This may not be the right place to post this but I figured it will be read here. Does anyone know from experience or even hear-say whether or not the factory aluminum rings that come with a Tikka T3 are adequate on a 338 WinMag.? The receiver is drilled and tapped,I believe for conventional bases. I also believe I saw some aftermarket bases of some king or another in either Brownells/Midway. I personally do see why the factory rings would not be fine but am wondering if anyone else has seen or heard anything.

Factory alu rings?

I wonder what factory that might be,

Tikka comes with Optilock rings made of steel when delivered to Sweden and Finland, I sure hope that they dont short change you guys with something less.

http://www.tikka.fi/scopemounts.php

Do note that the rings/screws are metric and are easy to strip.

As to holding up to recoil, yes they do hold up.

Second should you wish for something else then the Warne Maxina bases and rings are a delight to top of a Tikka with, cheaper to than the Opticlocks.

Best regards Chris

The T3 rings look nice, but the screws on the SS model are cheesy looking, like they came from the local hardware store. I chose to use the Talley Lightweights on my 338 winmag. EGW also offers a picatinny rail.

http://www.talleymanufacturing...ts&category_recnum=6

http://egw-guns.com/store/inde...info&products_id=221

If the bases and rings aren't steel, I don't think I'd chance it. Also, what kinda scope you're gonna mount has a lot to do with it also. On my Rem 700 in .338, I used Weaver steel bases and rings and mounted a 1.5x6 scope. that combo bounced around for several years and saw a lot of ammo go down the barrel with no problems. I don't know how it would have fared if it'd had been one of those big-assed scopes. Especially in aluminum rings.

I used the factory rings for 2 years and about 200 rounds of full power loads. Changed to a new 30mm scope this spring and found the front ring was cracking where the pin was. Factory rings worked fine but I'm not sure how much longer they would have held up.

So after all that NO.

I started off using leupold mounts and rings with a 30mm meopta scope after it died a few months later i went back to factory supplied and a burris 1" and had no further problems my rifle is a T3 lite in 338win mag.and i use stout handloads.

My gunsmith swears up and down that the Redfield/Leupold bases and rings (the ones with the twist in front and adjustable windage rear)are not worth a damn. He says they don't have enough surface contact and will eventually come loose. He actually showed me how much a scope will move simply by placing his hand on the front ring with a bore sight in the barrel. And those are made of steel. I am told that most benchrest shooters use Weaver bases and rings. The lower portion of those rings are made of aluminum with the actual ring made of steel. I have never had an ounce of trouble with those. My point is that it matters not if the rings are steel or aluminum if they are well designed.
As far the Tikkas, I have a concern with the recoil post that is attached to the bottom of the front ring, under that kind of recoil. Thanks for your replies.
I forgot to mention that the wrench that was supplied, with the rifle, was a Torx head wrench and the screws on the Tikka rings are a metric Allen head.

Best bet would be to get a set of optilocks for the tikka.

I use Warne bases/rings on my Tikkas.

They may be as ugly as a mud fence but based on a lot of different rifles and a lot of years of hunting, Weaver rings and bases are hard to beat. I don't recall ever having a problem with them. A lot of gunsmiths don't like them because they can't charge you an arm and a leg to put them on since they're so cheap compared to some of the others.

I have a beretta mato in .338 win mag. I am using Dakota leupold style bases with burris signature rings. So far no issues and it looks very clean.

I went with double dove tails on my 338 federal, and I'm going to change out the factory rings on my 300wm t3 with talley LWs.

They look ok, but I just kept feeling like I had some cheapo rimfire rings on them.

Good Luck

Reloader

The scope rings you fellows get in the USA when you buy a Tikka T3 rifle are not Optilocks. Here in Canada we dont get the free rings. Fom what I read previously, they are jump, and for sure would not use them on a 338WM caliber.

I personally would go with the Tikka Optilock rings and bases. Yes they cost some money, but worth it in my books. All my Sako m75 and Tikka T3 rifles have the Optilocks. Very strong, have bushing insert inside rings so you dont mark your scope.

My friend has a Burris FullField II on his T3 lite 338. The factory supplied rings have had no problems with it big recoil.

When I replaced the aluminum rings on my .22-250 T3 Lite with Millet Angle-Loc rings the groups I was shooting shrunk enough to be noticable. I would think that the Warne or Talley rings would be more appropriate for the 338 WinMag.

I've seen in several catalogues rings for Tikka and rings for Tikka T3. Is there a difference between the two? I am not that familiar with the history of Tikka rifles and do not know if there was a predecessor to the T3.

Why not ask Saeed?? he shoots some heavy duty boomers. See what bases and rings he uses.

quote:

Originally posted by Rae59:
I've seen in several catalogues rings for Tikka and rings for Tikka T3. Is there a difference between the two? I am not that familiar with the history of Tikka rifles and do not know if there was a predecessor to the T3.

Yes, there were different tikkas prior to the T3.

John

I used the Talley LW (lows) on my Tikka T3 .338WinMag, had no problems.

Subbing out those rings on a kicker like the .338 in such a light rifle makes sense. On a T3 in .243 or 7-08, probably not.

FYOI, I called the Beretta HQ-USA in Maryland today and got a recording saying the entire place is closed until Aug. 10th. for maintenance, including warranty, sales, etc. Go figure. Also talked to the good folks at Brownells gun-tech dept. They told me that all Tikkas use the same rings and have a flat top receiver/action. (?) Does anyone know if the cheap alummy rings that come with the T3 are considered low or medium?

I have a 300WSM and still have the factory aluminum rings...still good, shoots tight groups but I would encourage an upgrade
maybe this will help...t3 ring thread

Another trick for holding scopes in rings properly ; When YOUR SURE that the scope is in it's proper position , mark remove and place a drop of locktite under and even on the top ring body for " Heavy Re coilers " so 4 drops of removable type locktite bottom base ring and upper cap one drop each tighten it back into place . She isn't moving !!!.

Good suggestion Doc.

For what it is worth when purchasing a Tikka T-3 in a magnum caliber; Immediately upon receiving new rifle, open box, find cheap aluminum scope rings supplied to Americans by Finnish firearm maker, take cheap aluminum rings and throw them in neighbors yard three doors down(who knows, his daughter might find them and hang them on her body next to her other pearcings and tattoos).
My rifle's point of impact was moving around, so yesterday I took the scope off at the rings and found that the recoil pin in the front ring was starting to move to the end of the ring base and was deforming the base from recoil. It appears the recoil pin shifted rearward appox.
.014" thus making my scope move forward .014". So I have now ordered some Warne Maxima rings for the T-3.