Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Let's lighten up the tikka T3 even more

I'm wanting to see if I can get my 270 down to 6 lbs without breaking the bank or getting rediculous with spending. Or maybe get a little rediculous if I have to

What are some things you have done to shed weight on a tikka T3? My thoughts are lightweight scope and rings first and foremost. I want to reach out to 500 yds so a ballistic reticle is a must. I wouldn't mind upgrading my stalk to something nicer so spending money there is a non issue. Maybe chop my barrel to 18"?

This was my T3X Superlite in a McM Edge Sako Classic Stock. It was a few ounces lighter with the all alloy Sportsmatch rings.

Scope was 20 ounces.



Bolt fluting and chopping a couple inches would net you a couple ounces I’d guess.

With a Maven rs2 2-10 it would be 1/2 lbs less

I've not seen or researched the Maven scope. Looks pretty interesting to me. Do you have any experience with the mechanical integrity of the scope? Thanks for sharing

Thanks Beretzs

Scotty, is that 7 pounds 11.3 oz's?

I need to weigh my 7mm08 and 308. They both have 22" barrels though. The creed superlite is a hair under 7 pounds with scope.

This 300WSM, with 24" barrel, weighs a little more than 7 pounds:


Good luck to the OP. I'm sure it can be done, somehow.. I understand the light rifle concept, but 7 pounds is just about the perfect weight for a "lightweight" hunting rifle. Of course, YMMV..

Yep, sure is. With the Warne rings. It was a hair under 7 1/2 with the Sportsmatch rings with the same 3x9 SS.

I think you can easily get down in the low 7 lbs range without spending a lot of cash. If you want a rifle that's sub 7 lbs you can probably do it as well for under a grand. To get to an even 6 lbs with optics you'd be better off starting over with a different rifle.

I spent years chasing light rifles. Finally got a Kimber in 308 that was 5 lbs 15 oz with a Leupold scope in Talley lightweight mounts. It turned out to be too much of a good thing. I liked it, but just never loved it. I've since decided that something between 7 1/4 to 7 1/2 lbs is a good place to be and you can easily do that with a Tikka out of the box if you choose the optics and mounts carefully.

In my experience as long as the total weight is under 8 lbs I find it to not be a burden to carry. But below 7 lbs and they can be hard to shoot accurately. That is with me carrying it and pulling the trigger. Others experiences may vary

I’ve a Tikka in 6.5 that weighs 5lbs flat without rings/scope. Barrel cut to 17”, bolt and barrel fluted by Twisted Barrel, stockys stock. Comes out a touch over 6lbs with DNZ rings and a Leupold. Handy rig and shoots like a Tikka.

Lots of good advice here for me to consider. Thanks

Let us know if you get it down to your desired weight. I checked all of mine. Most are 7.2 pounds. They seam light as hell compared to what I grew up using.. Still, a very lightweight rifle IMHO and just about the perfect weight for my needs. Even though they are not super lightweights, some guys have a hard time shooting them. I'm assuming since you want a rifle that weighs 6 pounds scoped, you don't have that problem. A lot of guys here can shoot them, but the average joe, like my friend Troy really struggles..

bsa1917hunter;
Good afternoon to you sir, I hope the day in your part of Oregon has been a good one and you're well.

While I've not had extensive experience with rifles under 7lb, at this point and possibly forever I'd definitely count myself as one of "those guys" who have a hard time shooting them.

For my style of hunting and current wants/needs anything that's right about at the 7lb mark like you're speaking of is perfect for me.

Less than that as I say, appears to be less so.

For sure good luck to the OP on his quest, it seems like a good one even though it might not be for me.

All the best and good hunting.

Dwayne

Leave er alone and to kill shiit. Couple pounds ain’t gonna ruin your hunt, sure as hell won’t make it easier to shoot

Bsa, one of the things I considered when reading thru the comments is that you and a few others mentioned that a 7 ish lb rifle works rather well. I've decided to take that advice and so I'm down to a careful selection of scope and rings to get there. It made sense and when I think about it I doubt I would notice the extra lb during carry.

Someone else likewise mentioned that if I want a 6 lb rifle package I'd be better served to start with a different rifle and apon consideration that also made sense.

So the tikka will lose the SWFA 6X42 and the steel warne rings for something lighter. I researched the Maven scope that was recommended but think I'm going to pass on that option

Always nice coming to the fire with questions and much of the time fire members attempt to talk sense into the OP. I'm an open minded OP who listens and values the feedback


Trystan

We've all been there man. I think the Kimber Montana would be cool if you want to go lighter. I was just trying to figure out how you were going to lose 1 pound. The stock on the Tikka is already pretty light, but I've never actually weighed one. I don't think an edge fill Mcmillan would be much lighter. I do know I like the ergo's, while others may not. Then I thought what is the lightest scope mounts you can get? Talley lightweights probably. A set of modified ones, even better yet. Then the scope, which always adds the most weight. It can turn a 6 pound rifle into an 8 pound rifle in a hurry, depending on which scope you get. So, I was just going to sit back and see what direction you went. I will guarantee that any SWFA scope you pick is going to weigh over 1 pound. Likely closer to 2 pounds. I know what I've settled on and it's pretty simple. Gets me out to 400 yards very precisely, with a 13 oz scope and ballistic type reticle. It's fast and I know it works. But, like I said, my rifles are all around 7 pounds or even 7 1/4 pounds. I was thinking I could get them down another couple oz's with a scope change, but there are not a lot of good 11 oz scopes I really trust. My rifles would weigh a bit less, had I not glass bedded them and added a stainless recoil lug, but those mods are something I require to attain the consistent precision I look for. I was rooting for you because I really like the Tikka T3 rifles. If you decide you want to pursue that 6 pound all up Tikka, keep us posted.

I may be in the minority but I haven’t had any issues shooting a rifle weighing 6.25-6.5# (bare weight).
Where I hunt the rifle is in my hands constantly and I notice a difference in anything approaching 7#. For me 6# would be too light.

Mine have been chambered for 270W shooting 130’s. I will say that shooting 150’s with R26 results in a noticeable increase in recoil. A 30/06 would be too much as well.

I would be looking for a scope that is 12oz or less.

For a lw rifle you must have a superb trigger. You may want to consider an aftermarket Tikka trigger spring.

What "12oz or less" scope would you pick for shooting out to 500 yards with a lightweight rifle?

Leupold 6x or Leupold compact 3x9…sadly both discontinued but available.