Tikka upgrades?

[TassieTiger]

FYI to tikka buyers.
I took my teslong bore scope to a mates place tonight - he has 14 centre fires, of which 5 are tikkas that range from 222 to 300wm and some are at least a couple years old.
Every barrel looked the same. No tool marks, no copper, no burrs, edges, heat fatigue, etc - just ultra smooth, sharp edged rifling and cleans as a whistle.

He also has a few other brands, sako - howa, rem700, m18 etc - and all these barrels whilst pretty good, all had minor tooling marks, little bits of coppering, rougher rifling edges, etc. Even the sako / being a fair few years older.

In the real world - these minor differences might not add up to much and they are all fixable and will probably self rectify (I’m going via this same issue myself), but it’s very interesting to see the internal quality of tikka barrels. Quite amazing.

[MinuteofGoat]

I've got a T3 Varmint in 308. The only mod I've done is the trigger spring. Yesterday I shot my best 3 shot group ever at .370" at 100m with handloads. The rifle has probably shot 200 rounds or so.

The bolt handle upgrades seem to be purely cosmetic, same with the bolt shroud. I'd swap the stock if I had the money, not because I don't like the factory one bit just because I want to. My recoil lug still looks honeymoon fresh so I don't see a reason to swap that either.

I thought I had a 1.5moa rifle for a long time until a friend shot a group much better than I ever did. I realised I was the limitation so worked on that more.

[solarpak]

The Tikka T3/ T3x platform certainly is a lovely rifle with a host of aftermarket accessories available. I particularly like the Hunter Stainless model with the fluted barrel and have a 308 - also had a 25-06 that i now regret selling off - but with a sako 85 finnlight in 270 also in the stable i guess the 25-06 was a bit redundant for my needs.
But Beretta have nailed the Tikka T3 /T3x range over the last 10-15 years - lots of variants to keep everyone happy.

C.

[in2anity]

Is it true tikka and sako barrels come out of the same factory?

[straightshooter]

Is it true tikka and sako barrels come out of the same factory?

Not only. They come out of the same hammer forging machine.
You would have to think that for their "budget" rifle they would not be as 'choosy' as with their upmarket brand.
I don't know if Sako forges the chamber in one with the rest of the barrel. If they do then that certainly would be a positive feature for accuracy.
Although I am a little nonplussed.
I have read so much lavish praise of the Tikka T3 on these and other pages as to wonder why they would require any modification whatsoever.

[in2anity]

I believe it was SCJ who said it, but as far as I can tell, they just tmight be the "best factory barrel on the market". But TBH, I found my Tikka rather boring. With new toys, I prefer the journey over the destination, and with that tikka there was no journey.

[TassieTiger]

In2 - I cannot agree more.
A friend of mine owns all tikkas and Sakos.
I own 1...
I’ve told him previously - I know I can buy a tikka a leppy vx3 and hit 1 moa or better consistently across most calibres but why bother? Where is the learning process?
That’s why I have so many varied combinations...I enjoy the learning and trying to improve but tikkas are almost too good and take that away a little...

[firstguns]

Has anyone seen a tikka roughtech in a dealer yet? According to the tikka catalogue they're new for 2020. Dealer handed me a Sako A7 roughtech pro, and the stock was honestly something else - had the feel and look of a good aftermarket like an HS or something. Also came with a very attractive fluted bolt which just looked great.

Was wondering what the cost was likely to be on the tikka, from a dealer. Budget/chief purchasing officer probably won't stretch to the Sako, but if the Tikka is just a couple hundred more expensive than the base model, I could probably make that work.

[SCJ429]

I believe it was SCJ who said it, but as far as I can tell, they just tmight be the "best factory barrel on the market". But TBH, I found my Tikka rather boring. With new toys, I prefer the journey over the destination, and with that tikka there was no journey.

I think you need to buy yourself a Mossberg rifle and document your journey taking the rifle from woeful to mediocrity. Personally I hate shooting thousands of rounds trying to get some piece of rubbish to shoot acceptably.

You see that Sako and Tikka rifle barrels only have the Lion proof mark as one goes on a Tikka and the next on a Sako.

[RoginaJack]

Nah, not yet been a tad difficult at the moment due to travel restrictions.

Here's a clip on the Roughteck, no mention of it in L/H but and limited calibres (more to follow) and around $1925.00

https://www.tikka.fi/rifles/tikka-t3x/t ... -roughtech

[in2anity]

I think you need to buy yourself a Mossberg rifle and document your journey taking the rifle from woeful to mediocrity. Personally I hate shooting thousands of rounds trying to get some piece of rubbish to shoot acceptably.

SCJ I just may have done such a thing not so long ago, in a certain publication, except it was a cheap Ruger...

Usually it doesn’t take thousands of rounds. Just a few modifications that we are all very familiar with.

But in all seriousness, the crappy-ness factor of a mossberg I find alluring. If I took on such a project, would you like to read about it?

[SCJ429]

Threads about problem rifles always make good reading. I had a friend who bought a Remington 700 in 22/250. He was a new shooter and was getting about a five inch group at 100. After we bedded it, new trigger, recrowned the barrel and hundreds of shots doing load development it could almost shoot one inch groups but still copper fouled very badly. He sold the rifle and gave up on shooting.

I wonder how his enthusiasm would have been if he bought a rifle that shot well from the start.

[in2anity]

Yeah there’s not a whole lot you can do about a crappy barrel is there. The new remis are overrated. Meanwhile Ruger centerfire barrels punch above their weight IMO.

[TassieTiger]

I - like I guess many ppl - immediately look to barrel issues when a gun is not consistent but I ve learned a lot, on here, clubs, etc - it seems to be a pretty rare thing these days, when diving down the burrow, to find that the modern barrel is responsible.
And it does have to be said / some tikkas have their issues. BIg fella scot on here can’t get his to group and lost confidence. A friend who owns a lot of tikkas has a 300 that would shoot an inch is now struggling with it...

[Bill]

You should post up the images you saw Tassie tiger

I'm sure the everyone would appreciate it.

I use an old skool German made hysteroscope for looking down barrels, certainly shows who bothers to finish a barrel well.

[gunnnie]

Will be picking up a new T3x 6.5x55 Varmint SS in a few weeks. Have never owned a Tikka before, mainly as I'm not a fan of the hype behind certain brands, ie Remington, Sako etc.
Anyway, main reason for buying this rifle was the chambering & barrel length. Cost wise it was cheaper than buying a donor action and fitting a 26" bbl. This rifle is a new rifle but sold as 2nd hand unfired & $500 cheaper than the pre price hike price. I'm keen to see what the trigger is like but certainly interested in a trigger spring kit as for this type of rifle I'd prefer a 1-1.5lb trigger.

[TassieTiger]

You should post up the images you saw Tassie tiger

I'm sure the everyone would appreciate it.

I use an old skool German made hysteroscope for looking down barrels, certainly shows who bothers to finish a barrel well.

I didn’t take stills Bill but it’s not a bad idea to show the difference in bores - I might see if I can get some time later tonight or tomorrow to showcase, it’s pretty remarkable.

Managed to get the tikka 260 out today for a few sight in shots with my new z5 scope. Was shooting into the bloody sun - even swarvo was making it hard. This was just on 200 yards, 120gn bt noslers, 48gns of 2209 pushing over 3000fps. Didn’t have a proper rest which might account for some shots (key excuses here!)
The red dot is 15mm across for reference.

[rossfrb]

Will be picking up a new T3x 6.5x55 Varmint SS in a few weeks. Have never owned a Tikka before, mainly as I'm not a fan of the hype behind certain brands, ie Remington, Sako etc.
Anyway, main reason for buying this rifle was the chambering & barrel length. Cost wise it was cheaper than buying a donor action and fitting a 26" bbl. This rifle is a new rifle but sold as 2nd hand unfired & $500 cheaper than the pre price hike price. I'm keen to see what the trigger is like but certainly interested in a trigger spring kit as for this type of rifle I'd prefer a 1-1.5lb trigger.

Give the trigger as it comes, a try first.
The trigger on my T3x 6.5x55 Varmint SS was so schmick out of the box the gun smith who was bedding it into a boyds stock for me asked me what I'd done to it.

[gunnnie]

Will do mate. Wont hurt to see what it's like eh!
I'm happy to stick with the factory stock as is. Once I've spent some time with it I may consider a chassis system for LR work. But that's ways down the track.

[tomtom889]

Hi!

As a person that hunts with a Tikka chambered in .338 Win Mag, I find a small upgrade to the bolt can actually improve the safety of the firearm. The safety switch on the Tikka only allows you to engage it with the bolt fully forwards and locked down, this also prevents you from moving the bolt. sure you can argue that you don't have a round chambered and that you "know" it won't go off because there isn't a round chambered and the safety is on. But just for piece of mind I had my smith drill an extra hole in my bolt so that the safety can be flicked on with the bolt fully forward but not locked down and in battery, this also locks the bolt in place... pictures attached to show!

Edit: Another bonus is you don't need to leave your bolt open and you can prevent dirt and grit getting into the chamber!

[TassieTiger]

That’s pretty darn cool and showing initiative Tom. Does dirt / dust get into the hole in bolt ? Is it weakened as a result?

[tomtom889]

That’s pretty darn cool and showing initiative Tom. Does dirt / dust get into the hole in bolt ? Is it weakened as a result?

Hey Tassie, so far it seems like there's no drawbacks to this, dust and dirt might get into the hole but it can be easily cleaned out as the firing pin assembly on the inside is tight enough so that dirt can't get further than the holes that you can see in the bolt. as war as weakening is concerned I'd assume it's just like the other hole in the bolt the rifle initially comes with and any weakening that may occur would be negligible.

[SCJ429]

Nice bolt fluting.

[JimTom]

Mate did you end up bedding your T3X? Thinking of doing mine however it will be a new experience for me.

[RoginaJack]

This is an early 5 shot group shot over 100yds at Belmont. - Rifle 243 Tikka lite with a 4-12x44 Vortex Scope in Tikka mounts. I've got no complaints.
PS. polled the 5th shot, got a bit excited.

shoot.01a.jpg (371.64 KiB) Viewed 3883 times

[JimTom]

Nice group mate

[marksman]

Nice group mate

+1
still a head shot though

[in2anity]

Best factory barrel

[RoginaJack]

Thanks, Yep rifle is "as issued"...

[BigB1]

This is an early 5 shot group shot over 100yds at Belmont. - Rifle 243 Tikka lite with a 4-12x44 Vortex Scope in Tikka mounts. I've got no complaints.
PS. polled the 5th shot, got a bit excited.

shoot.01a.jpg

Same model and 243 calibre that I'm looking at for my first rifle. Which Vortex did you get? Copperhead or Crossfire II?