I have 2 T3s and I'm not overly impressed with either.

One is a blued/syn version chambered in 338 Federal wearing a Vari-X II in Leupie DDs. It's the only rifle I've shot that dramatically improved accuracy wise after approx 50 rounds down the pipe. The first few groups fired after break in were over 2"(factory 200grn fusions for the brass and break-in). Chalked that one up to it just not liking that ammo. After a bit of load development, I was able to get it to consistently barely shoot under MOA with 200 HDYs and 200 NBTs over various powders at 2450-2550fps MV. The reason for me stating it shot better with wear is that I shot some groups with the same lot of Fusions that went under MOA months later. Can't really argue about it now as it is quite consistent, but not on the same playing field accuracy wise as the majority of my bolt rifles. It is a joy to carry and quite handy for short range big game. A 200 NBT at 2600 is no slouch. I had to move to a LA Bolt stop and mag to gain enough capacity to get anywhere near 2600 with the longer NBTs. That's another gripe, the short mag length not allowing anything near the lands. The LA stop and mag solved that problem.

The 2nd is a Stainless/syn in 300WM with a Leupie VXIII 4.5-14x40 in Talley LW lows. Never fired factory ammo in it as I hardly ever fire a factory round, but it does just under MOA with a few pet handloads. I settled on a compressed load of 7828 under 180 NPTs that shoots around 2-2.5" at 200(avg MV of 2950) which was suitable for my needs at the time, but again, nothing comparable to most of my hunting rigs. The problems I have with it are the factory drilled and tapped mount holes are off center requiring some hefty lapping with Talley LWs, so-so accuracy, and again mag length too short to reach the lands. I'm not giving up on it despite trying several pills and powders. Next on the list is 168TTSXs.

IME a quality rifle whether factory or custom should consistently shoot .5-.8 MOA with a variety of loads.

No more Tikkas for me, if I want another cheap knock around rig, it will be a A7, 700, xbolt, or 70.

I don't doubt most Tikkas are superbly accurate rigs out of the box, but the two I purchased from different sources were not so and left a sour taste....

Have a Good One,

Loder