I've heard about the accuracy of Tikka rifles for years and they definitely peaked my interest but, I still didn't purchase since they were still gaining a reputation. It seems they've held a good reputation for a while now and when I heard they were chambering the 338Fed my interest was peaked again.

I went ahead and ordered a T3 lite chambered in 338 Federal. This little cartirdge has had my interest for a while now and I couldn't wait any longer.

Last night I opened the package and disassembled the rifle to get a feel for the craftsmanship and an idea of the quality of the components. I've handled these rifles several times but, never "popped the hood" on one until now.

Nicely crafted and quite good quality for the price. The recoil lug is sort of strange but does appear to be structurally sound(time will tell). The trigger mech. seems solid and adjustment is a piece of cake. I lowered it to 2.75lbs; very clean and crisp trigger. The synthetic stock appears to be of the same plastic any other remchester is constructed of but, surprisingly more rigid than most tupperware stocks I've worked with. The stock fit the action very well and there was absolutely no torque felt in the stock while retightening the action screws as nearly all other cheap synthetics seem to have.

I must say I'm impressed to say the least and I give the Tikka T3 a two thumbs up in the craftsmanship department. Much more than I expected for a rifle priced alittle over $400.

Mounted a Leupie 4.5-14x40 VXIII in steel Burris DDs as well. I probably should have taken Fish's advice and went with the Talleys for the lighter weight but, the Burris set-up should be plenty rigid and get the job done.

Now, I'll run a few rounds through it tomm and see how it performs at the range. I've purchased two boxes of Federal 200 grain Fusion loads mainly for brass as well as for breaking in the barrel. I also purhcased some RCBS dies and a couple boxes of bullets for some load development after break-in.

I'll give a follow up on performance. If it shoots sub-moa as advertised, It should definitely deserve a look from anyone looking to get a good price on a good tool for the field.

Reloader

I just picked one up in 300 win mag. Definately got to get a limbsaver recoiol pad first thing. Went to the range and it shot real good. 2" groups at 200 yds. Seems to put most ammo to the same point of impact.

Only question I have for Tikka owners is.....was your gun a little slow over the chronograph. It's at least 100 fps slower than my Savage Stevens and it has a slightly shorter barrel. I think this gun has some pretty good freebore so I may have to go past book loads by a grain or two. I'd sure like to see about 3050-3100 out of 180s and right now I'm seeing about 2925 out of loads one grain below max.

My T3 in 6.5x55 proved to be very accurate so I've ordered another in 9.3x62. A Limbsaver pad is siting on the desk waiting for it's new mate to arrive.

I put the Kick-Ezz pad on my 300win. 7lbs with scope and shoots moa

Elkman...what kind of velocity are you getting out of upper reloads??

I don't have a chrony, I think the book is 3150??? I'm not sure

I have owned 2 Tikka rifles. My first was an M65 chambered in 270Win and the one I currently have an M695 chambered in 30-06. Both are superb rifles. Very accurate, both have consistently turned in sub 1 inch groups at 100 yards. The action on both is really smooth, and both have great triggers. For an "out of the box" rifle they are superb value for money. I have never had to make any alterations for either rifle. Tikka is a brand I would recommend to anyone.

I found a NIB Tikka M695 .270.. ( I wanted this one cause they still have palm swell like the Sakos).

Yeah.. it has some composite parts, but the trigger is oustanding and it's certainly accurate.

Shooting under 1" with Fed 130's (Sierra Game King and Fusions).

I think I'll use it more than my Sako 75.. because I won't "baby it".

Good luck with it... and let us know how it shoots.

Rob

Reloader

I recently got my Tikka T3 338 Fed - a stainless with Camo stock.

The only fodder I could get for it here downunder was 180gn Federal Accubonds (at stupendous cost!) and with what little shooting I have done with the rifle it was grouping 3 shot groups at just on 1.2"

When I return home I will get stuck into reloading to see if I can improve upon that but quite honstely I was more than happy with those groups for factory ammo.

The Australian importer of Federal ammo is also getting some 200gn Fusions so I will give those a try as well.

What amazed me about the 338 was the lack of recoil - I shot it alongside my Montana 7mm08 and found the Montana was recoiling more, if anything! And that was without a Limbsaver fitted on the T3!

For anyone wanting a lightweight rifle in 338 that does not recoil much, a T3 or Montana in 338 Fed has got to be unbeatable.

I did put a couple of the 180 gn Feds over a chrony and found they were averaging 2750 fps - about 80 fps under Federal's figures from memory.

It will be interesting to see if other ammo manufacturers start loading this round.


Now to get to hunt with it!

mlg

MLG,

I hope you have better luck with the Fusions than I.

Look at the other post I started to see the accuracy this new rifle achieved with the 200grn Fusions.

I mainly just bought them for the brass but, certainly expected more accuracy.

If I stumble onto any good loads I'll let you know.


Good Luck

Reloader