I sold a T3 Lite SS 243 back around Christmas, it was my first Tikka. It shot anything I put in it into 3/4"! A guy wanted it for his wife, and hey, it was Christmas. Besides, Two surgeries ruined my planned guided coyote hunt in Nevada, Ouch! Anyway, I bought another, a blued Tikka T3x Lite in .243, new this time. I lightened the trigger down to 2#, screwed it back together at the recommended torque ( calls for 44 Inch pds, but I have a Fat Wrench, set it at 45#), put Leupold 2pc bases on ( I use the Std 2 pc bases on all my rifles, makes my "often" scope switching around easier.) I put a new Burris FFII 3x9 on it and went to the range. I had a box of Federal Blue Box 100 factory loads. After bore sighting, it dialed right in. Yep, 3/4" easy cheesy. I'm impressed! I don't mind spending money tweaking a rifle I like, but it sure is nice to get a great shooting one "right out of the box"!

That's 2 for me, and I shot my Son In Laws Tikka T3Lite ( he had just bought it) awhile back in 7mm Rem Mag. He just had some HSM with 168 Berger factory loads. Bingo, 1/2 to 3/4"!! So that's "three", and he tells me a mutual friend of ours 338 Federal Tikka T3 Lite does the same thing...so that's four, right out of the box. That's just amazing to me! So, for a "hunting rifle", jeepers, they are a great choice!

Funny how they do that.

For sure Jim. That is why a lot of us always recommend them. Mine have all been excellent.. I'm starting to reach for them more and more now. My little 7mm08 is kind of my favorite, even for elk hunting. They are just so light and well balanced that it makes the choice that much easier. Great scope choice too. That's what I run on a lot of my hunting rifles. Really hard to beat that combo. I run DD's for mounts, but dang near the same set-up you describe.

Local Sportmans has a 300 WSM that hasn't sold in about a month. Tempting, but holding out for a .308 or '06.

My 260 rem (1:8) is boringingly accurate. Definitely what I use to verify a questionable scope.

I recently sold a T3X Lite in .308 Win. I liked the rifle, but didn’t love it. Biggest problem was it would shoot groups 1/2 MOA then it would be 2 MOA. There was also a calcium carbonate precipitate that would form around the barrel/action junction.

A friend wanted it for a family member, so I let it go. I’m wanting another and I’m on a waiting list for a SuperLite. I kept my aluminum bottom metal from Mt Tactical, spare magazines, and scope rail.

drop point:

Quick question: When you say, “Biggest problem was it would shoot groups 1/2 MOA then it would be 2 MOA.”

Do you mean that it would go back and forth in group size on different range trips OR it went front 1/2 to 2 and then never return to 1/2?

Wow, you got through a post without the same ol’ target/rifle pics.

Impressive.

If was inconsistent. One trip out I may get it to shoot two or three 1/2 MOA groups in a row. Next trip out it would shoot lots of flyers. I believe it was because of the plastic stock.

I picked up a TAC A1 about 3 yrs ago, .6 out of the box with one brand of factory ammo, picked up a T3X Westerner last year, same thing. First handloads in both had .6 grps in the pressure tests. Makes it maybe a bit too easy to work with. Simple trigger adjustment, doesn't get much easier, put a Yo Dave spring in the TAC, yessssir, that worked, probably have to do the T3X as well I guess, as a hunting gun it is pretty damned good with the factory trigger spring though.
Maybe the only beef with either is the price of the CTR/TAC mags and the plastic mag on the T3X, but, that's a minor issue really, they both work well.

Tikka rifles are hard to beat for an accurate hunting tool. The ergo's of the stock are not my favorite and Im not a fan of the recoil lug and plastic trigger guard but I always keep a .300 Win Superlite in my safe for a rainy day hunting rifle.....Good hunting...Hb

Keep following me around. You might learn something, if you aren't too stupid to comprehend.

Love my hunter in 300 win. Shoots hornady sst in about 3/4". Love the the sleek action, used the leupold std two piece base and rings and has a leupold xv3i 3.5-10×40 on it. Would definitely recommend tikka to anyone.

I have been A Rem 700 fan my whole life. I needed a light rifle for the kids. I bought a Tikka S.S.T3x Lite in 6.5 Creed. First shots out of the box with factory ammo it shot .5" groups consistently. after shooting several types of ammo through it, it really likes 130gr ELD-M's and the groups have tightened up. Since then I have sent the Rem 700's down the road. I have replaced them with Tikka S.S.T3x Lite's. I have 5 of them now and they all shoot .5 moa or better. I must have gotten lucky with one of them. It shoots bug holes at every range session. They are the best shooting (out of the box gun) that is available today. I know they have some plastic parts on them. But they Dam sure shoot. You can get metal bottom metal, mag's and bolt shrouds from https://www.mountaintactical.com/ You can also buy them with wood and Laminate stocks If you don't like the Tupperware look. Add a Reduced pull weight trigger spring from CZNUT here in the classified's and you can put together one hell of rifle.

Being a tall man with big hands, I'm surprised how well it fits me! Can't wait to unzip a coyote with some 75gr Vmax!!

my worst grouping tikka will shoot 3 into 3/4"@100yds most will to .5" or better for a 3 shot group@100 yds. the Fins definitely know how to build an accurate rifle thats fo sho.
Big Ed

Ya, if I ever have the desire to learn how to post the same pics ad nauseam looking for validation I’ll look you up.

I have one or two Tikkas.

Okay, maybe 5 or 6.

They’re all I buy these days.

Fantastic trigger, great stock, amazingly accurate, boringly easy to load for, relatively inexpensive.





P

Another Tikka fan here. I own 4 of them in various cals.

One of the biggest mistakes I've made when it comes to rifles was selling a T3 SS 243 a few years back. That stock rifle was super consistent and would shoot 1/2" 3 shot groups or smaller with 5 different bullet weights and powder loads. A couple of those loads with different bullets/powders would shoot to the same POI. Without a doubt it was the most accurate 243 that I or friends have owned.

The other ones in my safe aren't going anywhere.

When I started hunting 20 years ago.. well 19 years actually, I had the option of buying a Tikka T3 SS in 6,5x55 from a local dealer... he actually quite adamantly recommended it!!
I bought an Rem 700 in 308 instead... and regretted it ever since!

That Tikka T3 could have been the only hunting rifle I ever needed... instead I bought a [bleep] Rem 700 with off centered drilled scope mounts. Luckily the store took it back...
Fcuk if Remington can't even drill their scope mounts inline, what else might be wrong with them.
That started me down the road of "finding the perfect rifle".... one that has cost me ALOT of money during the years.


Now I have a 223 and 308 T3 Stainless as my main hunting rifles... both in McMillan stocks, with walnut stocks as backup, if I ever go there....The rest have become project/safe filler rifles... as I dont use them as much anymore.



Tikka T3... is actually a Sako TRG-22, slimmed down to Hunting rifle weight.


.

I have a Tikka Forest in the original 6.5 (x55 Swede). If it weren't for the shooter, it would likely put 3 in the same hole.
From a techie standpoint, there's a characteristic about cold hammer forged barrels I think many miss. The CHF process not only produces highly repeatable rifling characteristics but also puts residual stresses in the barrel which drives up the natural frequency and makes for a stiffer barrel, less whip from the concussion.

Don't you hate it? My T3 '06 does the same darn thing. Any 180 gr bullet I shove into it groups 3/4"-1" and rarely over that.

Shot Red Death today to verify zero before I move out to 500-600 yards.




She did okay.




P

Yep, they sure do shoot. Here’s my Teeker twins flanking my Ruger Bob…



Doc_Holidude

Nice stuff Pharm.

All my Tikkas are like that. This one is my most recent purchase, stainless T3 Varmint in .223 Rem. Seller said it was unfired, condition of the rifle agreed with him. Named her Varmint Cong, from Caddyshack. Named the load Simo in honor of Simo Heyha, the WWII Finnish sniper.





3100 fps MV.





P

That’s killer speed from the 75 Pharm. Might need to pick your brain for my CTR.

That is some good speed for a 75 grain projectile.

In the early 2000s when the T3s were first imported I went to an LE sniper school. I was the only guy not shooting an Rem 700. I had a T3 Varmint in 308 which they don't import anymore as they added some stuff to it and called it a tactical. Long story short, there were more than a few guys talking smack about my rifle. Until we started shooting. Then guys wanted to shoot it, and started asking questions. That gun ended up with thousands of rounds down the tube over the years. It still was shooting good but it was time to put a fresh barrel on it.

It is at Brockmans now getting a new tube ( a new take off tikka) and a different stock fitted.

Never met one I didn't like. Started in 1999 with a M695 7mag, still use it. Acquired a T3 708, 2 6.5CM's of the CTR and T3X version, and my latest T3X Roughtech 6.5 PRC. Bought my nephew a T3 7mag, my son a CTR 260 as well. They are your typical boringly super accurate hunting machines. I couldn't begin to count the # of animals they've taken.

I’m using TAC, and maybe a little more than the books recommend, but I don’t have any pressure signs. I’m also loading a bit long.

Best I’ve done lately was 0.193” for 4 shots. I start getting the yips when I get too many that close together. I prefer superimposing multiple targets over shooting a lot into one target.

Groups don’t get much bigger than 0.5”. Mostly in the 0.3” range.





P

I finally got to shoot this 243 some more, and a couple handloads too. The 100PP Winchester factory load is even more accurate than the Federal! I can get 3 75Vmax/Staball into one ragged hole, and the Hornady 87 HPBT/H4350 into 1/2"! Right out of the box, this is just amazing to me, ha.

Bought a 22-250 with a 1-8 twist on here. It does the same thing with 62 gr Bear claws. That is a fun rifle to shoot. I have forgotten who I bought it from, maybe Chlinstructor??

Tikkas are just silly Preach…. They have to be the easiest out of the box rifles made. If they’d update their twists a bit with some other cartridges they’d really be something. As it is, the small gaggle I’ve had were so easy it wasn’t fair.

I bought my first T3 about the same time period. And I remember hearing and reading all the smack from the naysayers back then. Now they are some of the biggest Tikka cheerleaders today.

The M595 and M695 still seem to fly under the radar even today. I've seen some with really nice wood stocks. I like that flush fitting magazine compared to the T3. But I've never owned one.

The Tikka Master Sporter was another interesting model. MT Guns (now Chesebro Rifles) did some good work with those. Came close to getting one, but probably got distracted with something else!

Tikka's are definitely a different breed. Load workup is different than what it's like with my model 70's. Of course my model 70's shoot well, but holy fu ck you can see the difference. With the model 70's you get a wider swing of group size for sure. You can really see where the accuracy node is. You know what I'm talking about. 2" group to 1/2" group, so you know which one your rifle really likes. With a Tikka, it can be hard sometimes. I've seen some rifles vary by 1/2" in group size, even with a 2 grain difference in powder weight. Also, a lot of times I'll shoot 5 shot groups with my Tikka's during load development, because if you only shoot 3, they may all go in the same hole!!!! Was out shooting my 300WBY Winchester model 70 today with its new stock and I'm happy with a 3/4" group!!!

Teeker makes VERY fhuqking few sound rifles and HILARIOUSLY botch basics reliably. Hint.

Their magazines and floorplates are fhuqking Dog Schit,excepting CTR's. Hint.

Twist rates still stump them. Hint.

They've zero grip on RPM,COAL and Throat Geometry. Hint.

Obviously,nobody at Teeker actually shoots and such things swoon Joe Average. Hint.

Just sayin'..............

When I first got my T-3 I purchased 4 different types of factory ammo hoping it would like at least one of them. It shot all 4 types very well. But of the 4 Hornady 117 gr interlocks were just a little bit better. You can buy most mass production rifles and tinker with them to get them to shoot well. Or you can buy a Tikka and just........shoot.

This 243 puts every load I've tried into the same zero ( under 1 1/4") I may be "Average" but I have shot enough rifles to know that "very few will do that"! ha

Dilldoe/JamesQueen,

It's tough to pick which is fhuqking funnier,a sub .400 BC .257" 117gr or a 1-10" 243Win. Go Teeker! Hint.

You gals bolted together,couldn't muster a FIRST Fhuqking Clue. Hint.

Fhuqking LAUGHING!..............

Has anyone actually spoken to this person ?

His posts sound like a Biden soundbite.

Is it the Van Allen belt or just bad genetics ?

Johnny Depp wannabe ?

Long John Silver marooned in Alaska ?

Would be a natural for Port Protection TV show !

They could "welcome" him ! LAFFIN !

UrTheHole,

Perhaps it's PERFECT timing,for you to quantify how many times a day you think about me and the typical durations of same...you "lucky" kchunt. Hint. Congratulations?!?

Fortunately for you,Imagination and Pretend are free,so even YOU can "afford" to "contribute". Pardon wares that exist,as you DREAM aloud. Hint.



Fhuqking LAUGHING!................

Every time I sit on the pot I chant: "Here goes another Big Stick into the leech field !"

Work on your photos ---- can't see the stupid decals.

I love almost everything about my Tikkas, but they are slow. Most of my loads in similar length barrel from other makers average 100-150 fps slower, which isn’t a deal breaker but does disappoint me a bit.

The one big hole accuracy mostly make up for it.

That is a great way to describe them. One of my favorite rifles is my Tikka T3x 7mm08 stainless lite. The first time out with the rifle and it did this with factory ammo:


I couldn't find brass locally, so I bought a couple boxes of factory ammo. Fired these off so I could start working on some hand loads. Its one of the rifles I reach for the most, come deer and elk season.

Got love the T3X Lite in 7mm-08, mine shoots the same way! It’s not going to make it on a hunt this year, unless I get to go on one out of state. There’s always next season!

I think I sold my last Tikka back in 2012 or 2103, except for one: LINK

I don't get their twist rates either. A 10-twist for .243 and 11-twist for .30 cal don't work for me, for example. But I've been shooting long copper solids, and most factory twist rates are slower than what I would like to see. Tikka is even slower. Maybe a European thing. I don't use them, but Hammer made a bullet just for the 11-twist Tikkas as I understand it.

A few lemons have gone through the group as well. One that had a min./short chamber that wouldn't chamber any factory ammo, and a .270 that was fussy. Lemons escape from nearly all manufacturers, but according to the cheerleaders every Tikka is lights out!

No matter what I think, the Tikka story is one of market success. But it took a little time. They were the red headed stepchild when I bought my first T3 nearly two decades ago. Then about 10 years ago the largest FFL dealer in OR told me that Tikka was staring to outsell every other make/model of bolt action hunting rifle. Now they are the best thing since sliced bread! Fun to see how we rifle loonies dump one make/model and jump onto the next. Myself included!

I'm no longer a fan of Tikka purely from a design perspective, but I think that their machining and QC are usually pretty good. The availability of pre-fit barrels seems to be a decent indication of that. And the stocks are fairly stiff, and actions feed reliably.

They can be pretty accurate, but from what I have seen with 12+ samples of the Lite model it can jump a lot which can affect precision. And spotting impacts can be a bit challenging depending on chambering. I believe that Formi has commented on this as well, with some newer rifles doing better in that regard. That is probably due to stock geometry, which affect rifle motion. I find that there's only so much one can do to mitigate with technique. Adding weight with heavy scope or bipod helps.