300 WM, Tikka T3X Lite: Accuracy, Experiences, Recommendations?

[grouse]

I will buy that. I just measured my Tikka and it is right at 3.6 but no way it would feed that without some mods. I personally would not be cutting on the trigger and from the factory it still has an 11 twist.

Are you an attorney or just like to banter?

 

[L.Sherm]

If your gonna do all these modifications why dont you just get a custom action then, your probably gonna have the same money into it.

 

[grouse]

If your gonna do all these modifications why dont you just get a custom action then, your probably gonna have the same money into it.

You make a good point.
I love my Remington's and savages and my tikkas. People buy remingtons and do all kinds of custom things to them. I don't know why.
The tikka is the best value of any action, in my opinion. And the mods I'm referring to can be made by anyone with patience and few small files.

 

[L.Sherm]

My point is there is a diminishing return modifying on any factory action by the time you pay somebody to do it. If you can do it all yourself that's one thing then you gotta ask yourself what's your time worth and is it gonna be somebody else will want it if you ever try to sell it.
Alot of people dont like to buy factory actions that have been worked on because there skeptical of the work.

 

[grouse]

My point is there is a diminishing return modifying on any factory action by the time you pay somebody to do it. If you can do it all yourself that's one thing then you gotta ask yourself what's your time worth and is it gonna be somebody else will want it if you ever try to sell it.
Alot of people do like to buy factory actions that have been worked on because there skeptical of the work.

As I said earlier, "you make a good point"

 

[rbTanzan]

Hello all,

I was turned on to the T3X Lite in 300 Win Mag. My hopes are for consistent shots around the 5 or 600 yard mark for hunting purposes, further on steel if possible. What is everyone's experiences with this rifle? Accuracy out to these ranges? Common hunting loads you have found worked? Issues with the rifle? What bullet weights work out of this rifle with the 11 twist? I hunt bear, muley and elk. Also I have heard seating length of bullets is limited the magazine? If so, is it only the magazine that limits length or elsewhere? Any ways around this?

Thank you!

I'm glad to see that you recognize the 11" twist on the Tikka 30 cal rifles. It is not just the 300WM, but the 30-06 and the 308, too. It was for that reason that we chose a Kimber Hunter in 308 over the Tikka as a grandkids rifle. Our family has had several Tikkas and they are excellent rifles. Two 338's with 10" twist, two 270's with 10" twist and a 223Rem with 8" twist.

In 30 cal with an 11"twist and mono-metal bullets you are looking at the 168gn TTSX, the 166gn Hammer Sledgehammer or 152gn Hammer Hunter. They would all make excellent elk bullets and should provide exit holes. 168gn at 3100fps or 152gn at 3300fps should cut through any wind fairly well out to 400-500 yards. Enjoy your rifle, it will probably be an excellent shooter.

When and if you re-barrel you can consider a 300 PRC with a 9.5in twist. The 175gnLRX at 3100fps would only move 14.7" at 500 yards in a 10mph wind. Doable. Meanwhile, your current rig will cover 99% of this.

 

[WildRose]

We will have to agree to disagree. I have lost count of how many animals I have killed or personally witnessed killed with VLDs and the 215 Hybrid is even more deadly. I have killed animals on three different continents with the 215 and most never take another breath after bullet impact. It is impossible to do better than that. I think what you meant to say is YOU PREFER different bullets because the fact is it just does not get better than that unless you are after dangerous game. If that is the case the Tikka most definitely is not the rifle to choose. Regardless of bullet choice it makes zero sense to shoot a small for caliber bullet in the year 2019. If you are picking a large for caliber bullet you will be limiting case capacity with the outdated 3.4" mag box period. By the time you get to a bullet that is not eating capacity in the 300WM in a 3.4" box you are in bullet weights that are available in a 7 rem mag. In that case the 7 rem mag will outrun the 300WM long range due to the higher bc of the 7 bullets. Once again if we were shooting at 200 yards who cares but this is a long range forum.

And I disagree as I am an absolute freak and admittedly so when it comes to terminal performance.

Will they kill game? Sure, if everything goes right but like you say this is a "long range forum" and the further out your target is the lower the likelihood of perfection in every shot.

I bit the Berger bullet like many here, I was not impressed with their terminal performance or how persnickety they are with respect to seating depth and I found better bullets that consistently gave me the terminal performance and accuracy I prefer.

 

[WildRose]

As I said earlier, "you make a good point"

Yes but keep in mind we have a lot of very budget minded guys here who have to start with what they can afford and then upgrade over time.

We've had some great threads over the years on budget LR rigs and how people have progressed up the ladder with them.

 

[rbTanzan]

The tikka is the best value of any action, in my opinion.

Tikka are certainly special. The first time anyone runs a Tikka bolt, the smoothness almost begs a question, can this safely contain the massive pressures inside an expanding cartridge case? Kimber actions also raise that question when Kimber designs lightweight actions that are dimensionally smaller. I like and use both actions.

How much metal do we want or need around a cartridge? Weatherby has a different answer with the multiple locking lugs. Weatherby and Tikka are push-feed, something irrelevant to the long-range shooter, while Kimber has a control-feed claw-extractor, something still desirable for many of those walking out on a cool morning where buffalo are around.

I make these observations to raise a question, how powerful a cartridge is optimal or maximal for a Tikka action? Factory offerings go up to a 338 Win Mag. How about a 375 Ruger? To really up the ante, what about a round like the 500 AccRel Nyati, a Rigby case shortened for a standard long action? Or a 458 Win Mag or 416 Ruger on a standard .532" case-head? The CZ actions are rough, strong and BIG. Ruger Hawkeyes are big, strong, yet shorter. I don't have experience with the Kimber magnum actions.

Back to the Tikka, does anyone have a rubric for ranking the bolt-thrust capabilities of the various actions? Yes, all the actions on the market are safe, but how safe? At what point is there significant compromise taking place?

 

[WildRose]

Tikka are certainly special. The first time anyone runs a Tikka bolt, the smoothness almost begs a question, can this safely contain the massive pressures inside an expanding cartridge case? Kimber actions also raise that question when Kimber designs lightweight actions that are dimensionally smaller. I like both actions.

How much metal do we want or need around a cartridge? Weatherby has a different answer with the multiple locking lugs. Weatherby and Tikka are push-feed, something irrelevant to the long-range shooter, while Kimber has a control-feed claw-extractor, something still desirable for many of those walking out on a cool morning where buffalo are around.

I make these observations to raise a question, how powerful a cartridge is optimal or maximal for a Tikka action? Factory offerings go up to a 338 Win Mag. How about a 375 Ruger? To really up the ante, what about a round like the 500 AccRel Nyati, a Rigby case shortened for a standard long action? Or a 458 Win Mag or 416 Ruger on a standard .532" case-head? The CZ actions are rough, strong and BIG. Ruger Hawkeyes are big, strong, yet shorter. I don't have experience with the Kimber magnum actions.

Back to the Tikka, does anyone have a rubric for ranking the bolt-thrust capabilities of the various actions? Yes, all the actions on the market are safe, but how safe? At what point is there significant compromise taking place?

Liability concerns in our litigious society pretty well eliminate any of the manufacturers from taking substantial risks with questionably safe actions.

I certainly would not buy a cheap action planning to use it for a base for a big magnum not supported by that manufacturer in their factory actions. If you follow that rule I think you're pretty safe.

 

[rbTanzan]

I certainly would not buy a cheap action planning to use it for a base for a big magnum not supported by that manufacturer in their factory actions. If you follow that rule I think you're pretty safe.

Yes. Exactly. That has been my rule of thumb. While I have considered re-chambering a 338WM as a 338 PRC (AKA 338/375Ruger) I have not really considered doing a 416Ruger on a Tikka. The Ruger Hawkeye seems to be a better platform for the 416 Ruger. If one wants a more robust cartridge than Tikka offers, then one should consider a more robust action, along with the extra pound/pound-and-a-half of weight that comes with the package. My wife likes her 270 Tikka and she puts up with a 375 Ruger Hawkeye Alaskan 20" barrel. The 375 Ruger is noticeably heavier, but it is the price we pay.

 

[L.Sherm]

Yes but keep in mind we have a lot of very budget minded guys here who have to start with what they can afford and then upgrade over time.

We've had some great threads over the years on budget LR rigs and how people have progressed up the ladder with them.

I dont have any of my rifles on custom actions, but if you gotta dump a bunch of money into a factory to get it to do what you want you might as well go custom.
Just pick the cartridge and bullet combo you desire then the action and mag box that fits the best instead of the other way around.
I learned the hard way over the years.

 

[Canhunter35]

I agree with the guys that it's not worth trying to make something into what it's not.
If you already have it, fine, but when you're starting fresh and want to get into long range, a tikka with a wsm is a good option, if op is stuck on the wm, then there r better options

 

[grouse]

I dont have any of my rifles on custom actions, but if you gotta dump a bunch of money into a factory to get it to do what you want you might as well go custom.
Just pick the cartridge and bullet combo you desire then the action and mag box that fits the best instead of the other way around.
I learned the hard way over the years.

i wonder why anyone would build a short mag on a short action? Yes it can be done but is it ideal? Most short actions don't allow for needed mag length.