Tikka T3 Project?

[AndreC]

Hello:

Post #2 for me...

About 6 months ago, a friend owed a friend some money, and I ended-up getting a virtually brand new Tikka T3 (.308) for a great price . I took a chance buying it (not knowing the brand, or hunting/precision guns in general) but fell in love with that smooth-as-butter action. From reading here (& elsewhere), I'm not the only one...

I'm looking to upgrade it, with the goal of having a super-accurate long distance rifle that's enjoyable to shoot, with very little recoil.

Right now, everything is learning for me...I'm saving up the money I'm planning to spend, and putting together the "wish-list"...I have a hard time justifying "the best" (because my abilities as a shooter aren't the best), but I would like to make it a 'serious' rifle that anybody'd be proud of.

Right now, I have a rough idea of what I'd like to do to it:

- a chassis (so many options, but unsure of fit, comfort, quality, etc)
- optic (I'd like one with FFP reticle, Zero stop, moa/moa, mid-range, maybe $1k)
- muzzle brake (the barrel's fairly thin, so I'm considering a clamp-on Hinterland?)

There's some other "little things" I'd think about doing too (bolt handle/shroud, trigger spring, etc), but the "big ones" are important at the moment, since they will be the biggest commitment for me.

What would you recommend doing to this rifle, to get it where I want to take it?

Thanks in advance, and Kind Regards,

Andre

 

[Simia Dei]

Mate, before deciding what direction you want to go with the build, I'd suggest heading to the local rifle club on a busy day and try and get behind as many different stock/chassis types as you can, only then will you be sure that your money will be well spent on a chassis or traditional style stock that you'll be happy with. I know first hand that if you're not 100% happy with your fit to a rifle, it'll get put into the safe and forgotten about, or sold off.

 

[AndreC]

Mate, before deciding what direction you want to go with the build, I'd suggest heading to the local rifle club on a busy day and try and get behind as many different stock/chassis types as you can, only then will you be sure that your money will be well spent on a chassis or traditional style stock that you'll be happy with. I know first hand that if you're not 100% happy with your fit to a rifle, it'll get put into the safe and forgotten about, or sold off.

Good thought, the only difficulty for me, is that most of the shooters around here are hunters (and tend to opt for minor upgrading. There don't seem to be too many people near me, who are into this kind of shooting).

I have some idea of what I want to do:

- KRG X-ray chassis (fixed stock). Everything I've read about these has been favorable, and they seem to be a pretty good value for the features.

- Vortex Viper PST 6-24x50 FFP, moa/moa

- a good mount for the optic (+20 moa), but unsure who to go with.

- Harris bipod (6-9" seems to be just what I need)

- YoDave trigger spring (for $10, why not?)

If anybody has a Tikka setup like this, I'd love to hear their thoughts on it, good and bad.

Thank you,

Andre

 

[AndreC]

Forgot to add, a muzzle brake in my list...the barrel seems a little thin, so I'm wondering if a clamp-on from HSS would be worthwhile?

 

[OG10]

Read the tikka thread and ask questions, most everyone on the hide has had to start somewhere, and the hide members are great about answering questions . The thread is long but packed with useful info.Simia Dei has made a great point what may fit me maynot fit you.Have you shot the rifle much ? What dont you like about the set up ? Remember if its a sporter weight barrel you wont be able to shoot long continuous strings of fire.The 308 is not a serious recoil round, usually a limb saver air tech pad is all you need. Put a scope on it and shoot it.I have a T3lite that I shoot alot and out to 500 yards it is accurate and fun to shoot .

 

[AndreC]

Read the tikka thread and ask questions, most everyone on the hide has had to start somewhere, and the hide members are great about answering questions . The thread is long but packed with useful info.Simia Dei has made a great point what may fit me maynot fit you.Have you shot the rifle much ? What dont you like about the set up ? Remember if its a sporter weight barrel you wont be able to shoot long continuous strings of fire.

Hi OG10:

Thank you (and a belated thank you to Simia Dei) for replying; currently, it's in its factory setup...cheapo plastic stock, that looks and feels cheap, compared to the quality of the action. By itself, I wouldn't write off a gun based on "a cheap stock" (since 'how well it shoots' is what really counts, imo), but it's my first 'candidate rifle' for getting into long-range shooting, so I'm thinking forward (maybe getting ahead of myself?)

The rifle kicks pretty hars, too (comparable to an old .303 British I have). I've been weighing the idea of just adding a Limbsaver pad to it, and a brake to deal with the recoil.

I threw an old Nikon Buckmasters on it to range test it when I first got it, but otherwise haven't gotten a lot of time behind the trigger with it, yet.

I'll check out the thread!

Thanks Again, Guys!

Kind Regards,

Andre

 

[OG10]

One last thought there is also a great"what scope thread should I buy thread" read it and save yourself a lot of questions. Welcome to the Tikka Addiction .....

 

[Simia Dei]

Good luck with the build mate, tikkas are good to go.

 

[bravesirrobin]

Good thought, the only difficulty for me, is that most of the shooters around here are hunters (and tend to opt for minor upgrading. There don't seem to be too many people near me, who are into this kind of shooting).

I have some idea of what I want to do:

- KRG X-ray chassis (fixed stock). Everything I've read about these has been favorable, and they seem to be a pretty good value for the features.

- Vortex Viper PST 6-24x50 FFP, moa/moa

- a good mount for the optic (+20 moa), but unsure who to go with.

- Harris bipod (6-9" seems to be just what I need)

- YoDave trigger spring (for $10, why not?)

If anybody has a Tikka setup like this, I'd love to hear their thoughts on it, good and bad.

Thank you,

Andre

I honestly don't see what the X-Ray offers over the Bravo to justify the $200 premium. A slightly better cheek rest? Two grip sizes? I haven't had a chance to a handle a Bravo, but it actually looks to have the more ergonomic grip. Heck, for the price of an X-Ray you could get the Bravo with a spigot mount and a tool-less buttpad height adjustment mechanism, which in my opinion is a much better package despite the fact that both of those accessories are overpriced.

Also, I'd prefer a straight mount with a canted rail to a canted mount.

 

[PinesAndProjectiles]

I wouldn’t also look at a 20moa scope rail and put your scope in rings, unless you want to buy a Spuhr, who makes a mount that attaches directly to the factory Tikka dovetail.

 

[BallisticPrimate]

The Tikka is easily my favourite semi custom action to build on. I've owned around 10 over the years and am down to 3, two of which have a couple of barrels each - I'm still waiting to try any custom action that is smoother than a stock Tikka. Barrels are Sako made, stocks are terrible, triggers are excellent, mags feel cheap but are super reliable. The easiest upgrade is a stock/chassis with DBMS

 

[dannySH]

The Tikka is easily my favourite semi custom action to build on. I've owned around 10 over the years and am down to 3, two of which have a couple of barrels each - I'm still waiting to try any custom action that is smoother than a stock Tikka. Barrels are Sako made, stocks are terrible, triggers are excellent, mags feel cheap but are super reliable. The easiest upgrade is a stock/chassis with DBMS

Same here. Now I have four semicustom Tikkas with different barrel nut systems. Just change the stock and shot them or rebarrel and shot them. Simple as that.

 

[BallisticPrimate]

Same here. Now I have four semicustom Tikkas with different barrel nut systems. Just change the stock and shot them or rebarrel and shot them. Simple as that.

What battle nut systems are you using and do you have a preference?

 

[dannySH]

What battle nut systems are you using and do you have a preference?

PVA nut from Josh, Solid Accuracy nut from Tim Beasly and now I'm waiting for the new Bugholes nut from Greg. All of them have the same principle, what changes is the nut aesthetic and nut wrench and of course the barrel quality.

 

[stello1001]

I'm pretty sure a good percentage of tikka owners here on the hide have or have had theirs at one point in a KRG xray or whiskey. While I haven't gotten behind one, I'm sure it won't disappoint you since KRG is known for their quality chassis systems. Good luck on it all and welcome to the addiction.

 

[AndreC]

I'm pretty sure a good percentage of tikka owners here on the hide have or have had theirs at one point in a KRG xray or whiskey. While I haven't gotten behind one, I'm sure it won't disappoint you since KRG is known for their quality chassis systems. Good luck on it all and welcome to the addiction.

Thank you (and thanks everybody) for the replies! I'm about halfway through the big Tikka thread (but actually reading & paying attention, so really trying to study hard...)

I'm generally one of those people who buys "quality", as opposed to "quantity", so I'm re-thinking some things, after seeing what other Hide members have done to theirs...

Current "upgraded Tikka Plan" is:

- mil/mil optic (still liking the Vortex models)

- Chassis is still undecided...a lot of great choices out there, and the more reasonably-priced ones seem have all the features I want, but aren't $2k+ like a GRS Bolthorn, or a Cadex. Speaking of these 2, can anyone tell me, why are these 2 so expensive? I guess what I'm getting at, is what sets them apart to the point that some shooters will happily pay the additional cost over say, an XLR Element, or an MDT Tac21? Is the quality difference really so great?

Kind Regards,

Andre

 

[ruebarb]

The Tikka is easily my favourite semi custom action to build on. I've owned around 10 over the years and am down to 3, two of which have a couple of barrels each - I'm still waiting to try any custom action that is smoother than a stock Tikka. Barrels are Sako made, stocks are terrible, triggers are excellent, mags feel cheap but are super reliable. The easiest upgrade is a stock/chassis with DBMS

I have a Tikka T3X CTR and a Curtis axiom, the axiom is smoother, it has a roller bearing, makes a difference , the Tikka is great, but the axiom is smoother, on the axiom, I can do everything with a flick of just my index finger, 1 flick unlock, open, close and lock, it is pretty impressive. When acitivly running the bolt with a hand, not a significantly noticeable difference. The axiom bolt is also DLC, I am DLC the Tikka, it will likely close the gap.

 

[Crews]

It's nice that you already have a quality action that won't require any additional investment. The order I would go in is:

1. Invest in nice optics first and shoot rifle as is. Out of the box they're pretty accurate, just need to take your time.
2. Take barreled action out and drop it in a chassis of your choice. A cheap KRG Bravo is a significant upgrade and does everything you could possibly need it to do. Anything beyond that is pretty much spending extra money on aesthetics, and totally up to you. Continue to shoot with factory barreled action, spend your time getting comfortable with the stock and optics setup, work on your shooting form. None of this requires anything more than the factory barrel.
3. Go to a smith for the final part, get the factory barrel removed, replace any of the excellent pre-fit/barrel nut combos. (PVA, bugnuts).

In that sequence, you give yourself time to focus on the basics and get the best rifle you can get for the lowest total investment. Rifles can (and usually do) get a lot more expensive than that, but in reality that's the minimal investment you have to make to have something that won't hold you back as your skills develop.

 

[AndreC]

It's nice that you already have a quality action that won't require any additional investment. The order I would go in is:

1. Invest in nice optics first and shoot rifle as is. Out of the box they're pretty accurate, just need to take your time.
2. Take barreled action out and drop it in a chassis of your choice. A cheap KRG Bravo is a significant upgrade and does everything you could possibly need it to do. Anything beyond that is pretty much spending extra money on aesthetics, and totally up to you. Continue to shoot with factory barreled action, spend your time getting comfortable with the stock and optics setup, work on your shooting form. None of this requires anything more than the factory barrel.
3. Go to a smith for the final part, get the factory barrel removed, replace any of the excellent pre-fit/barrel nut combos. (PVA, bugnuts).

In that sequence, you give yourself time to focus on the basics and get the best rifle you can get for the lowest total investment. Rifles can (and usually do) get a lot more expensive than that, but in reality that's the minimal investment you have to make to have something that won't hold you back as your skills develop.

Hi Crews:

Thank you very much! I was planning to go that route (good optic first), and I really do love this rifle. Any recommendations for cutting down the felt-recoil a bit? The factory pad just isn't doing much for me (& I was probably going to get a Limbsaver for it, while it's still in its factory stock.

Thanks,

Andre

 

[Crews]

In the overall scheme of things, any short action doesn't really recoil all that much. Don' want to sound harsh, but it's probably something you need to teach yourself how to handle. Focus on the fundamentals first, instead of focusing on finding a hardware solution for a software problem.

By the time you strap the right FFP scope on the top, put it in a heavier chassis, and slap a heavier barrel on the action you'll hardly notice it.