danmayland
WKR
- Joined
- Dec 28, 2015
- Messages
- 489
Tikka T3 6.5 Creedmoor CTR 24" review
In early February I had the opportunity to pick up two Tikka 6.5 Creedmoor's in the CTR package. I've included an initial
Impression video along with some results and my final opinion on the guns.
The guns cost around $999 MSRP but I picked them up a little cheaper than that.
Unboxing review:
New 2017 Tikka T3X CRT 6.5 Creedmoor - YouTube
As you can see in the video, I'm very pleased with the fit and feel of the gun out of the box. The action is amazingly smooth and I'm very pleased with the ability to customize the bolt handle, bolt shroud and muzzle brake.
Both guns shoot exceptionally well with handloads and I have not tried factory ammo in either one as I hand load for my competition Howa 6.5 CM and didn't feel like spending money on factory ammo when I have all the components needed.
The scope was mounted just to compare colors of the scope to the new cerakote job 
I must admit I have had limited experience with Tikka prior to picking up both these guns. I did some Gunsmithing on one for my taxidermist a few years ago and wasn't all that impressed. After seeing a few at the range and seeing the amazing out of the box accuracy I talked a couple pals in investing in a few. The new CTR certainly changed my mind. It's by far my new favorite factory action and I'll likely never own another Remington 700 action.
Some custom cerakote in Sig Grey
The good, the bad and the ugly:
The good:
As mentioned above; the action is unreal smooth. It just feels good all around and it's known that the tolerances are the best in the industry. The customizable bolt handle and bolt shroud are icing on the cake. The barrel is marketed as a "heavy" barrel but I'd call it more of a medium profile and perfect for hunting or light competition shooting.
The best:
I run my handloads about .010 thou off the lands in my competition Howa 6.5CM. I can run the same loads in the Tikka's with room to spare in the mags. I don't know if any factory 6.5 Creedmorors that can accomplish that!!
The bad:
The stock is really my only complaint of this rifle. It feels good and it's pretty darn light. When I pulled the action and barrel I was very disappointed to learn there was zero pillar bedding. The stock was making significant contact with the barrel for the first 3-3.5 inches out in front of the action. The cheek riser is a good idea but I've yet to see any release of additional cheek risers. The one on the gun looks good but is completely useless. Even with low scope rings using a Leupold vx-3 50mm scope I needed at least a 1/4 more of comb for proper cheek wield. The grip feels good to me but I have huge hands and people with smaller mits might find it cumbersome. Again supposedly it's interchangeable but I haven't seen anything from Tikka. Despite being plastic with no pillars after some modification it shot amazingly well.
The ugly:
The picatinny rail...
Now if you have no desire to remove it just skip this part. However if you plan on running a 20MOA rail or any other rail take note. It's a PITA!!!! It's nearly impossible to remove. Nearly....
If I had to do it all over again I would do this; get some PB Blaster penetrating oil and spray down the four screws holding it in place minus the front screw. Do this from the under side of the rifle with it turned up side down in a vice of sorts. Let that soak for 24-48 hours. Then turn it over and repeat the process on the top screws for 24-48 hours. The. Turn it over and do it again for 24 hours. Next take an iron and place it on top of the rail. Let it heat up the entire rail until it's hot enough to burn you if you touch it. Let the action cool and then using a quality steel tied bit carefully try to remove the screws. If they don't bug and you sense that the screw might strip repeat the above process until they bread free. Once they are removed take the front screw and turn it clockwise effectively prying the rail up and away from the action. Clean up any remaining epoxy with acetone. If your lucky this will work. If not you may have to take it to a quality gunsmith. I ended up having to drill out the screws and retap the action...arg
Final thoughts:
The Tikka T3 6.5 Creedmoor is an exceptional rifle. Total weight without a scope is 7.4 lbs. The accuracy with hand loads ranges between .25-.5 moa for me after the stock modification.
What did I modify? I took a dremel tool with a sanding drum along with some sandpaper and a round dowel to whittle down about 1/8 of material on each side of the stock where the barrel meets the action. The length of material removed was about 3 inches. This completely free floated the barrel and made a positive difference in accuracy.
The first three shot group out of this gun without any modifications:
The next 5 shot group with stock modifications:
Shooting it at 211 yards:
Tikka CTR 6.5 Creedmoor factory gun - YouTube
I wouldn't hesitate to pick up another one or recommend one for obvious reasons. Even though I'm disappointed the stock doesn't have pillars or an aluminum bedding block you can clearly see the results!
I hope this review has helped you or someone you know in the quest for a quality, accurate rifle. If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
In early February I had the opportunity to pick up two Tikka 6.5 Creedmoor's in the CTR package. I've included an initial
Impression video along with some results and my final opinion on the guns.
The guns cost around $999 MSRP but I picked them up a little cheaper than that.
Unboxing review:
New 2017 Tikka T3X CRT 6.5 Creedmoor - YouTube
As you can see in the video, I'm very pleased with the fit and feel of the gun out of the box. The action is amazingly smooth and I'm very pleased with the ability to customize the bolt handle, bolt shroud and muzzle brake.
Both guns shoot exceptionally well with handloads and I have not tried factory ammo in either one as I hand load for my competition Howa 6.5 CM and didn't feel like spending money on factory ammo when I have all the components needed.
I must admit I have had limited experience with Tikka prior to picking up both these guns. I did some Gunsmithing on one for my taxidermist a few years ago and wasn't all that impressed. After seeing a few at the range and seeing the amazing out of the box accuracy I talked a couple pals in investing in a few. The new CTR certainly changed my mind. It's by far my new favorite factory action and I'll likely never own another Remington 700 action.
The good, the bad and the ugly:
The good:
As mentioned above; the action is unreal smooth. It just feels good all around and it's known that the tolerances are the best in the industry. The customizable bolt handle and bolt shroud are icing on the cake. The barrel is marketed as a "heavy" barrel but I'd call it more of a medium profile and perfect for hunting or light competition shooting.
The best:
I run my handloads about .010 thou off the lands in my competition Howa 6.5CM. I can run the same loads in the Tikka's with room to spare in the mags. I don't know if any factory 6.5 Creedmorors that can accomplish that!!
The bad:
The stock is really my only complaint of this rifle. It feels good and it's pretty darn light. When I pulled the action and barrel I was very disappointed to learn there was zero pillar bedding. The stock was making significant contact with the barrel for the first 3-3.5 inches out in front of the action. The cheek riser is a good idea but I've yet to see any release of additional cheek risers. The one on the gun looks good but is completely useless. Even with low scope rings using a Leupold vx-3 50mm scope I needed at least a 1/4 more of comb for proper cheek wield. The grip feels good to me but I have huge hands and people with smaller mits might find it cumbersome. Again supposedly it's interchangeable but I haven't seen anything from Tikka. Despite being plastic with no pillars after some modification it shot amazingly well.
The ugly:
The picatinny rail...
Now if you have no desire to remove it just skip this part. However if you plan on running a 20MOA rail or any other rail take note. It's a PITA!!!! It's nearly impossible to remove. Nearly....
If I had to do it all over again I would do this; get some PB Blaster penetrating oil and spray down the four screws holding it in place minus the front screw. Do this from the under side of the rifle with it turned up side down in a vice of sorts. Let that soak for 24-48 hours. Then turn it over and repeat the process on the top screws for 24-48 hours. The. Turn it over and do it again for 24 hours. Next take an iron and place it on top of the rail. Let it heat up the entire rail until it's hot enough to burn you if you touch it. Let the action cool and then using a quality steel tied bit carefully try to remove the screws. If they don't bug and you sense that the screw might strip repeat the above process until they bread free. Once they are removed take the front screw and turn it clockwise effectively prying the rail up and away from the action. Clean up any remaining epoxy with acetone. If your lucky this will work. If not you may have to take it to a quality gunsmith. I ended up having to drill out the screws and retap the action...arg
Final thoughts:
The Tikka T3 6.5 Creedmoor is an exceptional rifle. Total weight without a scope is 7.4 lbs. The accuracy with hand loads ranges between .25-.5 moa for me after the stock modification.
What did I modify? I took a dremel tool with a sanding drum along with some sandpaper and a round dowel to whittle down about 1/8 of material on each side of the stock where the barrel meets the action. The length of material removed was about 3 inches. This completely free floated the barrel and made a positive difference in accuracy.
The first three shot group out of this gun without any modifications:
The next 5 shot group with stock modifications:
Shooting it at 211 yards:
Tikka CTR 6.5 Creedmoor factory gun - YouTube
I wouldn't hesitate to pick up another one or recommend one for obvious reasons. Even though I'm disappointed the stock doesn't have pillars or an aluminum bedding block you can clearly see the results!
I hope this review has helped you or someone you know in the quest for a quality, accurate rifle. If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Last edited:
