New to me Tikka T3

Ian

Notorious member
All dressed up now with a suppressor-mount muzzle brake, DNZ Gamereaper low scope mount, and shiny new Leupold VX-3i 3.5-10x40. The whole rig weighs six pounds, nine ounces which is gonna make it a little "spirited" with full-power .30-'06 loads.

Got some Accurate 31-188G bullets hardening up after powder coating, can't wait to see how it shoots.

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Ian

Notorious member
I know, gotta roll the dadgum thing over to watch a cartridge feed. But....it's awful nice for a hunting rifle to have the bolt in the right place for which shoulder the rifle is mounted. This is going to be my new hunting rifle when not going after pigs with the LR-308, really wanted something walnut and blued steel again, lightweight, and suppressible (unlike my featherweight deluxe .270 that also has the bolt on the wrong side).
 

Glaciers

Alaska Land of the Midnight Sun
It's great people are out enjoying firearms, so don't get me wrong. There's a lot of precision that go into modern firearms, but, the craftsmanship of the gloss blued, wood stocked, hand fitted and checkered, are still out there, but, not as appreciated as it once was. Evolution. I'm on the short list to extinction.
 

Spindrift

Well-Known Member
Congrats! Really nice rifle and scope!
Tikka T3 is a really good rifle. I bet this will be a happy marriage!
 

Winelover

North Central Arkansas
Ruger LH blue steel and walnut Model 77 chambered in 270 W.


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Winchester LH Model 70 Classic, 338 Winchester Magnum. HS Precision stock with mercury recoil suppressor.

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The wooden stock, with Monte Carlo cheek piece, is around here somewhere. Would resemble this RH Model 70 Classic Featherweight chambered in 243 Winchester, bought for Cindy whose's right handed. The Classic line, introduced in the early nineties were all control round feed.

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Personally, I like the walnut and stainless look, over the blue. I've shot them both ways, but prefer the handle on the left side.
 

Glaciers

Alaska Land of the Midnight Sun
Nice rifles posted here.
Winelover the Winchester Featherweight is my favorite bolt gun. Good combination of weight and looks. For me they also just fit correctly coming up. The stainless walnut combination you have there is a favorite of mine right behind the blue steel featherweight.
I used to take party's out for spring black bear hunts on my vessel KnightHawk, in Prince William Sound. We would do a live aboard for usually 5 days, which included meals sleeping quarters and a skiff ride from the vessel to shore for the hunt. I will point out I was not a guide. So I would drop off and go back to KnighHawk and of course stay in radio contact if a need would arise.
So the problem I have is looking back at my clients, as they are pairing up and heading out for there hunting, you could always see the reflection of the stainless rifles. The more matted the finish the less shine. But, there was still a shine. This shine was the only unusual item out there, and it stood out from just about any distance you had line of sight.
Having said that, the environment you hunt in would make a difference as well.
I do own a stainless Savage 116 in 338, actually a very fine carry rifle, other than that everything else is blue steel. One of the nicest Winchester Featherweight's I've seen, and unfortunately only in a picture, is the stainless maple combination. The Tikka is a rifle I have on the list, but...... I like them, just can't seem to find a light weight, and caliber combination when I have money..
 

Ian

Notorious member
Mine is not the lightweight version but is under 5.5 lbs without a scope or mounts, how light does it have to be?

My only complaint about the T3 so far is the comb shape doesn't fit my face at all. While as was saif the M70 featherweight seems to fit just about everyone.

I once bought a brand new M70 Classic, LH .30-'06, one of the very last ones off the production line. Great design but total failure of fit, assembly, and finish. It was so bad I traded it away. If I had it back I would rebarrel it, finish the polishing on the receiver and reblue it, put a Timney trigger in it, polish the safety detents, bush the firing pin, and pillar-bed the action. I've been eyeing the FNs ever since they took over but they are quite spendy.

A LH M70 featherweight deluxe CRF in 6.5x55, 7mm-08, 7x57, or even 6.5 CM would be pretty high on my list of "nearly perfect rifles".
 

Glaciers

Alaska Land of the Midnight Sun
Ian that sounds like a light weight model to me. The Winchester Featherweight rifle is just under 7 if I remember. Not really a featherweight, but not bad. 5.5, under 7 by the time you get it all up in an 06 will get your attention with the heavyweights.
 
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Glaciers

Alaska Land of the Midnight Sun
The Swede, 7x57 as well as the 257 Roberts are on the list for me. I think they put the Roberts in the short action, which is a mistake if they did
 
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Ole_270

Well-Known Member
I have one of the last of the New Haven Fwts in 243. Had trouble with the safety, Trigger pull changed drastically if the safety had been on first.,so sent it to a smith. He called back and called it a POS, insisted that he put a Rifle Basics trigger in it. It's been fairly finicky but I've got loads for coyotes and deer/antelope that run MOA or under. Took my largest Whitetail with it, 176 B&C gross. I keep thinking if that 243 barrel goes south I'll put a 257 Roberts on it since the short action M70 can be stretched to 3" length by shortening the bolt stop and removing the magazine block..
Also bought an early version of the South Carolina Fwt, this one in 7-08. They sure changed the stock, more girth in the wrist and more of a painted on stain/varnish. Shoots the 140 Partition over Big Game well, as well as the 139 Interlock and 120 Ballistic Tips.
 

Winelover

North Central Arkansas
Winelover the Winchester Featherweight is my favorite bolt gun. Good combination of weight and looks. For me they also just fit correctly coming up. The stainless walnut combination you have there is a favorite of mine right behind the blue steel featherweight.

Cindy also owns it's big brother..................in 308 Winchester.
 
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Rockydoc

Well-Known Member
I can count on one hand the number of range regulars, including myself, who shoot walnut and blued steel rifles.
Count me! My favorite deer rifle is a Kimber Classic M84 in .260 Remington. I don't have any black rifles nor any synthetic parts. No plastic pistols either. A gun has to be pretty as well as accurate for me to like it.
 

Ian

Notorious member
Those T3s are NICE RIFLES.

They really are. Simple, well-made, relatively inexpensive, elegant. Stuff on them just works, nothing needs to be stoned, polished, lapped, greased, re-bedded, re-inletted, or broken in. The safety is smooth, the bolt raceways are slick, the trigger is flawless, better than many expensive, aftermarket ones I have on other rifles.
There isn't a machine mark on the rifle anywhere. I looked at every nook and cranny and the machining and finish is flawless. The stock inletting is perfect. The checkering looks cut but it must be by machine because if the pattern was done by hand it would cost more than the rifle, and it too is without the slightest imperfection. The rifle is so well made that it is positively BORING.