Tikka T3 CTR.

cwblackwell88 said:
I have one I got it off of Wolverine, I tried Grouse river with no luck, I believe Reliable Gun and Al flahertys had them in stock when I was shopping over a month ago.

I slapped a Leupold Mark 4 4-14X50 with ARMS quick release extra low rings on I had lying around and put about 80 rounds downrange through sighting it in and plinking at various ranges on steel my first day out with it. I have not tried many brands of ammo or done any real accuracy testing but it shoots my Hornady Superperformance 165 SST with no problem at all, and still managed to ring the steel plater out to 300 yds with Surplus American Eagle 150 grain. I wish I could tell you more for accuracy but I got it right before hunting season and sighted it in on a deer target then went to an 8 inch steel plate for further distances.

I carried it for my hunting trip this year and was impressed by the weight, however keep in mind I usually tote around a Remington 700/ Mcmillan stock, Nightforce 3.5-15X50. After using it on the trip and getting hit with some heavy snow I am happy to say no surface rust or anything appeared, I did oil the gun but I treated it the same as I would any other rifle and have witnessed the light rusting after a trip before. I am not sure what finish the give the receiver, but it works well from experience.

Now this is my first Tikka rifle, so it may not be a surprise to some of you but I will say about the rifle action that it is very smooth, and by far my favorite trigger over the new AI AT .308 I had for a short while. I don't think I will be going back to a Remington/Savage and plan on running with Tikkas from now on, but thats just my personal opinion and who knows how I will feel once the honeymoon phase is gone. I just cannot get over the fact that for +/- $1000 I got a rifle that has a great 10 Round mag system, smooth action, enlarged bolt knob, threaded muzzle, picatinny rail and trigger that I would never replace. The most I would do to this is a nice Mcmillan/ Manners Stock, but I don't feel the need to rush to get one on it. For the barrel it is a Medium weight, and I would put it at a slightly lower profile than that of a Remington 700 SPS Tactical.

Couple other things I will point out that I did not know from doing research:

1. The enlarged bolt knob is actually a plastic cap that seems to go on the metal bolt knob, it has a slight ridge. At first I thought of it as a "cheap" way to give the rifle an englarged bolt knob, but when using it with gloves I actually really liked the ridge for a little extra surface to grip.
2. The rifle came with a spacer system installed that I removed to shorten the length of pull.

Now I just need to get another magazine which I have heard are Sako TRG mags, probably a nice low profile Muzzle Brake, possibly an ATRS, and might put a slightly "lower profile" scope on it if I keep this one as my hunting rifle. Here is a picture for something to look at, if you have any questions about the rifle feel free to ask:

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Thanks so much for the review. I want this as my hunting and precision play rifle. I am relay looking for info on accuracy on this thing as with the middle weight barrel I would expect it to be rather accurate at decent ranges. What did you think of the mag overall vs other mags you have tried. I would love to hear how it compares to stock tika mags but you said this is your first rifle. How was the recoil on this thing ?? wife can be a it recoil sensitive. She will end up with a left handed tikka but not sure which version or caliber so recoil info off these is always good info.
 
GT_Hawk said:
Thanks so much for the review. I want this as my hunting and precision play rifle. I am relay looking for info on accuracy on this thing as with the middle weight barrel I would expect it to be rather accurate at decent ranges. What did you think of the mag overall vs other mags you have tried. I would love to hear how it compares to stock tika mags but you said this is your first rifle. How was the recoil on this thing ?? wife can be a it recoil sensitive. She will end up with a left handed tikka but not sure which version or caliber so recoil info off these is always good info.
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Well actually My brother-in-law brought out a Tikka T3 lite so I did play with the mag. To me it just felt like a flimsy magazine seeing as it was plastic, but I never saw him have any issues with it at all so I have nothing bad to say about it. The magazine on the CTR is very well built and I would put it right in line with the new 10 round AX magazines for Accuracy international. I love that it is double stack and for a short length you can easily fit 10 rounds in it that feed the same from the first to the last round. The magazine release is in a much better position on the CTR and you could easily drop the mag and reload without canting the rifle or lifted it when prone.

I am sure this will forfill most shooters accuracy needs, I wish a kept the target I sighted in for you too see, but 5 round string were all touching and I would say within an inch.

For recoil it isnt to bad, it does not come with a very soft recoil pad and definetely jumps you off target I noticed. I think a limbsaver and Muzzle brake will help this, and I remember thinking the same thing when I started a build on my first Remington with a 20 inch barrel. The recoil was noticeably lighter than my friends Browning A-bolt with the same profile barrel in .308. I am not sure why as they both felt to be about the same weight, but it was much more uncomfortable to shoot for me. that is however my impressions shooting off a bench which is alwasy worse, and out hunting or shooting steel I did not notice the recoil at all.
 
cwblackwell88 said:
I have one I got it off of Wolverine, I tried Grouse river with no luck, I believe Reliable Gun and Al flahertys had them in stock when I was shopping over a month ago.

I slapped a Leupold Mark 4 4-14X50 with ARMS quick release extra low rings on I had lying around and put about 80 rounds downrange through sighting it in and plinking at various ranges on steel my first day out with it. I have not tried many brands of ammo or done any real accuracy testing but it shoots my Hornady Superperformance 165 SST with no problem at all, and still managed to ring the steel plater out to 300 yds with Surplus American Eagle 150 grain. I wish I could tell you more for accuracy but I got it right before hunting season and sighted it in on a deer target then went to an 8 inch steel plate for further distances.

I carried it for my hunting trip this year and was impressed by the weight, however keep in mind I usually tote around a Remington 700/ Mcmillan stock, Nightforce 3.5-15X50. After using it on the trip and getting hit with some heavy snow I am happy to say no surface rust or anything appeared, I did oil the gun but I treated it the same as I would any other rifle and have witnessed the light rusting after a trip before. I am not sure what finish the give the receiver, but it works well from experience.

Now this is my first Tikka rifle, so it may not be a surprise to some of you but I will say about the rifle action that it is very smooth, and by far my favorite trigger over the new AI AT .308 I had for a short while. I don't think I will be going back to a Remington/Savage and plan on running with Tikkas from now on, but thats just my personal opinion and who knows how I will feel once the honeymoon phase is gone. I just cannot get over the fact that for +/- $1000 I got a rifle that has a great 10 Round mag system, smooth action, enlarged bolt knob, threaded muzzle, picatinny rail and trigger that I would never replace. The most I would do to this is a nice Mcmillan/ Manners Stock, but I don't feel the need to rush to get one on it. For the barrel it is a Medium weight, and I would put it at a slightly lower profile than that of a Remington 700 SPS Tactical.

Couple other things I will point out that I did not know from doing research:

1. The enlarged bolt knob is actually a plastic cap that seems to go on the metal bolt knob, it has a slight ridge. At first I thought of it as a "cheap" way to give the rifle an englarged bolt knob, but when using it with gloves I actually really liked the ridge for a little extra surface to grip.
2. The rifle came with a spacer system installed that I removed to shorten the length of pull.

Now I just need to get another magazine which I have heard are Sako TRG mags, probably a nice low profile Muzzle Brake, possibly an ATRS, and might put a slightly "lower profile" scope on it if I keep this one as my hunting rifle. Here is a picture for something to look at, if you have any questions about the rifle feel free to ask:

322123.jpg
Click to expand...
Thanks for the review, Reliable has not had them in stock.

You may want to look at the MDT chassis for the tikka, It converts it over to AICS mags as well which are cheaper then TRG. I am also hoping the LSS chassis will have a weight savings over the factory stock.
I am waiting for one with a set trigger so It might be a while.
 
Brian46 said:
Thanks for the review, Reliable has not had them in stock.

You may want to look at the MDT chassis for the tikka, It converts it over to AICS mags as well which are cheaper then TRG. I am also hoping the LSS chassis will have a weight savings over the factory stock.
I am waiting for one with a set trigger so It might be a while.
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I have never done much shooting with a set trigger, but it would be interesting to try out. One more plus for some shooters if you can get a CTR with a set trigger in this price range

Never been a huge fan of the AICS mags, just always seem to have problems with them personally. After using the TRG mag, for the extra price I will try to keep to these double stack 10 round magazines as I really like how short they are and I only need a couple to keep me happy.

When I do decide to buy a stock I will go a more traditional stock and hopefully be able to get it inletted for the bottom metal that comes with the Tikka T3 CTR. I havent done much research on a stock replacement, but I would guess it will be some time before Mcmillan or any others have thar offering. I do like the the look of the Extended foreend MDT LSS picture with an extended rail or nightvision rail that are popping up so maybe I will give that a try in the meantime while I wait if it comes out for the tikka soon.
 
cwblackwell88 said:
I have never done much shooting with a set trigger, but it would be interesting to try out. One more plus for some shooters if you can get a CTR with a set trigger in this price range

Never been a huge fan of the AICS mags, just always seem to have problems with them personally. After using the TRG mag, for the extra price I will try to keep to these double stack 10 round magazines as I really like how short they are and I only need a couple to keep me happy.

When I do decide to buy a stock I will go a more traditional stock and hopefully be able to get it inletted for the bottom metal that comes with the Tikka T3 CTR. I havent done much research on a stock replacement, but I would guess it will be some time before Mcmillan or any others have thar offering. I do like the the look of the Extended foreend MDT LSS picture with an extended rail or nightvision rail that are popping up so maybe I will give that a try in the meantime while I wait if it comes out for the tikka soon.
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The set trigger adds to the cost but it is still cheaper that a regular tactical version. I first got it on my Sauer and now I want it on all my rifles.

MDT is making their own polymer version of the AICS mags so they may be better? I figure it is worth a try, no modifications are required so you can always go back to stock if it sucks or you don't like it (that is my reasoning)
 
Bought one of these beasts from Italian Sporting Goods in Vancouver yesterday, so far it's all smooth and beautiful. Hopefully hitting range soon and i will also report back.
 
Brian46 said:
still looking for a 308 from a dealer willing to work with me on getting one with a set trigger or sending a std model to Stoeger to have their smith install the factory set trigger
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Did you talk to Clay at Prophet River? Likely he can find one and import it for you. The guys looking for a .260 might try him too.
I've got one (.308) coming via the import route, and it should be at my door this week. It was only a 3 week wait I think. I gave up on GR for this rifle, but I will say they are very helpful there.
Every other dealer I talked to including GR said very late spring 2015 at the earliest.
 
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popcan said:
Did you talk to Clay at Prophet River? Likely he can find one and import it for you. The guys looking for a .260 might try him too.
I've got one (.308) coming via the import route, and it should be at my door this week. It was only a 3 week wait I think. I gave up on GR for this rifle, but I will say they are very helpful there.
Every other dealer I talked to including GR said very late spring 2015 at the earliest.
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I believe I did but it was a while ago, they didn't have amy and I assume none with the set trigger were found or they would have contacted me.

My plans were to put it in a chassis but it also appears that the chassis is not a weight savings over the factory stock so I think I will be going a different route than the tikka.
 
Question:

Does the CTR have the wide fore-end similar to the T3 Tactical or T3 Varmint or does it have a thiner profile like those on the T3 Hunters?
 
Not my style of rifle but was just flipping through the 2015 Canadian Catalog and the 260 Rem version is not listed - 308 only.

Don't know if it didn't take off and Tikka discontinued it or the Canadian importer just isn't bothering (and the importer I'm referring to is Stoeger - not aware if anyone else is importing??)

The listed MSRP for 2015 for the 308 CTR is $1124 - now this was done up a little while back (catalog that is) and assume the trade is done in Yank dollars at least at import level, so price may be higher when they actually get here since the margins on Tikka's is razor thin to begin with if the seller sticks to the MSRP as the max price. (Stoeger has yet to give availability or delivery dates, at least as of today).
 
galamb said:
Not my style of rifle but was just flipping through the 2015 Canadian Catalog and the 260 Rem version is not listed - 308 only.

Don't know if it didn't take off and Tikka discontinued it or the Canadian importer just isn't bothering (and the importer I'm referring to is Stoeger - not aware if anyone else is importing??)

The listed MSRP for 2015 for the 308 CTR is $1124 - now this was done up a little while back (catalog that is) and assume the trade is done in Yank dollars at least at import level, so price may be higher when they actually get here since the margins on Tikka's is razor thin to begin with if the seller sticks to the MSRP as the max price. (Stoeger has yet to give availability or delivery dates, at least as of today).
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How is Stoeger not be able to give availability dates, yet they have already shipped them out to canadian retailers and people are buying them?

Jim Rock said:
Bought one of these beasts from Italian Sporting Goods in Vancouver yesterday, so far it's all smooth and beautiful. Hopefully hitting range soon and i will also report back.
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My rep at Stoeger, today, sent an email saying he didn't have availability yet - if some other retailer has an inside track or a better rep, are higher on the supply chain hierarchy or whatever I can't answer to that.

And I don't know if the model bought "yesterday" was from last years stock or the 2015 release. While I have a lot of orders in to all of the suppliers I buy from, none have firmed up the numbers on the orders yet - Stoeger is just one a few that hasn't told me "how many I can expect" yet.
 
galamb said:
My rep at Stoeger, today, sent an email saying he didn't have availability yet - if some other retailer has an inside track or a better rep, are higher on the supply chain hierarchy or whatever I can't answer to that.

And I don't know if the model bought "yesterday" was from last years stock or the 2015 release. While I have a lot of orders in to all of the suppliers I buy from, none have firmed up the numbers on the orders yet - Stoeger is just one a few that hasn't told me "how many I can expect" yet.
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My post was more directed to Stoeger than yourself. I contacted Italian/International before the new year about the rifle and they contacted Stoeger and same story you got, yet somehow they recieved the rifles shortly there after to be selling them now.

It seems to be a case of the left hand does not know what the right is doing or they just don't care to look in to it.

Grouse river was a similar situation, they had no eta for the CTR they were pre selling at $930 when I called and then only a few short weeks later people were picking them up.
 
The sticker on the box said it's from Stoeger. I purchased the rifle on January 6th. From what the guys at Italian said they received it a couple days before, they hadn't even put it on the shelf. I inquired about ti and they had to dig it up for the basement. Sounds like a real Cluster F*** going on with Stoeger and shops. I guess I was just very lucky.... Good luck to anyone waiting on one!
 
Stoeger is just the distributer, not the manufacturer and often times don't know what they will be getting until the boxes are in their warehouse and they do an inventory count. They are just the messenger so don't shoot them!
 
So true.

Stoeger still hasn't even given me availability yet "for anything", much less any of the Tikka's.

I have an order for 218 rifles/shotguns into one of my other suppliers (for stuff that was "scheduled" to be availble to ship by months end) and as of today they only have received 32 of what I ordered.

Now the general word is "availability" for both guns and ammo should be good this year, but given the past couple of years, 15% of orders being filled, would be "good".

I'm not holding my breath..
 
As I mentioned, after hearing "late spring 2015, maybe" .... I spoke to the nice people at Prophet River, and they brought one in from stateside within three weeks. It's in my hot little hands now. Very small premium to import it, I'm very happy!

btw the stock feels much more solid than the regular t3 synthetic. It is much more like the tactical stocks. Not at all flimsy or hollow feeling. Unfortunately it will be a while before I can shoot it.
 
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