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In the market for a new toy and looking at Tikkas for some reason. Very Smooth action and bolt travel and supposedly outstanding accuracy. My main negative is the synthetic floorplate/magazine system and the bolt shroud. Should I be concerned about this? Any horror stories concerning them? Thanks in advance. Working on my ISIS strategy....FORE | ||
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SempreElk, I think you've covered the pro's and cons of the rifle...They are very popular here in the UK as you generally get a very accurate rifle at a reasonable price.. I have only heard one horror story and that happened to a fellow stalkers Tikka 6.5x55...For some reason we never did establish the rifle "exploded" when he took a shot at a deer. The stock came apart and everything plastic on the rifle was destroyed...it literally disintergrated. The chamber bulged slightly and one of the lugs on the bolt sheered off before the whole thing locked solid in the action..The bolt handle was also "stressed" and literally fell off the bolt when a gun smith tried to open it.. The handle appeared to be "dovetailed" onto the bolt and I now wonder just how strong they are, although in all honesty I have not heard of others failing.. He was very badly injured and was in A&E for 4 days while they fought to save his eyesight. One in particular took some fragments of the plastic bolt shroud as it disintigrated... To this day, we are not sure as to the cause of all this, and there was no suggestion the rifle was faulty (it was less than 12 months old IIRC); the barrel was not blocked and when the other rounds were later pulled and examined, they were all ok. Personally, after seeking what happened to that bolt shroud and the state of his his face and eyes, I would not buy a Tikka. Having said that, he actually went out and bought another, but that was in a large part down to the fact he was left handed and he had trouble finding another left handed rifle in the calibre he wanted locally... Regards, Pete | |||
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Wow the bolt shroud disintegrated..I have never taken one of their bolts apart but have been told by those that own them that the shroud covers a metal flange. IF a shroud disintegrated doesn't say much for the flange. Thanks Pete Working on my ISIS strategy....FORE | |||
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Hi! Tikka are normally concidered "ok" rifles! I just don`t like `em because they are not my style of rifles! I preferre rifles with more class and more kraftmanship involved. Tikka rifles shoot accurate enough for most people and are very popular here in denmark amongst hunters and shooters, but they will never become classics in the future  !DRSS: HQ Scandinavia. Chapters in Sweden & Norway | |||
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SempreElk, After the accident I never got much chance to examine the rifle in detail as the local Police got involved and insisted it was sent to a gun smith for examination..After the 'smith had finished writing a report for the Police, the owner arranged for it to go back to Tikka for their opinion... After months and months, and much chasing, they eventually go back to him via email and so that it had suffered a "monsterous explosion" to which my mate replied "I know..I was holding it at the time!"   Getting back to the shroud, I am not sure what caused it to shatter/disintigrate like that...I guess it could have either been gas leaking back through the bolt body or perhaps the physical impact from the firing pin being driven back by the explosion??? What ever it was, the doc's ended up digging a bit of plastic the size of a matchhead from one of his eyes... I ended up taking the Police to the scene of the accident and looking for other fragments of the rifle which were left behind in our haste to get to the hospital... When I saw the remains of the stock and bits of the magazine well and trigger housing, I think he was very lucky not to have lost any fingers.... Again, I realise this was a one off incident, and there was no indication as to what the root cause was...The rifle had been used to take a deer the day before and everything appeared to be ok at that point... Regards, Pete | |||
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I had a tikka T3 stainless laminate in 338 win mag. I was initially very satisfied with the rifle. It was accurate and functioned very well. After less than 100 rounds it started grouping erraticly and I couldn't figure out why. I took it apart and noticed the recoil lug system on the tikka is a joke. Its a shallow groove in the action with a small square of metal that loosely fits the groove and stock. After less than 100 rounds thru the gun the stock had split from the recoil lug back to behind the action. I was pretty dissappointed with it. I don't understand why they were thinking when they put that recoil lug system in such a heavy kicking caliber. They might be ok in the synthetic but I wouldn't trust it to a wood stock ever again. I also wasn't really impressed with the plastic magazines. | |||
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Those that have them love them, and they certainly are smooth in the bolt and never seem to have accuracy problems, I could live withthem in Varmint guns I suppose but for that end a Rem 700 has many more accesories, in a hunting gun I like a little more steel and prefer a floor plate to a plastic detachable magazine but hey each to there own. They are no doubt a good gun representing good value. | |||
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Although I am an avid Sako collcetor I have not owned a Tikka. From what I have heard, the general consensus is that they're very accurate and build quailty is comparable to anything Rem, Win, or Ruger puts out. Actually, I would probably choose a Winchester Featherweight stainless in 6.5x55 before a Tikka because I think they look nicer. **************** NRA Life Benefactor Member | |||
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I have one in .243. It is so/so with cheap ammo, but very, very accurate with handloads. I'm left-handed, and I love the shape of the (wood) stock. The follower/spring are flaky on mine. I have to be careful that the follower doesn't slide up in front of the last round keeping it from loading. Since it's a .243, I don't worry about the feeding trouble too much (obviously, since I still haven't gotten it fixed). Steve | |||
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I own a T3 lite in 300win mag and just love the rifle.. I was a bit conserned about the plastic magasine at first but stopped thinking about it after a few rounds as it worked flawlessy and has to this day with close to 500 rounds thru it.. Accuracy is superb with handloads with 1/2"the norm at 100m but recoil is stout in this light gun ofcorse! For the money i think its a exellent choise: Regards | |||
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I have been shooting a WTHunter Std Grade 270 for the last 4 years with no hiccups or hitches. It shoots everything I've fed it from WallyWorld WW 130"s & 150's to Fed Prem GK's and PwrShok GrandSlams with consistent grouping around the 3/4"s to 1" mark if I do my part. Can be boringly accurate. No issues of any kind, great out of the box trigger breaks at 2.7lbs ...and I would buy another WTHunter wood stock without question. Don't like the synthetic stock on either the WTH's or T3's. Don't care for the T3's all plastic magazine and release latch location unlike the WTH's metal frame magazine and side of stock release. I know of two other WTH's in Dlx Grade '06's with the same experience. Somewhere I've got a picture of a WTH that blew up...after the shooter subbed a pistol powder for his normal load of rifle powder by mistake. The bolt held in the closed battery position but the front end of the receiver peeled open on the ejection port side, blowing the barrel off the gun and splitting the stock. The face of the bolt is exposed and complete...and according to the info the pic came with the shooter received very limited physical damages...and he took the blame for the error when the rest of his ammo from that loading session was examined. It appeared that the gun saved his life. Ron | |||
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I have a few of the older model 55 and 65 model Tikkas. They were very nice rifles,accurate and nice to handle. Since Sako bought Tikka they have stopped making the 55& 65 models and use a bunch of plastic on the new T3 rifle. I wouldn't Thank You for a pile of plastic parts. | |||
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I have 2 Tikka Whitetail hunters - a .22-250 walnut stock and a .338 mag synthetic stock. Both shoot very well - the .22-250 often into one ragged hole and the .338 has, on more than one occasion shot both 225 gr Hornadys and 225 X-bullets into 5/8-inch at 100 yards. This is with a max load of IMR-4350. The actions are very smooth, and the only drawback is that the .22-250 is a long action and fairly heavy for a "sporter" weight rifle. | |||
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I have 3 T3's in my safe, one a custom barrel job. The action is the smoothest I've felt and the plastic magazine actually feeds better than any metal one I've had my hands on. I did buy an overpriced second magazine just in case it's not that durable or I lose the original. so far its been durable on all. I will not complain about the bolt shroud after what happened at the range a few months ago. I had a shell burst the primer and all the gas blow back was directed downward away from my face. Everything is fine including my eyes. It seems most people doubt the plastic parts on the T3 but from the few failures I've heard of reguarding the T3, its not been from any of the plastic parts like, trigger guard, bolt shroud and magazine...fwiw. ------------------------------- Too many people........ | |||
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just bought tikka t3 lite in 33 in 25-06. mounted 5-15 bushnell scope. took it to the range today for barrel breakin. after 20 rounds, started 3 shot gps. 54.8 gr H4831SC over fed 210M primers, sierra 87 sp. shot 1/2 inch gp. largest was 7/8 inch. expect it will do better after 150-200 rounds. at 6 1/4 lbs (less than 7 1/2 with scope) it will get a work out on antelope/mule deer next fall. //chaz | |||
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I have a T3 in 308 and a T3 Synthetic lite in 300WSM. Theyr superbly accurate and comfortable to shoot. The 695 in 338 win mag is the most comfortable 338 I've ever shot. It is also very accurate. Time will tell on the durability. I guess I'll pull the stock off and look at the lug now but it's so accurate I hate to mess with it. Action is smoother than the SAKO. Trigger is better too. Anything Worth Doing Is Worth Overdoing. | |||
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Pete was he using factory loads or reloads it seems very strange for a rifle to up and disintergrate for no apparent reason?
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I have a Whitetail Hunter with a synthetic stock in 7mmRM that needed bedding before shooting in a satisfactory manner. The synthetic stocks provided by Tikka are far too soft and flexible for my liking (Tupperware style). After bedding it is very accurate and consistent, almost boringly as someone said. I would buy another Whitetail, in a wooden stock but probably not a synthetic one again. The T3 would not be my choice. Regards Regards Georg | |||
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I'm not for the Tikka nor am I against it.I own a Sako and its a fine rifle. | |||
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I have experience with only one Tikka. It was a 25-06, and had a wooden stock. I liked some aspects of the rifle, but I could not get it to shoot as well as I wished, so I eventually gave up on it. Since that was only one rifle, it is probably a mistake to draw any conclusions from my experience. "How's that whole 'hopey-changey' thing working out for ya?" | |||
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Every guy I have known who owned a Tikka seemed very happy with it and all I have seen shot very well. That said I just think they are plain butt ugly. I realize that is purely a subjective judgement and has nothing to do with how well they shoot but there it is anyway. | |||
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I have a M695 7mm RM tikka and 2 sakos. The tikka has a smother action then both sakos. Overall the sakos are nicer rifles but the tikkas are definately nothing to look down at. It's a very accurate rifle. | |||
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I have two Tikka Whitetail Hunter's. One 22-250, one '06. The '06 is a genuine ragged hole three shot shooter. The 22-250 won't keep three shots inside of two inches with five loads so far. Go figure. I'm confident that the 22-250 will come around with more shooting. All in all, I would by another Tikka as they have excellent triggers and good ergonomics for me. | |||
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I'm the happy owner of a M695 .300 WM rifle; I owned, and partly still own a couple of Ruger 77/II and a Rem. 700. My next rifle will definitely be a Tikka; nothing more to say....  | |||
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