Sing your Tikka praises!

[Wallow]

My experience with the brand is one T3 SS in 7mm-08. It was one of the most accurate out of the box rifles I ever owned. It was a 3/8 - 1/2 inch gun with 120 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip handloads. I ended up thinning the herd and sent it down the road. If it would have had a better stock and 3 position safety I would have kept it.

 

[zach_destroys]

Guys who have cut into the stocks say they are loaded with fiberglass. Pretty darn strong actually.

 

[tillicant]

Lately, I've been thinking about trading in my primary hunting rifle. It's a Winchester M-70 featherweight (one of the newer FN ones) in 7mm-08. It's a beautiful rifle and I love the way it feels. I've been able to get some good-shootin' loads for it and overall, it's been a good rifle for me. Here are the things that are making me want to change:

1. I just hate wing safeties. They're awkward and this one is very loud if you take it off with just your thumb, which I sometimes have to do.

2. As pretty as I find the walnut/blued combo, I can't deny the practicality of a synthetic stock and a weatherproof finish.

3. My current rifle is picky and often takes some work to get a good load for. I've found it especially tricky since I've switched to lead-free. I have one halfway decent load for the 140 E tip, but have had terrible results with 3 different Barnes bullets.

4. I'd love it if my rifle weighed just a tad less.

As I look around for what I might switch it out for, the Tikka T3x lite keeps coming up as a potential solution. It's weatherproof, of similar value, has a safety that I like better (I think) and I keep hearing people talk about how darn accurate they are. Do you have one? What do you think of them? It's been a little while since I held a Tikka, but my memory is that I liked the feel of them, but the stock seemed a bit cheap and the recoil pad was crap. Have any of you put a different stock on one? How did that go? If you feel like it, sell me on the Tikka, or on something else (but keep in mind I don't have a ton of money to invest. Hoping that the money I get from selling the Winchester and a bit more will suffice). Thanks!

Hi,
Been hunting 50 some years, shotguns, o6,300 win mag. The 300 was a savage 110, was never a big spender. Won a Remington 7mm,sent it out for a muzzle brake and gave it to my wife. Had problems with the 300 and eyes are getting to the point where I can't read the bullets without glasses, lol.
Bought a Tika t3lite, 7mm(our bullets are the same)
The phrase "out of the box" applies, literally no adjustment was needed even after it was sent out for a brake. Never had a gun that was so comfortable.

 

[Dinkshooter]

4 years now on the plastikka T3x lite in 7mm Mag(The most powerful rifle cartridge known to man).

I bought the different grip and larger magazine right away. Love both.

That thing hates bull elk and has kept the bull hearse busy in that time. No complaints.

 

[Dougfirtree]

I guess my old thread has been revived! I might as well chime in to say that I did sell that Winchester and bought a T3x lite in 7mm-08. I dropped it into a B&C stock and put a VX3 2.5-8x36 on top. I recently ordered a new bottom metal from High Desert Research, so when that gets here, the only plasticy thing left will be the mag, which I'm ok with. I'm shooting 140 grain E tips at 2740fps using Varget. It shoots about 7/8" groups at 100 yards and they hold sub-moa out to 200 as well. I like it. Currently it weighs 7.4 pounds scoped. The new bottom metal will probably add an ounce or two. To me, the perfect rifle weighs between 7-7.5 pounds, so I'm happy with it, though I'd love to shed a few ounces somehow (I have toyed with the idea of chopping the barrel down to 20"). Here it is with its first deer, this fall.

 

[BAKPAKR]

I jumped on the T3X/6.5 bandwagon a couple of years ago, and I am glad I did! I swapped trigger springs, added the vertical grip and got rid of the nubs in the barrel channel. Otherwise, mine is stock.

I have attached a photo of the 100 yard target I shot working up a load for 139 gr Scenars. RL26 is on the bottom, H4350 is on top, and I increased the charge for each powder .5 gr as I shot left to right. The RL26 loads were shot first, and while I took a break and shot my 22 some before shooting the loads with H4350, the barrel was still pretty warm (might explain the slightly larger groups). My last RL26 load averaged 2787 FPS (2789, 2789, 2783). H4350 was quite a bit slower. Thanks @SnowyMountaineer for talking up the Scenars.

Had the 7mm-08 been available in a lefty, I likely would have ended up with one of those instead of the 6.5. I like the idea of being able to go with heavier bullets in the 7mm-08.