Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Long Range Hunting The forgotten T3 CTR

The chassis love had me forgetting all about the T3 CTR until I ran across a friend with the following combo:

T3x CTR

Manners EH-TA

Bushnell LRHS

Thats a pretty good hammer of a gun for right about $2000. And of course. Even with the outdate 308

Anyone else still slumming a stupid accurate CTR?

My wife’s .260 CTR gets carried around quite a bit..... daughter hammered a doe antelope with it last week, and she’ll have it up hunting elk all weekend. Bout 2000 rounds on it now.... and still accurate as hell.

Nice work the with the CTR! Still using the CTR bottom metal and mags? Looks like a lot of guys convert to CTI or use the new Tikka Performance BM that allows use of AICS without altering the OEM footprint.

Never had a reason to change a thing.

Pulled the rail in favor of low 16bored Talleys, and run a 3-9 Leupold on it.

My wife has shot it at the SRM (though with a 10x SS on it) and packed at 10k+ chasing elk multiple times. The oldest two kids have both shot multiple big game animals with it, and I bet close to 100 people have made 500 yards hits with it. It’s the best $650 I’ve ever spent on a rifle to be quite sure.

I dropped a 6.5 CM 20" CTR in a Manner's T6A and topped it with a NF 3.5-15 NXS. Tried 139 scenars first with some H4350 and was ringing steel out to a 1,000 yds in no time. It's the setup I like to let new shooters get behind for some fun.

Are all the stock options heavier than the original? Any way to get one slightly lighter?

Dogshooter, two observations observed immediately. You have a great looking family, and you out kicked your coverage by a freaking mile. My son has the same rifle (CTR 260 ) that is also stupid accurate. We are migrating to SWFA's and/or LRHS scopes. You, Formid, GregW, and ctsmith finally wore me down...........

I have a 20" CTR in 6.5 Creed. It's a hammer. Shot all the Hornady stuff into little bitty clusters. I started playing with the Berger 130 VLD. Loaded several at different seating depths thinking there'd be a big difference in group size. There wasn't -- they were all 3 shot 1/2 clusters at 100. Its the least fussy rifle I've played with in a while!

Tikka..........I think alot guys snubbed their noses at them 20 yrs ago........

I know that I was one of those people, at least initially. Though I've never owned one, I have long since change my opinion of Tikka rifles. Looking forward to trying one of them out one of these days.

That's about how long I've had my Tikka 695 Whitetail

Hah! So you've joined the Dark Side. Got a little taste of SS 3-9x and now you're hooked. Can't say I'm surprised, nor can I say that it's the first time I've seen it happen.

I'm pretty well convinced about trying a Tikka, but not sure about going the SS 'turrets' route-but we shall see...

All this convinced me to buy a Tikka and the accuracy has been, well, ho-hum. Not sure why but it isn't the magic gun it is hyped up to be.

Interesting....

I was one of "those guys" too but the LH T 3 6.5x55 I got my wife has been the most accurate gun we have in the house, has the best trigger and has a slick action. It costs a lot less than a couple of my custom guns too while out shooting them. I am about 99% sure a LH T 3x in 300 WSM is in my future sometime this year...............

Would love to get a LH CTR 260 too but we will see,my Savage 260 shoots pretty good too.

I forgot about putting you on the list of perpetrators.........

You can leave me out of this. Just glad that there's one more guy out there putting pressure on scope manufacturers to make scopes that work properly.

I really like mine. Dropped it in a XLR chassis and have taken it to 1400+....2nd round hit at that distance....my wind call was a 1/2 MOA off or so on the 16" gong.

Its killed a pile of critters in my first year of owning it, from myself taking 3 deer and caribou (120 to 495 yards), to a grizzly bear my buddy shot much further any of my kills with it, to my buddy's 8 year old bagging his first big game animal with one perfectly placed shot at 330 yards:



Seems to shoot both handload and factory load 143 ELDX 5 shots into 1/2 MOA at 100 yards everytime. Overall very happy with the rifle.....and now I am using the factory CTR stock and bottom metal for my dad's 308 so I can have a 10 round mag that allows me to load with plenty of mag space.

the 595/695 series I think were more solid......metal magazines........etc......

although nearly a pound heavier......the two 595's I had were imported by 'Stoeger in NJ'

Now Beretta imports 'em as the Third Generation series....as we know.....

great shootin' right outta the box......the 6.5x55 has always been my fav caliber.......

Just sitting her laughing. You did not get it in the new whiz-bang does everything caliber of 6.5 Creedmor.

Better sell your .308 and get you another one in the new "magic" chambering. It can kill a water buffalo from 1790 yards... One shot, DRT

Sounds like your experience is 'about the norm', Gerry. If I could get a Tikka in 6.5 Swede that would be even better. I really like that caliber.

While your making fun of the Creedmoor we have to make fun of your spelling. Her is not here and Creedmoor is not Creedmor. Maybe you need some Creedmoor Kool aid. I've taken a liking to the round. Capable with low recoil and deadly in my expierence. This from someone that loves their 30-06, 308, 7mm mag ,9.3x62, 300 win mag, 300 H&H mag, 257 Roberts ,405 Win, on and on.

THe 6.5x55 is a great match for the Tikka action. Lot's of room in the magazine to load out the bullet and it feeds great.

I have buddies with phenomenally accurate T3s. None are laminated stocks, however. Maybe that is the norm?

I have a 260AI and a 6.5-284. I didn't think I needed another 6.5...

Koolaid drinker: finally got a Black Friday SWFA SS 6x42 MQ w rings & bubble level and plopped onto my blue T3 CTR .260. Hoping to get chance to zero tomorrow and employ v. Does after regular season ends.

Got a ton of reloading stuff but, as a shiftless Farker, have only shot Fed Premium 120 BT factory loads in the past three years. Have shot deer out to 350 and busted rocks beyond that in Northern CO.

Pretty excited to be in SS MQ fanboy club.

As a side note, earnest scribes, [/b]Your [b]CTR may shoot better groups than mine, but [/b]you're[b]gonna post pics to prove it!

English! It's your Mother Tongue; learn how to spell & use it.

Hey A.L., that CTR stock is gettin around! Thinkin I will take 8-twist Tikka /250 for bob & thread this weekend, then put in my CTR .260 furniture.

Certainly not a bad way to roll there!! My 22-250 T3 sure ran nice out of the TRG mag sitting in the CTR stock.

Dennis

Having been around a few Tikkas, there are some things to check. First proper assembly with the recoil lug. Second, make sure the crown is good. Third, makes sure it is free floating.

If all of those are in place, I can say several of mine were not “shooters” out of the box. They shot good, not great....until I had around 150 - 200 rounds through them. Then I noticed the groups shrank very noticeably. They just wanted some break in I guess.

So check it, and shoot it.

CTR may be on my list for the future....after hearing all the hub bub...lol

SC

Very nice. Those CTRs look like wicked rifles. Hard to bad mouth a T3X once you put some rounds thru them.

Hit the nail on the head Gerry35. I wish they made a 7x57 as well. That would be another perfect match for the action.

Those long vlds sit above the neck shoulder junction in my 6.5x55. Not sure if it’s related but the 2 most accurate factory rifles I’ve owned were both chambered in the 6.5x55.The current one being a Tikka t3 with a simple blued barrel and wood stock. It’s very threatening to coyotes at ridiculous ranges.

I would be all over a 7x57 in a T 3, it would be just as good as the 6.5x55. We use 120 gr Ballistic Tips in my wife's T 3 for deer but some 160's in a 7x57 would be sweet for moose and leave the 6.5x55 as is. Of course you can do the same with a 7mm-08, I wish it were easier to get a T 3 in 7x64 into this country. That would be pretty sweet................

I was going to do that...but now that you can get the Tikka CTR mags for the same price as the AICS mags and the Tikka CTR mags actually feed a bit smoother and have slightly more COAL leeway then its kinda a no brainer to just take that $200 for new bottom metal and get 3 more mags.

I agree and it's what I did when Europtic was selling them for $75.

FYI


Beretta has a code for buy two get one free on CTR mags. Add three to cart and then Code: 1CTRFREE

https://youtu.be/IY402oWJF6s

Shooting a coke can at 600yards factory 147 Hornady 65cm