Just bought this rifle in 7mm rem mag. It shoots pretty good, 5″ groups at 300 yards. Probably better if someone else is pulling the trigger. One thing I hate is the plastic stock so I ordered a boyds wood laminate classic stock. I’m wondering what others have found with fitment, I am researching glass bedding if nessasary.
Just bought one also in 243SS. Haven’t shot it yet but I bought it with the laminate stock.
It should shoot a lot better than that at 300. I’ve never met a Tikka that wouldn’t.
Both my .22-250 and .243 are ragged hole at 100 and always inside a tennis ball at 300.
The plastic stock is a pretty good one as plastic goes. One of my Tikkas is a hunter model with wood. Personally, I would not be keen to add the weight of a laminate stock to what is supposed to be a light rifle, but that’s just my preference for light over looks.
I’m sure mine would, but I’ve been away from the bench for a couple years, my 54 year old eyes are not as good as they used to be, the rifle is right out of the box, and the bullets are a little long and heavy for the twist. I’ve since reloaded more appropriate ammo, adjusted the trigger for a much lighter pull, refamiliarized myself with my shooting form, and am waiting for a new, custom wood stock that may give a slightly better psychological outlook to things. All in all, its just a fun project and I like giving it a little personalization.
It should shoot a lot better than that at 300. I’ve never met a Tikka that wouldn’t.
I picked up a T3 Lite last year chambered in .300 Win Mag. To be honest, my initial shootings were quite disappointing. 3-4″ groups at 100 yds was about the best I could muster. I with solid sandbag rests, I could solidly settle the crosshairs on the bull and BAM….3″ groups. Scope mounts seem solid and tight. Scope is of fair quality, I think – Burris fullield II.
I didn’t get any chance to tinker with other bullet weights…165gr was all I tried. Do you think a heavier bullet would help the situation?
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>TheFamousGrouse wrote:</div>
It should shoot a lot better than that at 300. I’ve never met a Tikka that wouldn’t.I picked up a T3 Lite last year chambered in .300 Win Mag. To be honest, my initial shootings were quite disappointing. 3-4″ groups at 100 yds was about the best I could muster. I with solid sandbag rests, I could solidly settle the crosshairs on the bull and BAM….3″ groups.
I didn’t get any chance to tinker with other bullet weights…165gr was all I tried. Do you think a heavier bullet would help the situation?
I hate to bring this up, but I have mention it. You may have heard of “the .30 line?” When we start talking about .30 Mags like the .300 Win Mag, I have to ask have you had anyone ELSE shoot it?
Now I’m not saying you might be a little recoil shy. But recoil sensitivity, to quote one of my favorite gun writers, is like bad breath–very difficult to self-diagnose. Now of course, it doesn’t happen to you or me, but…
I have to bring up the point just because I’ve seen it happen. Guys who can shoot just fine, suddenly end up with a “bad rifle” that won’t hit the broadside of a barn. Amazingly, this corresponds remarkably well with their first little trip across the .30 line for that must-have .375 or .338, or what have you. Coincidence?
To answer your question about bullets, if the Tikka is a 1-12 twist (i didn’t look it up), than yes a 165 might be on the light end and I would certainly move up to 180-190 range before drawing any conclusions.
Grouse
Sparky, my tikka wearing a boyd
Bottom plate fit a little too light on mine. Just a little sanding and clear coat, and it’s been perfect on mine
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Randy, were you satisfied with the stock fit.or did you also bed it?
Grouse, best way to test for recoil shyness aka flintch is shoot a 22 rimfire rifle with scope at full power. You will instinctively react the first few shots as if you were shooting a heavy recoil rifle. I was amazed at how much I flintched. After loosing the flinch shooting the 22 for a few dozen rounds my shooting form on the big boy was much improved…at least for a few shots.
The specs call out 1:11″ twist.
Recoil shyness may be part of it. I did, however make a concerted effort to relax and let the gun go off in a relaxed state…..whether I succeeded or not is open to debate. More time at the range should answer my questions…….
Go to Berger Bullets web site, there they have a twist calculator. Enter in your crteria and it will tell you your relative stability for a particular bullet with your twist rate.
Randy, were you satisfied with the stock fit.or did you also bed it?
I did 4 stocks at once – (2) on Tikka T3’s, Rem 700 for a 7mm ultra mag, and a Savage. All fit very well. The Tikka’s needed just a little material removed on the bottom for the trigger plate. It really was no big deal. I called t6heir customer support to find out what they use for their clear coat. Don’t remember specificly, but THINK that it was water based Poly. Touched it with a dremel tool, then lightly sanded and sealed. The spot i had to grind off was beneath the plate shown. The magazine fit snug for a little while. 20-30 times of in and out and it loosened up.
Somewhere in another post was my torque for the plate screws. That was what worked perfect for both the Tikkas I did
I’m not as educated in the science of these matters as Randy or Grouse but I’m in both of their shoes. I have a 300WSM and a 270win in T3 Lite as well as a 308win. SS. All have been fitted with replacement stocks from Boyds and I’ve truthfully had no issues. They do increase the weight but they improve the looks, the feel, and there’s been nothing but improvement in my shot groups. Now, just for the sake of stirring the pot, NONE of them shoot groups as tight as the 270WSM Hunter model. I don’t know if that means anything or not but I’ve certainly wondered about it. What is for sure is that I keep swapping out the plastic stocks for Boyd’s because I don’t care about the weight and I love the way they look, feel, fit, and perform. I AM a fan of both Boyd’s and Tikka products!!!
The Tikka now wears a Boyds pepper laminate stock to compliment its stainless fluted barrel and action. I also have an aluminum bolt shroud replacing the plastic one. Rifle shoots great and the recoil is now a thump instead of a smack. 2.5″ groups so far at 300 yards, The scope is 3×9…am tempted to up the magnification… Chasing accuracy is an expensive addiction.
Chasing accuracy is an expensive addiction.
Oh, almost made me cry thinking about this.
Friend of mine has a Rem 700 in 30-06. Goal – shoot 2″ groups at 300yrds from our bench. Regardless of which factory loads he has tried, shoots (gun) more like a kid playing pin the tail on the donkey. So I have been playing with this POS for over a year and have told him from day one “Scrap this POS and buy a real gun”. I just get the kiss my 
standard response.
So after 6 or so different powders, 3 different primer combinations, 2 different types of bullets, and all my time at the range testing – He has well over $750 into a gun that will NEVER shoot better than 5″ @ 300yrds.
AMEN 
I started out with 168 bergers but was unimpressed. I realized my twist was too slow for these so I went to the 150 Noslers, that tightened things up nicely.
The specs call out 1:11″ twist.
Recoil shyness may be part of it. I did, however make a concerted effort to relax and let the gun go off in a relaxed state…..whether I succeeded or not is open to debate. More time at the range should answer my questions…….
I get recoil shyness shooting high powered riles. To me it is an instinctive reaction. To conquer this…or maybe fool myself, I break out the .22 rifle. After several rounds the shyness disapears and my form gets precise. Then when I return to the high power stuff, my shooting is much improved at least for a few shots till my twith returns
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