TJay
Senior Member
Not long ago I opened a thread asking for opinions on compact rifles. I had a scope without a home and was looking for something light and handy. The rifle I settled on is the Tikka T3x stainless synthetic and while it is not necessarily a compact rifle it is a lightweight rifle weighing in at around six and a quarter pounds right out of the box. The caliber is 7mm-08.
In 2016 Tikka updated their T3 rifle and called it the T3x. In my opinion the biggest improvement was an updated stock. The original T3 plastic stock was noisy and hollow sounding and drew lots of criticism. The new stock is filled with foam which makes it less noisy and there may be a cosmetic change which in my opinion elevates the new stock from "kinda cheesy" to acceptable. Also the pillar block was upgraded from aluminum to steel. Nothing earth shattering but a nice change. The magazine is still a plastic composite which doesn't bother me (except for the price for a replacement) as they are very functional and helps keep the weight (and price) down. The trigger guard and mag well is still plastic and that bothers me a little. There are a couple of vendors out there that offer alloy bottom metal (Mountain Tactical and Atlasworxs) if you have between $100 and $150 just laying around.
The Tikka trigger is easily adjustable and it is excellent! It is adjustable to between 4 and 2 lbs. I love the trigger.
The T3x no longer comes with scope rings. I guess there were a few folks out there that used them but most Tikka owners that I knew went with Talley or DNZ. I went with Talley lightweight rings.
Range time. I bought 3 boxes of ammo for accuracy. Remington Core-lokt in 140 gr, Federal Premium 140 gr with an all copper bullet and Barnes Vor-tex 120 gr. I also bought some RCBS dies for some load development later on. The previously mentioned "homeless" scope is a Khales 3 - 9 x 42 which I have had for a few years but it is still great glass. Both Federal and Core-lokt 140 grainers were unimpressive with 3 shot groups coming in at around an inch and a half. The Barnes Vor-tex 120 grainers shot very well with the first group right at an inch and the second 3 shot group right at 5/8 inch with two rounds going into the same hole. I will probably use the Barnes for hunting and I'll start working on an acceptable 140 gr handload shortly.
I paid $679 and after tax it was a little over $700. I would say price wise they are middle of the road. A friend of mine bought one just like mine except in 30-06 and he had similar results in regards to accuracy. Recoil on my 7mm-08 was negligible he said his -06 kicks like and angry mule. He replaced his recoil pad with a Sims and tamed that mule.
I very happy with this rifle and if you're in the market I would recommend you check them out!
In 2016 Tikka updated their T3 rifle and called it the T3x. In my opinion the biggest improvement was an updated stock. The original T3 plastic stock was noisy and hollow sounding and drew lots of criticism. The new stock is filled with foam which makes it less noisy and there may be a cosmetic change which in my opinion elevates the new stock from "kinda cheesy" to acceptable. Also the pillar block was upgraded from aluminum to steel. Nothing earth shattering but a nice change. The magazine is still a plastic composite which doesn't bother me (except for the price for a replacement) as they are very functional and helps keep the weight (and price) down. The trigger guard and mag well is still plastic and that bothers me a little. There are a couple of vendors out there that offer alloy bottom metal (Mountain Tactical and Atlasworxs) if you have between $100 and $150 just laying around.
The Tikka trigger is easily adjustable and it is excellent! It is adjustable to between 4 and 2 lbs. I love the trigger.
The T3x no longer comes with scope rings. I guess there were a few folks out there that used them but most Tikka owners that I knew went with Talley or DNZ. I went with Talley lightweight rings.
Range time. I bought 3 boxes of ammo for accuracy. Remington Core-lokt in 140 gr, Federal Premium 140 gr with an all copper bullet and Barnes Vor-tex 120 gr. I also bought some RCBS dies for some load development later on. The previously mentioned "homeless" scope is a Khales 3 - 9 x 42 which I have had for a few years but it is still great glass. Both Federal and Core-lokt 140 grainers were unimpressive with 3 shot groups coming in at around an inch and a half. The Barnes Vor-tex 120 grainers shot very well with the first group right at an inch and the second 3 shot group right at 5/8 inch with two rounds going into the same hole. I will probably use the Barnes for hunting and I'll start working on an acceptable 140 gr handload shortly.
I paid $679 and after tax it was a little over $700. I would say price wise they are middle of the road. A friend of mine bought one just like mine except in 30-06 and he had similar results in regards to accuracy. Recoil on my 7mm-08 was negligible he said his -06 kicks like and angry mule. He replaced his recoil pad with a Sims and tamed that mule.
I very happy with this rifle and if you're in the market I would recommend you check them out!
