Do Tikka's (or others with plastic parts) stand up in the cold?

Like there are different types of metal; there are different types of plastic, or polymer materials. To call something plastic, and assume that it is the same as the stuff that is used in kids toys, is to assume wrong. Plastics are a material, like metal and wood. You surely woulden't want a reciever made out of die cast metal lioke on your matchbox cars; though it's a metal, it's the wrong metal.
I have a Sako Quad, which has more in common with the Tikka, then any other Sako. It came stock with the plasic bolt shroud, plastic bolt handle, and plastic floorplate. This is my shoot a lot rifle, and being so, I shot it a lot with those components on before I had the bolt handle and floorplate changed over to metal components. I didn't change them over for fear that they where going to break, but because having aluminum and steel in those places feels more satisfying then the stock plastic parts.
There are plenty of people that say that the "tupperwear" stocks don't hold up, but field use has proven different. They have probably proven to be the most reliable stocks that you can put on a gun. Can they become more brittle in extreamly cold weather.......yes, but so can metal. I';d personally worry more about the material that my barrel is made out of then the material that my stock is made out of in that environment. BTW, apparently there is a reason why militaries don't use stainless barrels; in severe cold, they can become weak.
Mike
 
Tika's have a plastic bolt shroud, a plastic mag and trigger gaurd. The "plastic" is actualy some type of composite.

Other than that they are the same as any other steel gun. The whole "plastic" thing is over hyped.


I love mine in the cold and that is what I use it for. It's BETTER than a cold ass steel floorplated rifle in your hand all day.

I have lots of guns to choose from. I always pick the Tika if it is cold or wet or both.
 
Tikkas are not my thing, but I have a few buddies that carry them. I have only seen one magazine break, but that was due to operator stupidity, when he did the Magnum PI magazine slap.
 
TheTooner said:
From a Finnish Meterological Institute website:

"...The coldest day of winter is usually well after perihelion, at the end of January everywhere except the maritime islands and coastal regions, where the slower cooling of the sea delays the coldest period until the beginning of February. The coldest temperatures in winter are from -45°C to -50°C in Lapland and eastern Finland; from -35°C to -45°C elsewhere; and -25°C to -35°C over islands and coastal regions. The lowest temperature recorded in Helsinki is -34.3°C (1987). The lowest temperature recorded at any weather station in Finland as of 2010 is -51.5°C (1999). ..."

That doesn't guarantee that Tikka built the T3 to stand up to Yukon cold, but it does suggest rather strongly that the Finns cope with cold as a matter of routine and would have developed the technical capability to make their manufactured goods suitable for use in cold conditions.

Without independent testing or even specific assertions from the manufacturer about cold weather perfomance, I would bet on a Tikka before a Remington, Savage, Weatherby, etc. and I haven't heard any stories of plastics used on those brands breaking due to cold.
Click to expand...

Perhaps I didn't do the proper research. here is some, current as well.

The Weather Network
Statistics: Helsinki-Vantaa, Finland

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Latitude: 60.19N Longitude: 024.58E Altitude: 56m

Temperature °C

J F M A M J J A S O N D
Maximum -3 -3 1 7 15 20 21 20 14 8 2 -1
Minimum -9 -9 -6 0 4 9 12 11 6 2 -2 -6
Mean -6 -6 -2 3 10 15 17 15 10 5 0 -3
The weather statistics displayed here represent the mean value of each meteorological parameter for each month of the year. The sampling period for this data covers 30 years from 1961 to 1990.

This is what I based my response on. I figured 30 yrs was good.

Sorry, the table didn't come over very well. But it basically says that for the past 30yrs, the avg temp in Jan and Feb was -9C. Times I was in Norway during the winter wasn't all that bad as well.
 
Now I fear for all the lives of our soldiers with their plastic stocked C7 and C8 rifles in our winters. And I won't be able to sleep thinking about all the plastic Glocks our brave policemen carry in Canada....
 
I bought my two T3 rifles in the Laminat Stainless model............no issues and it was -33 degrees Celcius when I took a large cow elk. I have hunted with a friend's Varmint Stainless 22-250 for coyotes and wolves.

I personally do not care for the Tikka T3 synthetic stock that why I went with the laminate. No comparrision IMO to a Sako m7 synthetic stock.
 
Metal gets brittle when it's cold too.
Nothing wrong with "plastic" guns.

Also look at the new 10/22 trigger gaurds. They're plastic and are tougher than the old metal ones. On the other hand, hockey sticks are made out of "plastic" too, some type of graphite composite. I know if they get left outside in -20 weather, they are more likely to break, than if they are left inside where it's warm.

I wouldn't worry about the Tikka. Last year I hunted buffalo with my Dad. -35 for a week with Benelli R1's that were strapped to the side of skidoo's in soft cases. No damage, and functioned fine when they had to. They're about as plastic as a gun can get.
 
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