My first Tikka

bronko22000 · 09-18-2011, 05:07 PM

Way back when I was a Remington man. All my rifles and shotguns were Rems except for one Savage 110. My reason was because I am a south paw. About 5 years ago I started looking into Savage and I was impressed with their accuracy. Especially with the Accutrigger. I started about 3 months ago to seriously look at the Tikka line. My Savage 116 Weather Warrior (30-06) for some strange reason kicked like a mule. I love the big bores and have shot heavies including the .460 wthby so I am not recoil shy but this rifle would jar your fillings loose. I ordered a Tikka 3 Lite stainless in 30-06 to replace this rifle in the safe. I picked it up on Sat morning and put a SS Burris Fullfield II 3-9X with BDC on it. Sharp looking rifle. And the action is unbelievable. It feels like glass on glass. You can't even feel any resistance pushing the bolt forward and picking up a round from the detatchable magazine. The trigger is awesome too. Picture an Accutrigger without the takeup and that would describe this trigger. Absolutely zero creep or overtravel.
I took it out yesterday afternoon and although the manf. says the barrel does not need breaking in, I decided to do a modifed break in and gave it a good cleaning after every 3 shots. Even with the very old Norma 180 gr ammo I had on hand for this task the rifle showed a lot of promise. Each 3 shot group was right around the 1" mark. And the recoil was much milder than the Savage. Now this is probably due to a different stock configuration plus the superior recoil pad on the Tikka.

bugsNbows · 09-19-2011, 03:12 AM

Good deal! Many folks rave about Tikkas. I'm a Sako man and have also had three Tikkas. They will certainly suffice.

bronko22000 · 09-19-2011, 12:36 PM

Hey bugs. I get down to FL quite a bit. My daughter lives in Kissimmee. Maybe we can meet up sometime and shoot the breeze or some guns. let me know what you think.

Sheridan · 09-19-2011, 01:25 PM

Pround owner of a Sako A7 Stainless in 7MM RM.

I've been thinking about a Tikka T3 Lite Synthetic Stainless in .270 for my next rifle.

6lbs 3ozs makes for a good mountain rifle !!!

bugsNbows · 09-20-2011, 09:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bronko22000

Hey bugs. I get down to FL quite a bit. My daughter lives in Kissimmee. Maybe we can meet up sometime and shoot the breeze or some guns. let me know what you think.

Sure thing. Kissimmee isn't too far from here. Send me a PM the next time you'll be around.

Seaark18 · 09-20-2011, 10:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sheridan

Pround owner of a Sako A7 Stainless in 7MM RM.

I've been thinking about a Tikka T3 Lite Synthetic Stainless in .270 for my next rifle.

6lbs 3ozs makes for a good mountain rifle !!!

Bought that exact rifle last year! First load I used shot 5 in under 1". They are definitely shooters. That rifle will be with me in the WVA Mountains this fall!

trailer · 09-20-2011, 04:36 PM

I had a Tikka T3 lite chambered in the 300 WSM and was not impressed with the recoil on this light rifle but it sure had a smooth action.

HatchieLuvr · 09-20-2011, 07:57 PM

The Tikka is far superior to any of the "sloppy" Remingtons (SPS, Buckmasters etc...) You have to get into the XCR, CDL etc lines to get a better quality gun from Rem. Beretta just flatout doesn't make junk. All of their guns are quality. Lord knows they own the auto shotgun market and have for years. I LOVE my Sako TRG-S (.308 Lazzeroni Warbird) and my oldest son is about to turn 16 and "thinks" he "needs" a bigger rifle than his model 7 youth. I've pretty much narrowed it down too either the Tikka or an A-bolt for him. The Tikka certainly offers more for the dollar than the Browning. In selling all of them for 20 years I can NEVER recall ever having a comeback on either a Sako or a Tikka. CAN'T say that about anyother rifle maker and we sold essentially all of them in those 2 decades (85-05).

With Beretta having owned Burris for nearly a decade now I'm surprised we've never seen factory pairings of them on Tikka/Sako rifles. I'm kinda tempted for a Sako 85 Classic myself and a Burris SixX atop it would suit me just fine.

And like you said, what's NOT to like about a rifle you can pick up out of the box and INSTANTLY start printing 1" groups!

HL

bronko22000 · 09-21-2011, 03:33 PM

Once I get familiar with this rifle and find its favorite load, I may just go and get me another. I really have the hots for one in a 338 Federal.

bronko22000 · 09-24-2011, 05:39 PM

I am starting to get used to this rifle. The guarantee is 3 shots in an inch at 100 yds. I am tweeking bullet and powder combos to achieve this with 5 shots. So far, the best load has been 54 gr of IMR4350 and the Sierra 180 gr BT. I have 5 shots into 1.2". The 165 gr Nosler Ballistic Tips also shot pretty good. I still have some Rem Core Lokts and Hornady Interlock 180s to try.