Tikka bolt rifles

I now have two. A T3X Lite Stainless in .30-06, and a T1X MTR .22 LR. I have nothing bad to say about either one of them. They do everything they're supposed to. Very smooth bolts, good triggers, accurate enough that I'm the limiting factor.

I would have a T3X CTR in .308 as well, but Beretta doesn't import them in the left hand configuration.

I don't know what more to say. They feel good and they work.

I will second wrong handed. They are simple, well made, elegantly functional.

Tikka is made by Sako. It is their budget line. I've been told the barrels are the same but cannot confirm that. They tend to be very accurate and are among the lightest hunting rifles you will find. They were one of the 1st manufacturers to use an enclosed top action making the action stiffer, and more accurate than conventional rifles. The triggers tend to be very good and are user adjustable down to around 2-2.5 lbs. At least mine are. I've owned, and still own a few and have friends and relatives with some. Never seen one that wasn't a tack driver.

I think they are one of the best buys in a sub $1000 rifle. They aren't fancy, just rugged, accurate working rifles at a reasonable price. Although the Ruger Americans at about 1/2 the price is probably as accurate. I have a slight preference for the Tikka though because I still feel the Ruger magazines are the weak link. And the Rugers are creeping up in cost getting closer to Tikka. Street prices on Tikkas are around $600 in blue, $750 in SS. I paid $350 for my Rugers, but they are $400-$450 now.

I've had a CTR in 308 for several years and a T1 in 22 LR for about 1 year. The 22 in particular is insanely accurate. It shoots even cheap ammo good and will keep 5 shots of quality ammo under 1" at 100 yards. Often well under 1" if there is no wind.

As far as negatives a lot of people don't like the modernistic styling and the detachable magazines are a turn off for others. But it is a much better magazine design than Ruger, they do work well. I find none of that a disadvantage.

Tikka’s are great rifles and this is coming from a person who doesn’t own one and probably never will unless some features change. Triggers are fantastic. I saw a little documentary a while back where an American writer took a tour of the Sako/Tikka factory. Barrels are the same and they are outstanding barrels. Factor together great triggers with great barrels and you have a recipe for great accuracy. Tikka hunting rifles are also pretty darn light. In fact too light for me the in magnum cartridges such as .300 WM and 7mm Remington Mag.

I have a very bad shoulder that’s endured three operations. As a result I buy rifles that are on the heavy side. I also have a revulsion for muzzle brakes. The T3x addressed it some but Tikka’s still have a smaller ejection port than I care for. I also don’t care for DBM’s.

So I don’t own a Tikka for three reasons. But getting down to brass tacks those reasons have everything to do with features and nothing to do with quality. In addition some or all of the Tikka features that are a minus to me are a positive to most people.

I say buy Tikka if Tikka has features you like or features you don’t care one way or the other about.

They are fantastic.

I'd basically say you will not hear functional complaints about them.

Maybe some nit-picks about features, but they are reliable, affordable, accurate, consistent, and attractive.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: When I'm doubt, Tikkas are never wrong.


Sadly... I don't even own one

I don’t manage recoil very well so my hunting targets aren’t great but the Tikka 308 likes about any combination of power and bullets. This load didn’t take long to develop.
Ha ‘ I missed that dime 4 times, lol

jmr40 said:

Tikka is made by Sako. It is their budget line. I've been told the barrels are the same but cannot confirm that. They tend to be very accurate and are among the lightest hunting rifles you will find. They were one of the 1st manufacturers to use an enclosed top action making the action stiffer, and more accurate than conventional rifles. The triggers tend to be very good and are user adjustable down to around 2-2.5 lbs. At least mine are. I've owned, and still own a few and have friends and relatives with some. Never seen one that wasn't a tack driver.

I think they are one of the best buys in a sub $1000 rifle. They aren't fancy, just rugged, accurate working rifles at a reasonable price. Although the Ruger Americans at about 1/2 the price is probably as accurate. I have a slight preference for the Tikka though because I still feel the Ruger magazines are the weak link. And the Rugers are creeping up in cost getting closer to Tikka. Street prices on Tikkas are around $600 in blue, $750 in SS. I paid $350 for my Rugers, but they are $400-$450 now.

I've had a CTR in 308 for several years and a T1 in 22 LR for about 1 year. The 22 in particular is insanely accurate. It shoots even cheap ammo good and will keep 5 shots of quality ammo under 1" at 100 yards. Often well under 1" if there is no wind.

As far as negatives a lot of people don't like the modernistic styling and the detachable magazines are a turn off for others. But it is a much better magazine design than Ruger, they do work well. I find none of that a disadvantage.

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I own a T1X in 22lr and find all of this ^^^^^^^^ to be true. I particularly like the magazines.

I have an older T3 .223 Rem, bought used, but looking new. It's a fantastic shooter!!! Just make sure the magazine clicks-in both front and rear. Solid rifle!!!

I have a T3 stainless with laminate stock in .308. Extremely accurate, wonderful trigger, smooth action.
I like it a lot.
Negatives are minor, the cost and availability of spare detach mag and the plastic rear action cover (which is just a dust cover and can be replaced with aftermarket metal if desired.)

T3 stainless in 7-08. It also has a muzzle brake. I also have bad shoulders. I consider my Tikka a near perfect deer rifle. I wouldn't change a thing.

My Tikka T3X Super Varmint in 6,5x55 is my rifle for 100 to 1000 meter hobby competitions.
With handloads:
It holds 11-15mm groups at 100 and with moderate wind 50cm groups at 1000.
With S&B 140gn Ball ammo sub MOA all day.
The trigger is really great, weight is ok.
One thing I seem to see contrary to some others here: the magazines are junk IMHO.
But all in all you get very good value for your money.
I shot some newer Ruger and savage recently and wouldn't think about buying those.

call1911 said:

My Tikka T3X Super Varmint in 6,5x55 is my rifle for 100 to 1000 meter hobby competitions.
With handloads:
It holds 11-15mm groups at 100 and with moderate wind 50cm groups at 1000.
With S&B 140gn Ball ammo sub MOA all day.
The trigger is really great, weight is ok.
One thing I seem to see contrary to some others here: the magazines are junk IMHO.
But all in all you get very good value for your money.
I shot some newer Ruger and savage recently and wouldn't think about buying those.

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Which magazines does yours have?

Tikka may be the very best value in a rifle these days. Their QC kicks American manufacturer's butts. They are like the Toyota of guns. Stone cold reliable, priced right and so damn good they are boring.

Have a T3X in 223 remington. Its a very accurate production rifle. Capablenof .5 moa with good reloads.

brewer12345 said:

They are simple, well made, elegantly functional.

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I thinks this sums it up pretty well. And both of my T3's are more accurate than my Sako TRG-S.

viking499 said:

Which magazines does yours have?

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Hope you can see enough.
Usually I have no problem with "plastic" but plastic is not always the same.
The Steyr AUG magazines are great.
But mine for the Tikka are crap.
One fell down from about two feet into grass and fell apart.
They don't feed cartridges very well also.
There's no guidance in the follower, the spring is a joke.
Still the rifle itself is great.

I have two magazines for my Tikka, both are just fine, fit and function are good.
One Tikka benefit;
I can change to a long action bolt stop and long action magazine with very little effort , a nice feature for hand loaded Ammo beyond 2.800

Worst thin I can say about them is they tend to have a long throat and don't like Nosler partition or full copper bullets. I did find a cure for that, though, by extending the bullet out a bit further. Best shooting rifle, I've ever seen!

I'm heavily considering picking up a 7-08 Superlight, and having it rechambered to 280AI and add a brake. I don't hunt without ear pro, and it's not a range rifle so why not.

From what I can tell so far, it'll be the lightest flattest shooting and without abusive levels of recoil.

Although I may just grab one in 270win and be done with it. I've never been in love with the 270, but it's hard to argue that it would be lacking.

This is an older article but most of it is still relevant: https://www.chuckhawks.com/compared_bolt_action_economy_rifles.htm It compares the T3 with some other rifles in it's "class." The current T3X model has some improvements that make it even better.
Among the "budget" rifles, the Tikka is widely regarded as the best or one of the best. For rifles under $1000, it's hard to beat. A person might select a different rifle because they want different features like controlled-round-feed mauser-style extraction, a fixed magazine, or some other form factor. The Tikka is also not the cheapest rifle. While it is well-under $1000, there are some comparable rifles that cost half what Tikka's go for.

Personally, I 'm more likely to buy a rifle in a unique chambering with wood and other esoteric features and I would pay twice the price of a Tikka to get some of those things, but my son doesn't appreciate those kind of things and likes something that just works exceptionally well. I want to get him a Tikka. I'd be willing to spend a lot more to buy him a rifle, but I can't think of anything more that money could buy that he would appreciate it -- except of course the optic.

I don’t consider the Tikka T3x and Weatherby Vanguard budget rifles.

This was a friends 25-06 that I was going to sell for him. He said that it didn't shoot well. I shot this group with the same brand of ammo that he shoots, 120gr Federal Fusion. Maybe it wasn't the guns fault.

cdb1 said:

I don’t consider the Tikka T3x and Weatherby Vanguard budget rifles.

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Yeah, I somewhat agree, but the Tikka is a budget rifle compared to the Sako, and the Vanguard is a budget rifle compared to the Mark V. They are those manufacturer's "budget" model. The Tikka is also ~ $600-700 new which is low-priced, and for that budget range, it is probably the best value to be had. I don't think the Vanguard is low-priced or a particularly good value compared to other rifles in its price range. It's not bad, but for the price there are a lot of options -- including the Tikka which for all practical purposes is just as good at close to half the price. I'd save the money for the optic.

Captcurt said:

This was a friends 25-06 that I was going to sell for him. He said that it didn't shoot well. I shot this group with the same brand of ammo that he shoots, 120gr Federal Fusion. Maybe it wasn't the guns fault.



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At what range?