Ever since I first saw the Sterk swept bolt handles for the Tikka T3 I knew I had to get one, I'm a firm believer in the saying; "if you can't be the part, at least look the part", there's no doubt that the Swept handles look cool but I've always wondered do they give a functional improvement and if so, is it quantifiable?
About a month ago I finally received my bolt handles, one for my T3 and one for my T1.
I installed the handle on the T3 first, it made a huge difference to the way the bolt felt the added length and shape appears to reduced the amount of force required to re-cock after firing, the swept shape also gives the feeling of a less than 70 degree bolt lift.
The swept bolt handle felt much better when dry firing and even better still when actually shooting the rifle.
The T1x handle on the other hand was a much less noticeable improvement, especially comparing it to the slip on rubber bolt knob I've been using the last year or so (best $10 I've ever spent).
While the Sterk did feel better I wasn't sure it actually felt any quicker/easier to cycle the bolt, not in the same way it transformed the T3, so I decided to conduct a test to see if there was actually a measurable improvement in speed.
I feel like speed involved with rapid fire bolt action shooting has many opportunities for error, but I think the test I conducted gave pretty good real world results and had minimal chance for error that was unrelated the function the different bolt handles provided.
Basically the test was as follows:
Using a shot timer, fire 3 shots as fast as possible on a steel plate at 60m using my 22lr T1x, due to the shot timer being fussy with positioning to pick up the 22lr shots I fired from a supported standing position using a sling, there was a considerable amount position change required from setting the shot timer before each string, so the 1st shot reaction times should ignored.
NOTE: after the 1st shot was fired the other two were unaffected by the positional changes.
-The first shot was a closed bolt on a chambered round and effectively just my reaction time to the shot timer beep.
-The 2nd and 3rd shots were both on the same steel target trying to shoot as fast as practical while still hitting the target.
I repeated this test 5 times, with each of the follow set ups:
-Standard bolt handle
-Standard with rubber ball
-Sterk swept handle
The results I used were the splits between the 1st and 2nd shot, and the 2nd and 3rd shots.
I'll attach a picture of all the data I collected, to cut a long story short the results were exactly as I expected/ hoped;
Averaged splits:
Standard - 1.64 seconds
Rubber - 1.45 seconds
Sterk - 1.39 seconds
Like with the T3 when actually shooting the rifle vs dry firing the sterk handle felt a lot quicker and nicer to operate quickly, the results show that it was indeed quicker but more importantly the grip I was able to get on the bolt handle was far more positive and it felt like it took less effort to operate the bolt quickly.
I have lots of experience with the rubber bolt knob and knew it'd give the same benefits as the Sterk did, whilst it was a big improvement over the standard handle the Sterk was still noticeably better in feel and of course the times.
TL;DR
-the Sterk handle is a definite quantifiable improvement over the factory T1x and T3 bolt handle and is well worth the money.
The added length and swept shape make it easier to grab quickly with less chance of slipping or fumbling about.
And most importantly, they look cool.
About a month ago I finally received my bolt handles, one for my T3 and one for my T1.
I installed the handle on the T3 first, it made a huge difference to the way the bolt felt the added length and shape appears to reduced the amount of force required to re-cock after firing, the swept shape also gives the feeling of a less than 70 degree bolt lift.
The swept bolt handle felt much better when dry firing and even better still when actually shooting the rifle.
The T1x handle on the other hand was a much less noticeable improvement, especially comparing it to the slip on rubber bolt knob I've been using the last year or so (best $10 I've ever spent).
While the Sterk did feel better I wasn't sure it actually felt any quicker/easier to cycle the bolt, not in the same way it transformed the T3, so I decided to conduct a test to see if there was actually a measurable improvement in speed.
I feel like speed involved with rapid fire bolt action shooting has many opportunities for error, but I think the test I conducted gave pretty good real world results and had minimal chance for error that was unrelated the function the different bolt handles provided.
Basically the test was as follows:
Using a shot timer, fire 3 shots as fast as possible on a steel plate at 60m using my 22lr T1x, due to the shot timer being fussy with positioning to pick up the 22lr shots I fired from a supported standing position using a sling, there was a considerable amount position change required from setting the shot timer before each string, so the 1st shot reaction times should ignored.
NOTE: after the 1st shot was fired the other two were unaffected by the positional changes.
-The first shot was a closed bolt on a chambered round and effectively just my reaction time to the shot timer beep.
-The 2nd and 3rd shots were both on the same steel target trying to shoot as fast as practical while still hitting the target.
I repeated this test 5 times, with each of the follow set ups:
-Standard bolt handle
-Standard with rubber ball
-Sterk swept handle
The results I used were the splits between the 1st and 2nd shot, and the 2nd and 3rd shots.
I'll attach a picture of all the data I collected, to cut a long story short the results were exactly as I expected/ hoped;
Averaged splits:
Standard - 1.64 seconds
Rubber - 1.45 seconds
Sterk - 1.39 seconds
Like with the T3 when actually shooting the rifle vs dry firing the sterk handle felt a lot quicker and nicer to operate quickly, the results show that it was indeed quicker but more importantly the grip I was able to get on the bolt handle was far more positive and it felt like it took less effort to operate the bolt quickly.
I have lots of experience with the rubber bolt knob and knew it'd give the same benefits as the Sterk did, whilst it was a big improvement over the standard handle the Sterk was still noticeably better in feel and of course the times.
TL;DR
-the Sterk handle is a definite quantifiable improvement over the factory T1x and T3 bolt handle and is well worth the money.
The added length and swept shape make it easier to grab quickly with less chance of slipping or fumbling about.
And most importantly, they look cool.
