Tikka T3 Thread

#3,351
A few questions on Tikkas, and if this should be its own thread please let me know and I'll re-post.
1. Are the T3's and T3x's all long actions?
2. Are the T3's and X's all mag fed? and aside from the gent who posted above, how common are magazine issues?
3. How hard is it to change bolt faces or bolts? (would like the option to switch barrels)
4. Are there any issues particular to Tikkas to be aware of - light primer strikes, failures to eject, feeding issues, etc?
5. If you had it to do again, would you still buy Tikka or save up and go custom? Kind of a Ford v. Chevy question, but I figured I'm asking the group who probably owns both.

Thanks and God bless America.
 
#3,353
Scarface26 said:
A few questions on Tikkas, and if this should be its own thread please let me know and I'll re-post.
1. Are the T3's and T3x's all long actions?
2. Are the T3's and X's all mag fed? and aside from the gent who posted above, how common are magazine issues?
3. How hard is it to change bolt faces or bolts? (would like the option to switch barrels)
4. Are there any issues particular to Tikkas to be aware of - light primer strikes, failures to eject, feeding issues, etc?
5. If you had it to do again, would you still buy Tikka or save up and go custom? Kind of a Ford v. Chevy question, but I figured I'm asking the group who probably owns both.

Thanks and God bless America.
Click to expand...
Read post 3273. It answers most of your questions and I wrote it up as a help from my research. It all depends on what you want to do.
1. Bolt stop changes.
2 yes. Different styles though. Depends. Sometimes you need to make minor minor modifications (like bending a spring in mags, adjusting the adjustments in aftermarket stocks, or light sand/ polish of feedlips) but mostly in aftermarket parts.
3 $400
4 not really
5 according to frank Tikkas are great starting rifles.
 
#3,355
Scarface26 said:
One more question: Is the CTR the model to start with or one of the super varmint variants. Starting with a 6.5cm barrel for ringing steel to 1000.

God bless America again.
Click to expand...

It really depends on if you plan on going to a new stock. If the goal is to shoot it for a while first, then yes a CTR is the way to go IMO. But if the goal is to change things out fairly quickly, I'd find the least expensive model you can find. These days, I'm just looking for any Tikka T3 action since the goal is to immediately convert to a switchbarrel 6BR.
 
#3,357
Scarface26 said:
A few questions on Tikkas, and if this should be its own thread please let me know and I'll re-post.
1. Are the T3's and T3x's all long actions?
2. Are the T3's and X's all mag fed? and aside from the gent who posted above, how common are magazine issues?
3. How hard is it to change bolt faces or bolts? (would like the option to switch barrels)
4. Are there any issues particular to Tikkas to be aware of - light primer strikes, failures to eject, feeding issues, etc?
5. If you had it to do again, would you still buy Tikka or save up and go custom? Kind of a Ford v. Chevy question, but I figured I'm asking the group who probably owns both.

Thanks and God bless America.
Click to expand...


1. Like said above, just change out the bolt stop and you go from short to long action.
2. All Tikka's have a magazine of such, whether its the factory plastic or CTR mag, or you go aftermarket bottom metal to run AICS mags.
3. Around $400 for a new bolt, but I've never seen just bolts sold so you'd likely have to buy a whole new rifle just for the bolt if you wanted to do a switch barrel.
4. No issues that I'm aware of.
5. I love my Tikka's, they are a great starting rifle but I'm getting to the point where I'm strongly considering selling both of my rifles and going to custom actions after shooting with the owners of Lone Peak Arms here out of Utah. Nothing against the Tikka, this is just my opinion of it but I've about stretched them out as far as I dare and my next step is a custom action.
 
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#3,358
The only reason I'm sticking with Tikka's for the next while is because I just put it into a J Allen. Once I feel that I've gotten my money out of it, I will switch to a custom action.
 
#3,359
tevan0707 said:
3. Around $400 for a new bolt, but I've never seen just bolts sold so you'd likely have to buy a whole new rifle just for the bolt if you wanted to do a switch barrel.
Click to expand...
Just did a Google search for tikka t3 bolt replacement. Brownell currently has lh blued bolts as special order for $335. They have had rh bolts previously.
 
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#3,360
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#3,361
AZ_Artilleryman said:
Who did the threading? Did you have to cut down the barrel at all or is there a decent shoulder behind the threads with a 9/16-24 rate?

I have a T3 lite in .30-06 that I'm considering having threaded. Suppressed hunting seems so much more pleasant.
Click to expand...

Tornado Technologies threaded it, no cut back. There wasn't much of a shoulder but enough to get a TBAC brake on it and then use my ultra 7.
 
#3,366
Has anyone taken a picture of what they cut out of the factory stock to free float the barrel on a ctr?

I feel like I’ve cut out a ton but it’s still touching . I guess I can keep sanding (with dremel) but I’m starting to think it may have been a bad idea since I really didn’t need too but was bored hah!
 
#3,367
Sako man said:
Anyone have a good load workup for my tikka tac A1 6.5 CM. I have a shit ton of 142 SMK's laying around.

Thanks!
Click to expand...
I’ve found that the tikkas I have in 6.5 creed love, the Hornady 143 eldx, lapua brass, CCI 450’s, and 41.5 gr of h4350, .080 off the lands. I really wanted them to like the VLDS, but i tried and couldn’t get them where I wanted. This load yields me pretty consistent .250 to .340 5 shot groups
I would start low and work your way up, but I see absolutely no pressure signs.
 
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#3,368
I have a ton of Hornaday brass, 142 SMK's and a bunch of H4350, so I'm ready to rock. I guess I will start at 40.5 and work to 41.5 which I think is the max recommendation. I used to reload 142smks in my 260 using target, it would stretch out the primer pockets but I was getting unbelievable .15 to .2 accuracy, bug holes. Thanks for the tips.
 
#3,373
Okie dokie then ;)

I've started stalking the local pawn/second-hand stores and a few online places looking for a 'budget' Tikka to do a build off of. Basically a donor action, and the rest of it I could care less about (unless I happen to find a T3X CTR for a song). How much of a market is there for used stocks, barrels, etc. from base model Tikka hunting rifles? I don't really care if I get a lot for the bits n pieces, but I'd like to defray the cost of the action as much as possible.

The best deal I've seen so far locally is $450 for a scoped T3 .270 Win (unless i get really lucky on an auction)... not great, but if I can get another hundred out of the stock and barrel, I'd be satisfied. Is this feasible, or am I dreaming?
 
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#3,374
There's not much market for the synthetic stocks but there definitely is for the OEM wood stocks (hunter, forest and certainly laminate). If you buy this:
https://www.eurooptic.com/tikka-t3-forest-243-win-10in-twist-224in-bbl-jrtf615.aspx
You can easily sell the stock for $120 shipped.

Even if you throw the barrel in the trash you've got a perfectly great action and trigger for $375. Compare that to a "trued" Remington action that will be $500 to $800 before you've even thought about a trigger.

The fact that the plastic trigger guard and mags work so darn well means you don't have to dive straight into the AICS abyss, although many do anyway.

As for removing the barrel, LRI can do it for you for $50. They did my first one and then I just bought myself a barrel vice and action wrench and did it myself. Wasn't hard at all, zero scuffs on the barrel or receiver.

I'm in the middle of a 6.8 SPC II Tikka build. That ought to blow everyone's mind when it's done. All I need to complete it is the barrel.

-Stooxie
 
#3,376
Here's what I did to get the barrel off. I am no gunsmith but I've been on the planet for a little while and I like to think I have some foresight on how to do things and I was willing to give it a go.

First I put the barreled action vertically in a soft jawed vice and applied a heap of Kroil to the inside of the barrel threads. Also applied some to where the barrel shoulder met the receiver face. Left it there for a couple days.

I bought a Mechforce barrel vice and a Wheeler #1 (Mauser/flat) action wrench. The Mechforce is ok, the leather pads didn't do shit in terms of holding the barrel. Three sheets of plain white printer paper, on the other hand, held the barrel rock solid. I also used a single sheet of paper between the action wrench flats and the receiver. I oriented the pole side flat to the top of the receiver and the bolt side flat to the bottom. The wrench was just behind the recoil lug which provided lots of surface area. Tightened down the bolts enough so that it was good and secure but I wasn't compressing the threads (as far as I know).

Now, because I didn't have contoured inserts for the barrel vice, here's what I did. I put the barrel in the vice about 8" back from the receiver, where the contour was mostly flat. Of course having it stick out that far means there is a lot of flex which kills the efficiency of the action wrench torque. However, very simple solution: I cut a 1"x1" piece of wood to the right length to fit between the floor and the barrel, supporting it immediately in front of the receiver. That removed the flex and restored the efficiency of the wrench.

Moment of truth... With the pole mostly horizontal I leaned down on the wrench with some weight, then some more, and then POP, the barrel unscrewed. Almost seemed anticlimactic! It definitely did not take all my weight or what I thought was a ton of torque. The threads were coated in quite a bit of anti-seize from the factory.

Taking off the vice and action wrench, I confirmed that no marks were left on the barrel or receiver. I was pleasantly surprised.

I'm sure the real smiths are laughing but this worked for me and the sense of accomplishment is a major bonus.

ETA: as always, YMMV. If you have any reservations just ship it off to LRI, they have dedicated tooling for this kind of stuff and did a perfect job on my first Tikka barrel removal. Even with that cost you're still way ahead. I figured I'd put that cost toward the vice and wrench and see how I faired.

-Stooxie
 
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#3,377
As for prefits, I think the Tikka lends itself well to this. The flat receiver sides mean you can hold it in a household vice using leather strips (or whatever) as pads. The recommended barrel nut torque seems to vary between 40 and 70 pounds feet (based on what various pre-fit vendors have on their websites) so it's very manageable by the consumer, IF you have decent tools.

The barrel nut meets the receiver right where the barrel shoulder would be so it works out perfectly.

So far my Criterion prefit has been 0.3 to 0.7 MOA with all factory ammo, depending on load. The 120gr Nosler BT prints the smallest groups for this barrel, but all of them are far beyond adequate accuracy for deer.

-Stooxie
 
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#3,378
Where can you get a two stage Tikka Tac1A trigger and / or when is an aftermarket two stage trigger assembly going to hit the streets ?

I'm getting closer by the day to ordering a CTR - probably going to happen during Black Friday Weekend sales so that I can negotiate with my local gun store for an extra 10 % off to price match Brownell's sale prices.
 
#3,383
Sako man said:
I have a ton of Hornaday brass, 142 SMK's and a bunch of H4350, so I'm ready to rock. I guess I will start at 40.5 and work to 41.5 which I think is the max recommendation. I used to reload 142smks in my 260 using target, it would stretch out the primer pockets but I was getting unbelievable .15 to .2 accuracy, bug holes. Thanks for the tips.
Click to expand...

I've gone a bit over 43 of 4350, work up to it though, every barrel is different.
 
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#3,388
CaptNemo said:
.260 Rem has a bit more case capacity than 6.5 Creedmoor, 43 grains of H4350 should be above max in a CM
Click to expand...

I've run two barrels at 42.9 and the hornady brass has several firings on it. Tossed a few pieces but primer pockets are still good. Funny thing my most recent barrel is shooting just as fast at 41.7. :) Every barrel is different
 
#3,389
I’m new hear but I’ve been shooting a Tikka T3 Tactical 308 for a long time. I reinforced the standard stock & inlet it for an AICS mag bottom metal. It’s been that way for a few years now & shoots really well with the right ammo.

I have considered a chassis kit for sometime, but they are quite expensive here in the UK & I chose the 20” so I could use it in the field as well as the range. So I liked the look of the GRS stocks & finally got to try one in the flesh a couple of weeks back when another shooter brought a Berserk to the range.

Whilst doing some research on these I came across the new Bifrost which seemed a better stock from the info available, so after acquiring one & inletting it for my AICS mag bottom metal, here is the result.

63356CAD-98AB-4A49-BA78-C46EE11B616C.jpeg


Feels great, hope to see how it shoots tomorrow, but the weather is looking bad ☹️

Enjoy
 
#3,390
How are you guys adjusting the trigger on the TAC A1’s - removing barreled action from chassis, or does it just take a long Allen wrench through the mag well until you find the bolt head?
 
#3,391
awpk03s said:
How are you guys adjusting the trigger on the TAC A1’s - removing barreled action from chassis, or does it just take a long Allen wrench through the mag well until you find the bolt head?
Click to expand...

Just the long leg of an Allen wrench. It's not tight, lightened it two 1/4 rotations, counterclockwise. Will leave it that way for a few firings.

You only have to remove the action if you want to replace spring. Easier than I thought. Have 1-2lb spring but will wait to replace.
 
#3,396
Conaso said:
Just the long leg of an Allen wrench. It's not tight, lightened it two 1/4 rotations, counterclockwise. Will leave it that way for a few firings.

You only have to remove the action if you want to replace spring. Easier than I thought. Have 1-2lb spring but will wait to replace.
Click to expand...

Thanks! I got a longer Allen key and that did the trick.
 
#3,397
I don't have a photo hosting account. Looks like I'll need a whole new bolt. Rear part that holds in the bolt handle shear off. :-(

Anyone have advice for replacement or someone who could help me fix? I'm thinking about welding it myself, if C.S. doesn't want to help.
 
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#3,398
I will trade you straight up for your factory bolt handle. The Sterk is nice but it doesn’t work for me.

Wyzrd said:
Just have to show off the newest member of the family. Bought off another Hide member...Specs are:

Tikka T3X action
26” PVA Prefit Rock Creek barrel (light palma contour) & Barrel Nut from PVA
Seekins Precision ATC brake
Elay Precision trigger spring (1.3 lb pull)
Sako green KRG Bravo with spigot mount
Atlas/ADM with HHC Talon feet
20 moa scope rail
ARC M10 scope rings
Vortex Razor HD Gen2 3-18 with ebr 2c mil reticle & SV-3 throw lever
Flatline Ops bubble level

So far it shoots awesome, but I’ll probably chop the barrel to 22” to make it a little less cumbersome for hunting. Next up is a titanium bolt shroud and bolt handle from Sterk.






View attachment 6966321View attachment 6966320
Click to expand...
 
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