun point from working over an off duty cop with a tire iron.
Said Bad Guy refused to submit to arrest. All lessor means of force failed. As per California case law at the time, 1971, "Police Officer have a duty to arrest those persons they have reasonable cause to believe have committed violent felonies, EVEN IF THEY HAVE TO KILL THEM WHILE IN FLIGHT."
After a long trial, from 1-2-72 until 2-4-72, they took a whole four and one half hours to reach a verdict of not guilty on both counts.....
Oh, and you forgot to tell all that I was also indicted for having an uncertified tear gas weapon. I was aquitted of that on the grounds of selective proscecution. In other words, we were ordered to ignore the law. So, probably ever cop in California had violated that law. I was the only one charged with that crime.
Now, you can believe the jury, or how about the polygraph exams which the two other cops took and passed as to what really happend. Or you can continue to tell lies about a case that was settled over 40 yrs. ago.
Oh, and I've never had my gun rights revoked or reinstated. E

People like rifles for different reasons, and they dislike rifles for probably just about as many reasons. Tikkas just don't appeal to me.

I don't dislike them, but neither do I like them enough to buy one. If someone gave me one, I would probably shoot it to see how it shot. I doubt that I would keep it, as I have rifles that I really like, for a variety of reasons, that shoot really well--probably as good as or better than your average Tikka.

Why that should make me good or bad, smart or dumb, in anyone's estimation escapes me.

Got anything else ?

Given the Pros, the cons are not much.

Only handled a few but they seem to have a lot of plastic and a rather over all cheapness to them. I have the same impression of the Ruger American . I'm sure they shoot fine as people say they do and if they were $300 it would be expected but I never have seen them under $500+-so no I can't get excited about them.

I'm not interested in any Tikka rifles. That's because of where I hunt and what they I need my rifles to do.
If all I hunted were small varmits and the conditions were pleasant, one would be a good or even great choice.
But I don't do that kind of hunting. My guns need to fuction under constant dusty conditions. They may need to fuction perfectly after hunting under these conditions for many days then endure rain and freezing temperatures. Or really cold temperatures.
Rifles with the Tikka style extractors and ejectors have given me lots of fits over the years. No, they weren't Tikkas, they were Remingtons.
Another area that I've seen or had problems with are triggers and safeties. Usually cheap rifles have triggers that are hard to clean and can't be adjusted much if at all.
The rifles I prefer all have open trigger designs that are fully adjustable. These come, or have come, on rifles made by Ruger, Winchester and some of the Mausers.
It isn't an accident that Rugers and pre-64 style Winchesters are popular the world over by knowledgable hunters that hunt under togh conditions.
As to accuracy, I like it as much as anyone. But experience has taught me that even a 2.5 MOA rifle and load will work. But if the bolt stop fails, or the trigger goes sour on an extended hunting trip, I'm SOL. E

THE CASE FOR AND AGAINST TIKKA T-3