I was just curious, does anyone know if the Tikka whitetail hunter rifles have the Sako dovetails for Sako rings? In other words, if I bought one, could I use the Leupold rings designed for Sako rifles?

No.

The good news is that the Optilock rings by Tikka are very nice. I believe that Warne also makes rings for the dovetail, or use the steel Weaver bases (#61S, IIRC) and Weaver style rings.

Ultout.com used to have the best prices on the Optilock rings..... HTH, Dutch.

milosmate, the 25-06 is the caliber I've been looking at! How's the accuracy? How does she handle? Does that gun go well with the caliber as far as feel/recoil goes? Not that the 25-06 has much of any recoil, but a rifle that just doesn't feel right to you can make you flinch.

Joe:

The (Optilok) rings are the same as the ones for Sako but the bases are different. The mounting rails on the top of a Tikka are straight but the rails on the Sako are angled and have a recoil stop incorporated in them. One nice part on the Tikka is that you also have the choice of using standard Weaver Bases/Rings if you want to since it is drilled and tapped. Be warned that if you use the Optilok system, the mounts are heavy (7 oz) and even the low ones are too high for a 40mm objective lenses (those Europeans love their big scopes!). However, the low mounts are the right height if you have a 40mm scope with an adjustable objective.

I think you'll be very happy with the rifle. They are usually great shooters right out of the box, have a very nice trigger and very smooth action. Enjoy.

I did a little digging around at MidwayUSA and saw that Millet makes rings for the Tikka. Has anyone tried them?

Haven't tried them but my gunsmith says he uses them a lot on Tikka rifles. They should be okay but if you really want a solid mount, use the Tikka/Sako ones....they are rather over-built and heavy but you'll never have to replace them. Also, I like the nylon inserts (simular to the Burrie Signature rings).

HEY'
I tried those Millet rings on my Tikka.The have very little bearing surface.I took them off and got bases through Berreta.Dave Talley makes Weaver style bases,that are very good.
1geejay
www.shooting-hunting.com

hi Joe,
can't see the point of using bases when the original dovetail on the tikka is quite sufficient!
Using bases only gives you an extra possibility of something coming loose.
Tikka rings are very substantial and mine have not moved since i installed them on my 25-06.
I used the 26 mm tikka rings and glass bedded the scopes into the rings.
haven't moved in over 1000 rounds.
why give yourself a headache with bases!!!

good shooting

griff

3 Tikkas here - in .22/250, .243 and .308 - and only the .243 has Tikka rings/mounts fitted and none of them move at all. These are fairly old so certainly aren't the ones currently advertised by Tikka.