Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Tikka T3 gas handling, safety, and strength

Just curious as to how the T3 action rates at gas handling compared to guns like the 700 and the Savage. Also, are they considered a strong action?

Quak

I can't answer per gas handling BUT.....
they are made by SAKO in a cheaper package.

Also I have one in 270 Win that I bought in 03. I run it plenty hot and have had NO problems.

And I got one in 7 RM last year. I run MAGNUM velocities (speeds) and again NO problems.

I would NOT worry about them.


Jerry

I can tell you by one of the bonehead moves I made reloading that they handle gas and pressure VERY well. I was reloading my t3 lite 243 and meant to use the old standby of 56 grains of h4831. Well there was an 8 pound jug of it parked right beside a 5 pound jug of reloder 15 both black and both the same size. You guessed it... I got 45 grains of reloder 15 in those loads. Was shooting a 95 gr nbt that went through the chrono at 3490 fps. Huge overload but the gun wasnt phased. Very safe guns....very strong actions... very dumb move leaving those jogs together.

Unless the case ruptured that wouldn't have tested the action at all, back thrust on the bolt wouldn't be all that much greater than a standard load.
It is when a case lets go that the drama begins.

Primer popped. Gas went in a few directions, but not towards my face.

V G - DD = Very Good, DoeDumper


Jerry

As far as strength is concerned, the two locking lugs are certainly adequate in size and bearing surface to contain any cartridges for which the rifles are chambered. The WSM's will produce the most bolt thrust but there are enough similar two lug action which contain these just fine that there is no reason to suspect the Tikka would do any less. The locking lug abutments in the receiver are also perfectly adequate so, from a strength standpoint, they are surely OK.
When it comes to gas handling, bolt actions generally fall into two categories; sealers and venters. A sealer is designed to contain the gases in the event of a case failure. Examples of sealers would be the Reminton 700, the Weatherby MK V, the Savage 110, or the push feed Winchester. Venters provide escape venting for the gases; hopefully, in a safe direction. The classic venter is the 98 Mauser. Gas is vented into the left locking lug raceway and out through the notch in the left receiver wall. The Ruger 77 vents gases into the magazine well. Both vent a significant amount out the loading port.
Among most examples of the two types, there is a bit of hybridization. The 700 vents gases which enter the bolt body via a pierced primer into the locking lug recess. The Ruger seals off the locking lug raceway with a flange on the bolt sleeve. Mauser, with the C-ring in the receiver ring, seals off the raceway to a minor extent.
Anyway, the Tikka has no venting in the bolt body and the rear of the bolt is fairly well sealed by the striker assembly. There is a small vent hole on the left side of the receiver ring (ride side on a LH action) and, in the event of a serious case failure, gases will be mostly be vented out through the ejection port. The Sako extractor is likely to be blown out and may or may not exit via the same route.
All in all, I would have to say that gas handling was not a real priority for Tikka but, on the other hand, there are not a lot of horror stories of Tikka failures in this area so it might be that it's no big deal. GD

The Tikka T3 series are a 3-lug action with a sliding plate extractor.

EDIT: CORRECTION: the extractor is not a sliding plate as some call it, but rather a type of a Sako-style extractor that pivots from its base.

EDIT AGAIN: FURTHER CORRECTION: it appears that there are only two bearing lugs on the bolt with a third or fourth depending on how you count that are milled in the front of the bolt nose but are not actually bearing lugs.

MEA CULPA: never actually looked beyond the front of the nose of the bolt.

I guess my T 3 and T 3x are missing a lug ? ?

Wonder where they are ?

Jerry

Have a Tikka but the experience that I saw was in regards to a Savage. My bud was shooting his 25-06 if I'm not mistaken and accidentally slipped a 308 in and took a shot at the target. Definitely something didn't sound right and tried open the bolt and it didn't budge. Once he realized what he had done he called Savage up and he explained what had happened. They asked him to ship the rifle to them. He got a call and they told him that the bolt was welded shut. They sent him a new rifle and asked if they could keep his original rifle to show the strength of the 110 action.

I’ve been in on the aftermath of two that suffered a high pressure excursion. One pierced the primer and the othe ruptured the casehead. Neither of them handled it worth a schiet. In both cases gas was vented out the back of the bolt into the cheesedick plastic shroud. In both cases the shooter got a face full of gas and debris when said plastic shroud disintegrated. One shooter had glasses on and was okay other than some brass and plastic bits embedded in his face. The shooter who wasn’t wearing glasses lost his right eye. Both also had superficial wounds to their left hand and forearm from the gas being vented out the bottom and blowing the plastic magazine into a zillion pieces.

So no I don’t consider them as good at handling escaping gas in the event of a case failure or pierced primer.

FWIW M70s will give you a face full of gas and debris in the same situation. MkVs, 700s, 77s, and 98s are better in this regard. None of them will do anything but become a bomb in the event of a real over pressure boo boo. I’m not a metallurgist but I have dealt with the aftermath of probably 2 dozen such events in every capacity from trying to salvage actions, to expert witness, to having my face blown off. So I probably have more experience than most on the subject.

Alright Kid

I’m glad, no I’m not, to know those things. ? ? ?

My T3 is a SS Lite in 270 that I bought in 03. I’ve shot, loaded, graphed, hunted, & killed
a lotta deer with it. I’m known around here pretty much of a ‘hot rodder’ in handloading.

Sooo, I guess I’m NOT loading that hot.

Thnx for your input from Personal Experience. I’m gonna keep this in mind.

Jerry

Perhaps the plastic shroud was a sacrificial barrier? The new ones have steel shrouds...wonder how they would fare?

Didn’t they have an issue with receivers blowing apart at one point?

My Tikka T3 Lite is in 9.3 x 62.

Owning it since 2011, I've yet to fire factory stuff in it -- and likely never will. But I've so far used it to kill three black bears using handloads. The first was loading a 286 Hornady at about 2400 fps employing RL-15. The second was from a 286 Nosler Partition at 2600+ fps using RL-17 and the third was in using the 250 AccuBond at a tad over 2700 fps from RL-17.

QuickLoad says those latter two loads were about 64,000 psi. I load it that way because Tikka made the same rifle in .338 Win Mag (MAP 64,000 psi). NEVER has there been an issue with a sticky bolt or a blown primer. In fact, it is the smoothest bolt action I've ever used, and I've owned a bunch.

RL-17 is the best powder for that cartridge that I've tried -- and I tried the usual stuff before a friend recommended RL-17. I'll never go back to a faster powder, except for light bullets (of which there aren't many). It also works great for the 320gr Woodleigh at over 2400 fps.

Bob

www.bigbores.ca

Dont get me wrong...im a fan of the rifles. After buying one as a gift for someone else and seeing how well it shot and worked, ive divested my other guns and purchased 2. Mine are both scary accurate...and 270s to boot.

There was an issue where a wrong mix of sulfur was used in an effort to speed along the steel making process. Sako immediately identified the batches of steel and the serial numbers of all affected rifles. The fit between the striker and the bolt body is very very tight and I think the Shroud on Tikkas whether Steel or plastic are just cosmetic. I wear glasses with high quality polycarbonate anytime I shoot anything anyway.

I have 5 Tikkas and will buy another one if I ever sell my piece of crap Bergara. It's at the factory now for accuracy issues but that's another story.
Like the OP , I'm seriously thinking about selling several rifles and replacing with all Tikkas.

Thnx Oeh - My forgetter works too well. I had FORGOTTEN that but you are right. Problem Found, Fixed, Moved On.
I'm very glad.

Sorry to hear about the Bergara.

I would like to get a superlight in 7mm-08 in the not so distant future. I only have one T3x (30-06) and it is a dandy .