What version of Tikka for hunting/long range shooting

Desertrat

Desertrat

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I have been mulling over which Tikka to get for hunting and thought I had settled on a T3 in 7mm for my go too rifle for everything from deer to moose and out to decent distances like 400-500 yards out here on the prairies.

My reg hunting rifle has been a Rem mountain rifle in 280 and my longer range shooting/hunting rifle is a HS precision HTR in 300 Win.

I want to develop my shooting ability out to ranges of around 1000 yds or so. My dilemma is that I don't have a ton of time to for 2 rifle platforms right now and I saw the Tikka Varmint in 7mm and it got me to thinking.

How about a rifle like that to fulfill both expectations?
But is that the best Tikka for the job? What caliber 7mm, 300 Win? I'd like that it can be put into an excellent chassis like a Cadex so there are options to use AI mags. I will be reloading for it so that is a consideration.

What caliber and model of Tikka should I choose and why? The rifle weight in the field doesn't bother me a ton. I carry the HTR all day out hunting but I'd like something a few lbs lighter.
 
My friend was mulling this over too, and he's looking at a Tikka SS Varmint in 260 Rem. The SS will be good for all weather conditions while you're hunting, and since you're planning to put it in a chassis, I assume weight won't matter too much for you.
As for the caliber, the ballistics of a 6.5mm projectile is great for long range target shooting, and packs quite a bit of punch for hunting.
 
I had given some thought to the 260, I wasn't sure if I wanted to be using it on large animals. I have fair experience with the caliber on deer and I love it. Great ballistics and very manageable recoil.
 
Well, for long range, it's not the rifle itself that matters... It's more the scope and the caliber.

The fact is on "target" rifles often use a bull (heavy) barrel, so you can shoot longers strings of rounds before having hot barrel grouping issues.

The bullet will travel 1km regardless of what "kind" of tikka you choose. But you MUST see clearly the target in order to take the shot, which means the scope is what defines the range of your Platform.

Dark
 
Good point, I'm not worried about a scope at this point. When I decide on the model and caliber I will put an appropriate scope on it that can handle the distance.

A hesitation of mine is the length of barrel on the Tikka Varmint. I'd like another 1" or 2" over the 23.6" for max velocity at distance.

But that raises another point. A scope designed for distance isn't as practical for crawling through brush and the rigors of hunting.
And choosing a appropriate reticule..................
 
So you want 1000 yards precision, zero compromise on energy, since 23 inch is "too short". Yet you expect "crawling through a bush and rigors of hunting'.

I think it's wishful a thinking on your part. Tikka Varmint in Cadex would be over 6 kg scoped, with bipod probably close to 7 kg.
 
Desertrat said:
Good point, I'm not worried about a scope at this point. When I decide on the model and caliber I will put an appropriate scope on it that can handle the distance.

A hesitation of mine is the length of barrel on the Tikka Varmint. I'd like another 1" or 2" over the 23.6" for max velocity at distance.

But that raises another point. A scope designed for distance isn't as practical for crawling through brush and the rigors of hunting.
And choosing a appropriate reticule..................
Click to expand...
Well, I did use my "tactical" scope for hunting, and was not dissapointed. I only have a Vortex PST 6-24x, a low end scope, to hunt coyotes. At low magnification, the field of view is good enough, and the reticle is very well suited for quick hold off (instead of using turrets). I would use it also for deer hunting, as long as you don't have to walk 4-5km to go to your hunting spot, because the Platform is heavy.

Dark
 
What you are looking for (hunting and long range) in my opinion can be achieved with what you are looking at. BUT, you are compromissing so hard.

Just hear me out, typicaly hunting is a 3-9 or 4-12 scope. You really do want that low end zoom. I have had hunted with a 6-24 powered scope and hated it. That 6x zoom is way too much when pushing bush. Now having a go at precision shooting, i've learned really fast that the awkward stocks and heavy barrels are a pain in the ass. A nice light weight and comfortable rifle goes a long way when your carrying it all day.

Now shooting long range. Upto a 1000yards. Your going to want something a lot better then a 9x or 12x scope, and defenetly want something on the heavier side. Stable bipod, large scope, heavy barrel, a comfortable stock for shooting from the prone. Which really leads to a heavy and bulky setup.

You can do what you are looking for, but i really rhink you are much better off to buy two rifles. You can have them in the same caliber, but keep one light weight, short, and comfortable. And the other build it up for bench.

Let us know how things go. Have fun
 
I agree with the 6x magnification being too high for hunting. A lot of the time 3x is plenty for most situations.

2 rifles in the same caliber is a great idea, especially for reloading too.
 
Tikka long action Cadex chassis's don't use AI mags they use factory mags. You could go with a 6.5 saum, 6.5 x300wsm, 7x300wsm or a normal 300wsm which do fit in a short action chassis but have a greater charge with good accuracy.
 
The T3X Tac in .300Win., 600mm barrel (only 23.7" barrel unfortunately), about 3.7kg (or just over 8.1lbs. w/o optics or bi-pod) so maybe 10-11lbs. ready?
It might not have all the boxes checked, but should do most things you want and well. Although in all honesty I'm not very familiar with the .300Win. Rd. other then a brief search netting me several shooters stating that the 6.5CM/.260 is hands down the better target shooter out to 1,000Yds+ and also cheaper to reload; yet many go on to praise the .300Win. for it's greater knockdown power.

So then the question is, at what distances do you plan to hunt very large game?
If Moose (or other large game) at 500Yds.+ is the goal then the .300Win. might be the choice, no? Of course those who know say the winds are everything at 1,000+Yds. and that's where the 6.5CM has a distinct advantage (not saying it's a superior hunting round at a 1,000Yds. just more accurate).
Saying that, shot placement is very important to hunting especially the farther you reach out to.

Just figured since you're already familiar with the rounds capabilities and have experience with it for target shooting and hunting as your HTR in the same calibre, maybe you might even have some reloading ideas on it plus the right reloading kit etc.?

Now I've heard optics are very important at 1,000Yds. and for sure that's true (but, doesn't that just come down to the thickness of your wallet and some good old research for the most part), however so is getting the right ergonomics with respect to the fitment of the rifle to the shooter...
The T3X Tac should be able to offer that with an adjustable comb plus length of pull too.

So those who know more then I (which should be everyone who's already posted on the topic) what say thee., other then the barrel length is this a bad pick?

Cheers D
 
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I think the 6.5's are a little light for 1,000 yard shooting on animals bigger than deer. 300wm especially for the 200gr plus bullets like hornady's eld-x is perfect. But then you get a lot of recoil, so 7mm seems to be the compromise. For the heavy 30 cal bullets their BC matches or exceeds the 7's BC. But, the 7rem mag loses a lot of ummph at 1,000 yards (but gunwerks have a lot of success with it at those ranges).

The 28 nosler and other similar cartridges don't have that problem but they are very overbore and their barrel life is short. So, ideally, you need two rifles. One like .308 or .223 with long barrel life to practice and one barrel burner for LR hunting. The nice thing about pic rails is that your scope, providing it's the right height, you can swap your scope between the 2. Bit of a pain in the arse, but way cheaper than buying 2 expensive scopes.

That's my two cents.
 
Here's the 1,000 yard data

300wm, 220gr eld-x at 2985fps (the tikka 300wm might be out of the running because they don't have a 1:10 twist that you need to stabilize the 220gr eld-x)
1,000 yards: 22.26 moa of drop; 4.16 moa of wind in a 3 o'clock 10mph wind; 1,892 ft-lbs of energy

6.5 Creedmoor, 140gr at 2,710 fps (.260 rem will be a little faster, by 50 to 100fps):
1,000 yards: 31.51 moa of drop; 6.53 moa of wind, 3 o'clock 10mph wind; 694 ft-lbs of energy.

The .300wm delivers nearly 3x the energy at 1,000 yards. The 7rem mag will be less, but more than the 6.5mm.

When people say the 6.5 beats the 300wm they are usually using 190gr 300wm ammo to compare against. Then in terms of wind, the 6.5 wins. But when you use a 220gr plus bullet, the high bc of the .30 more than beats the similar bc of the 6.5 140gr, due to the heavier .30 cal bullet being launched at a higher initial velocity.

I'd recommend playing with the numbers a bit. I usually start with the bullet, like the 220gr eld-x, or the 230gr berger, then I find various cartridges that will work with that bullet to find the initial velocities, then I plug the numbers into bc apps, like vortex's LRBC or the G7 ballistic app. Then I can compare the actual values.

Just a side note, to get a .300wm to shoot the high bc bullets, you may have to get your chamber custom throated. I had one done and I loaded a dummy round with the bullet length that I wanted (so I could pack max loads of powder with the heavy bullets). The reloading manual for the 300wm, and all of the standards in terms of chamber specs and mag specs, all load the 300wm too short. So, I gave the gunsmith my dummy round, loaded with the bullet I wanted, and a .30 cal krieger barrel blank with a 1:10 twist, and I was good to go. It sounds more intimidating than it actually was.

Good luck!
 
For what its worth I went with a Tikka T3 SS Varmint in 7mm RM and love it. I put
It it in a Boyds tactical stock and attached an adjustable cheek piece. Metal bolt shroud and
Swept bolt handle. I also use a tactical scope so overall weight is not on the light side but I'm used to
Carrying heavier rifles so it doesn't bother me. It also has a muzzle brake and just absolutely shoots!
Last year before hunting season and after .5 moa results at the range I tested it out to just shy of 600yrds
And it was still at .5moa as groups were 3". I was using 168g Berger VLD bullets. First trip out with I managed
To drop a real nice 5 point whitetail. Only about 135 yards but standing unsupported and didn't even feel the weight when your focussing
On other things lol. Next I'm going to try some new 162g ELD X bullets and see how they work.

Good luck
 
my choice went on the 300 WM but built on a tac300 action and 28'' pipe.
200 nosler accubound are extremely effective on moose and for the scope I use a weaver tactical 3-15(FFP, illum. and locking turrets)
 
I like the sounds of your rifle, I think for sure I'm going the T3 300Win varmint route but I'm thinking about if I want it in a chassis or stock.

Could you send me a photo of your 7mm in the Boyd's? I'd like to see how it looks.

Cheers

Father Hood said:
For what its worth I went with a Tikka T3 SS Varmint in 7mm RM and love it. I put
It it in a Boyds tactical stock and attached an adjustable cheek piece. Metal bolt shroud and
Swept bolt handle. I also use a tactical scope so overall weight is not on the light side but I'm used to
Carrying heavier rifles so it doesn't bother me. It also has a muzzle brake and just absolutely shoots!
Last year before hunting season and after .5 moa results at the range I tested it out to just shy of 600yrds
And it was still at .5moa as groups were 3". I was using 168g Berger VLD bullets. First trip out with I managed
To drop a real nice 5 point whitetail. Only about 135 yards but standing unsupported and didn't even feel the weight when your focussing
On other things lol. Next I'm going to try some new 162g ELD X bullets and see how they work.

Good luck
Click to expand...
 
CTR. In 308 or 260 good to hunt to 400 yds and hit steel to 700 and up to 1000 on a good day . Short and handy for hunting , not to heavy . Nice features for targets .
E6sMwRP.jpg
 
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