Yup. I'm a Tikka fan....

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Poper

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I have three Tikka rifles. A .270 Win. I bought way back when because it was on sale for $399 at Sportsmans Warehouse, .30-06 - because everyone should have one and it, too was on-sale, and a 6.5x55 Swedish Mauser because I really wanted one.

All are exceptionally good shooters. I use the .270 and 6.5x55 in hunter class high power silhouette matches. I have used both the .270 and 6.5x55 for hunting and both have killed game for me. I have only very minor complaints about the quality and performance of these rifles. The .270 is a T3 Lite in a plastic stock and the 6.5x55 and .30-06 are the T3 Hunter in the wood stock.
Complaint #1: The "checkering" on the plastic stock does nothing to aid in maintaining a grip on the rifle. Easy fix: hit the high spots lightly with 60 grit sandpaper.
Complaint #2: The wood on the '06 and 6.5x55 is very, very plain. Almost no grain or figure. Fix: get a nice Boyds stock or other of your choice.
Complaint #3: The checkering pattern on the wood stock is kind of whimsical if not goofy. Fix: Same as #2.

With all that said, I am a handloader and have not had difficulty finding loads that shoot well in any of the three. They have been remarkably tolerant of powders and bullets. It is relatively easy to get them shooting 5-round groups less than 1" at 100 yards. The 6.5x55 will do less than an inch at 300 meters on a still day and when I am at my best. The .270 will do 2-3/4" 5-round groups at 500 meters.

Hard to believe, I know, and that's why they are my silhouette rifles.

The price of Tikkas has risen significantly since I bought mine some years ago, but In my estimation, they are still a good value for the money. Oh, and did I mention that after many hundreds of rounds fired, I have yet to have a malfunction of any kind from any of the three?

Me like! :)
 
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Ditto.

I've owned three now. My buddy has talked me (practically begged me) out of two of the three after having shot them. LOL

Picked up a stainless T3 in the much sought but seldom found 7mm-08 caliber just a week ago. Within a week I found a load that shot under 0.5 MOA and cleanly took a 140 lb. doe at 200 yards. Pretty good start for my latest Tikka, I'd say. My last Tikka - a blued T3 in .243, produced at least two 5-shot groups under 3/4" with "cheap" Hornady interlocks.

There is a reason my primary hunting rifle is now a Tikka. Might have to change my handle soon. LOL

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I've managed to avoid the temptation for some time now but for the money they're admittedly very hard to beat. I'm not sure if they offer similar factory pickup & tour for Tikkas that's available for Sako rifles, the factory that makes them both is located some 50 miles from my house. :evil:
 
I wanted a Tikka in 6.5x55 a few years ago, but between online shopping and local gun shops I couldn't get my hands on one in that caliber, so I built a 6.5x55 rifle from a Howa barreled action instead... They're nice guns from everything I've read (which is why I wanted one!).
 
I have a handful of older M595 and M695 Tikkas. They're outstanding rifles. This year I'll likely rebarrel one to a 280 Ackley. I'd like to rebarrel another to 6.5 Norma if the round will fit in the old magazines.
 
I have only 1 Tikka but I like it a lot. Haven't hunted with it yet.
Mine is .308, stainless with gray laminated stock which is attractive and functional and is nicer than synthetic and some of the wood I've seen. I added the limbsaver II recoil pad. Only complaint I have is you can't just top off without dropping the mag to reload.
 
I shoot the 6.5x55 in a SAKO. I have a recipe with a 120 grain Ballistic Tip that is a tack driver. I would suggest to you that this adequately fills the SAME niche as the .270 and that you could replace that with another caliber to broaden your three-some. I like the .06 because of its versatility. Maybe a 22.-250 for the .270?

(now you have an excuse to shop for another rifle)
 
I have two, love them both to pieces. A T3 Lite in .270 and a T3 Tactical in .308.
The .270 is my goto all-around rifle and is supremely reliable. My favorite rifle that wasn't a gift from my father.
 
I shoot the 6.5x55 in a SAKO. I have a recipe with a 120 grain Ballistic Tip that is a tack driver.
Would you mind sharing the recipe? (PM if you prefer.) Family members have gifted me the equipment to start reloading, I just haven't gotten around to setting everything up yet.
 
I shoot the 6.5x55 in a SAKO. I have a recipe with a 120 grain Ballistic Tip that is a tack driver. I would suggest to you that this adequately fills the SAME niche as the .270 and that you could replace that with another caliber to broaden your three-some. I like the .06 because of its versatility. Maybe a 22.-250 for the .270?

(now you have an excuse to shop for another rifle)
I have to laugh at myself!
I was perusing Gunbroker for the heck of it about six weeks ago and found a new Sako 85 in 6.5x55 for a price I couldn't pass up! I haven't been able to make it shoot as well as my Tikka and it is almost 3 pounds heavier. My silhouette load (108 gr. Scenar and IMR 4064) is scary accurate in the Tikka, but only 1-1/4" groups out of the Sako. Maybe she'll tighten up after 300 or 400 rounds. She IS still new, after all.

There are several guys I see regularly at the main range that have Tikkas and friends that do. None of us have seen a poor shooting one yet. I heard of one in .308 Win. that supposedly couldn't shoot a group less than 2-1/2" but I have never seen the gun. A guy has to wonder about the shooter, too, I guess, unless you know him personally.
 
My Tikka T3 lite in 30-06 shoots sub-moa at 200 yards using 165 grain bullets. What’s not to love about it. Just convinced my brother to buy one in 7mm-08. He loves it.
 
A friend told me a guy at his rifle club had a new T3 in 223 years ago that couldn't get his to shoot under 2" to save his life. He apparently had enough and offered it to someone for $100. I would have bought it sight unseen as I bet it was either a scope problem or a trip back to the factory would have resolved it. My 25-06 Tikka is a tack driver.
 
I have a hard time passing up ANY used Tikka I find these days, if it's in reasonable shape at all. Our local Cabelas made me drool the other day when we arrived at the used rack and there were a half dozen factory certified "used" T3's that had just gone on sale. Most were blued T3's with wood stocks, but one was the stainless 7mm-08 that went home with me - a gun I've been trying to find for over a year.
 
i own two t3,s, both in .223 with one in blue and the other one in SS. both are sub-moa with the same reload I use and both have a 1-8 twist. eastbank.
 

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Tikka is one of those rare makes that I haven't seen 50 percent love/50 percent hate threads on the THR. Consensus seems to be very positive for the Tikka which if I ever get a mid grade sporting rifle, I'd strongly consider purchasing.
 
I know you are experienced, but have you checked it for copper fouling?

Poper, I did. I'm sure it was this specimen. Everyone I know, and trust, who owns a Tikka swears by them. If I was looking for a hunting rifle, I wouldn't think twice about buying a Tikka.
 
I am very happy with my stainless T3 lite in 7-08. Very accurate, light and handles great. I shot 2 deer moving through brush across a swamp offhand 2 months ago. I have used many rifles but this one is near perfection.
 
I am very happy with my stainless T3 lite in 7-08. Very accurate, light and handles great. I shot 2 deer moving through brush across a swamp offhand 2 months ago. I have used many rifles but this one is near perfection.
I feel the same way about mine.
 
I wanted a Tikka in 6.5x55 a few years ago, but between online shopping and local gun shops I couldn't get my hands on one in that caliber, so I built a 6.5x55 rifle from a Howa barreled action instead... They're nice guns from everything I've read (which is why I wanted one!).

Howa is making some people believers about 1 moa. I have two and I shoot the snot out of both of them. I also reload so I can tune a rifle to 1 moa if it has potential. It seems to be getting easier all the time. :D
 
I read an article awhile back about Sako and Tikka barrels. If I remember correctly the barrel blanks are left outside in the elements for a couple of years to season or some term like that. This supposedly contributes to the outstanding barrels these rifles have, and the barrels are outstanding. To me the two most important factors in an accurate rifle are the barrel and trigger of course Tikka is famous for it’s triggers. Tikka’s are fantastic rifles.

But I don’t own one for two reasons. Even though the issue has been ameliorated a little in the T3x, the ejection port is still very small. And I just can’t stand small ejection ports even though theoretically it contributes to accuracy by making the action stiffer. The other problem for me is I don’t like DBM’s either. I wish Tikka made a rifle with a standard size ejection port- ala Remington 700 and Winchester M70 and a blind magazine or hinged floorplate. Of course if Tikka did the rifles would cost more because making a rifle with a small port is a cost cutting measure.
 
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