Tikka T3x Hunter Stainless Fluted Review in 22250
I love hunting the wild country—those mountainous, those rugged places on world where just getting there is half the battle—but as I get older, I find myself looking for lighter rifles for those excursions. I'm the start to admit that I'm no sheep hunter climbing mountains into the clouds, only I'll also contest that the Adirondacks and Catskill mountains of New York possess some rather rugged spots where a change in the weather condition can pose a threat to your life.
I own a bunch of rifles, and I've had wonderful experiences with them, only I came across a burglarize recently that I've really enjoyed: the Tikka T3x Lite. I've always institute 'ultralight' rifles to endure from a lack of rest; while they are certainly light, they don't necessarily bespeak well, or settle down for the shot, or come up to shoulder smoothly. I personally experience the Tikka T3x checks all of those boxes at a weight perfect for the backcountry.
A bit near the company: the Finnish Tikkakoski factory has been manufacturing firearms parts for over a century, merely didn't develop their own rifle until 1981. Now a subsidiary of Sako, Tikka rifles share the same reputation for accuracy that the Sako rifles have. I first came across a Tikka rifle about ten years ago when a friend asked me to help him develop a handload for his .25-06 using a bullet unavailable from factory loads. It wasn't long before we had that rifle printing .5-MOA groups; I remember liking only about everything nearly the gun.
The Tikka T3x Lite is a wonderful balance of portability, accuracy and dependability. It's a push-feed commodities-action pattern with a detachable polymer magazine; the constructed stock is highly ergonomic and the appointments well idea-out. The T3x Lite has make clean, simple lines; my particular model has a clean, blued barrel free of sights, and the T3x'southward receiver—with an oblong ejection port and numerous screw holes for a multitude of mounting options—has a 2-position condom, moving fore and aft, with forwards existence 'fire.' The left side of the receiver (on a correct hand burglarize) has a leap-loaded bolt release. A small red cocking indicator protrudes from under the rear of the metal bolt shroud. That bolt uses two locking lugs at 180 degrees, a plunger ejector, a leap-loaded extractor on the bolt rim and a hollowed bolt handle to reduce weight. The trigger is crisp, with nearly no creep and only the slightest hint of overtravel.
The T3x Lite's stock is an excellent design. The foam-filled rear portion helps to go on that annoying 'knock' that synthetic stocks are so famous for when bumped against a hard object. I am an unabashed fan of warm, figured walnut, just also realize that the polymer stocks have their identify, especially in less-than-ideal weather or when trying to reduce weight. However, I've had an issue with the way so many polymer stocks experience in the mitt; they often feel glace, or have unnecessarily sharp edges. The T3x Light's stock is smooth where it should be and sharp where it needs to be; the pistol grip and forend have an asymmetrical grip blueprint (I can't telephone call information technology checkering) that affords a positive, yet comfortable concord on the rifle. At that place's also the selection of removing one torx-caput bolt and switching the stock insert for the pistol grip to change the grip angle; boosted inserts are sold separately, only the ane I received with the burglarize has a nice bang-up to it that feels good from both the bench equally well as field positions.
A pliable, one-inch recoil pad takes the sting out of the recoil, besides as keeping the rifle properly on the shoulder, fifty-fifty under moisture conditions. The polymer, single stack magazine—which holds three or four rounds, depending on the cartridge—is easy to load and fits well in a pocket.
I chose the 7mm-08 Remington for this light rifle, as I experience the cartridge has enough bullet weight and energy to be a feasible choice for game up to the size of black bears and elk, yet would be comfortable enough to shoot accurately from a calorie-free rifle. A 22-inch barrel will work only fine with the 7mm-08's example capacity. I mounted a Bushnell 4500 Elite ii.5-10x40 telescopic in Talley Lightweight rings, and headed to the range.
Right out of the box, the burglarize was an adequate shooter. Tikka advertizes a ane-MOA guarantee, and I had a couple factory loads that would hit that marking, or just a bit wider. I was getting an occasional flyer, and a friend recommended an easy fix. Always eager to tinker, I took the communication, and ordered a High Desert Rifle Works aluminum trigger guard/bottom metal for the rifle. It's a simple job to switch out the mill polymer guard for the more rigid High Desert model, and it made a definite departure in my rifle. Groups dropped from ane- to 1¼-inch down to ⅝-inch—the rifle specially likes the Federal load with the 140-grain Nosler AccuBond bullet—which is more than than a large-game hunter actually needs, only sure builds conviction when it'due south fourth dimension to take the shot. Feeding and extraction were no outcome at all, no matter how fast the rate of fire.
Weighing in at nether 6½ pounds, the Tikka T3x Lite has a street price of right effectually $680, and represents an first-class value. It'southward bachelor in fourth dimension-proven varmint and large-game calibers, has a user-adjustable trigger, the activity is nicely bedded, and it carries like a dream. For those who are drawn to the backcountry, y'all sure go a lot of rifle for the money with the Tikka T3x Lite.
Technical Specifications
• Action: bolt-activeness repeater, push feed
• Calibers: .204 Ruger, .222 Remington, .223 Remington, .22-250 Remington, .243 Winchester, .25-06 Remington, 6.5 Creedmoor, .260 Remington, 6.5x55 Swede, .270 Winchester, .270 WSM, 7mm-08 Remington (tested), 7mm Remington Magnum, .308 Winchester, .30-06 Springfield, .300 Winchester Magnum, .300 WSM
• Weight: < 6.5 lbs. unscoped
• Stock: black polymer
• Barrel: xx″-24″, depending on chambering; blued steel
• LOP: fourteen"
• Magazine Capacity: 3 (in 7mm-08 Rem.)
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Source: https://www.americanhunter.org/content/review-tikka-t3x-lite/
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