Tikka T3x CTR Stainless for hunting?

[frankrb3]

My current hunting rifle is a Tikka T3 Lite in 300 WSM. It's a great rifle for elk but the recoil is fierce. I do enjoy how light it is when I am carrying it up the mountain (which is what the rifle is doing 99.9% of the time). Lately I have been looking at picking up a rifle in .308 Winchester for western species other than elk (Deer, Antelope, Bear). Just wondering who uses the Tikka T3x CTR 20" barrel for hunting and what they think of it. I mainly backpack hunt and hike with my rifle a lot. Not sure how much heavier it would be than my current Tikka but that is one of my concerns. I am just curious about this particular rifle, not different calibers. I am set on .308 win. Thanks everyone.

 

[fatbacks]

My current hunting rifle is a Tikka T3 Lite in 300 WSM. It's a great rifle for elk but the recoil is fierce. I do enjoy how light it is when I am carrying it up the mountain (which is what the rifle is doing 99.9% of the time). Lately I have been looking at picking up a rifle in .308 Winchester for western species other than elk (Deer, Antelope, Bear). Just wondering who uses the Tikka T3x CTR 20" barrel for hunting and what they think of it. I mainly backpack hunt and hike with my rifle a lot. Not sure how much heavier it would be than my current Tikka but that is one of my concerns. I am just curious about this particular rifle, not different calibers. I am set on .308 win. Thanks everyone.

Not to discourage you from buying more rifles because you always need one more, but I have a Tikka T3 in .300 WSM as well. Hated the recoil. I put a muzzle brake on it and I can shoot it all day long now.




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[William Hanson (live2hunt)]

Not to discourage you from buying more rifles because you always need one more, but I have a Tikka T3 in .300 WSM as well. Hated the recoil. I put a muzzle brake on it and I can shoot it all day long now.




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What brake did you use?

Live2hunt custom shelters

 

[thinhorn_AK]

I never notice the recoil when I’m hunting but I like to practice a fair bit (a box through my rifle most weekends) so I could see that getting old with a gun that gives you recoil issues. The 308 is a great round and what I do 90% of my hunting with including elk with no issues. I find that the 308 has mild enough recoil that there’s no reason to take a heavier rifle in that caliber, if you want a 308 and you like your tikka, get another tikka t3x lite in 308 and use the extra $$$ for more scope. I shoot a Kimber Montana 308 that weighs less than 6lbs all up with no issues and it’s a 308.

I’m actually thinking of buying a t3x in 300wsm just to get a bit more range out of.

 

[JeffRaines]

Before I actually had a gun with a brake I was the guy who was vehemently against them. There are a lot who are, I’ve heard it argued that if you need a brake you have too much gun and generally I’d say that’s true HOWEVER I also enjoy practicing. As everyone knows, the effects of recoil are cumulative... maybe the kick doesn’t hurt, but given enough shots with the heavier kickers and the average person will eventually get jumpy.

The brake is awesome because it really tames it down, pushing that “limit” higher. Where you might get through 10 rounds in your lightweight 300, now you can do two boxes if you want. The only downfall to them is the greatly increased noise level. It makes wearing heating protection required 100% of the time, unless you want to mess your hearing up.

I’d definitely recommend trying a brake. Get one of the self-timing types, so that way you can remove it without having to worry about spacers for timing. Keep it on for practice, take it off for the hunt... or leave it on and wear hearing protection when it’s shot time.

 

[Desk Jockey]

I have an older tikka compact tactical in 308. 20 inch HEAVY barrel. It is probably 9lbs scoped. I would confirm but a “friend” has it on long term loan. In the meantime, I bought a t3x lite in 6.5. Stock is not as comfortable. It is at least a pound and a half lighter. Both shoot very small holes in paper.

If you want another tikka I would echo the thought above and say get a lite or super lite and you can add big glass, bipod or recoil pads or other things that will add weight and more function than the ctr stock or a heavier barrel. It will be much easier and cheaper to add weight to a light gun than to put that CTR on a diet.

I know you mentioned you are locked on the 308 caliber, but if you really want a soft shooting gun, the 6.5 Creedmoor is a dream. Based on the fact that it is getting some .mil adoption and my local Walmart has 2-3 flavors of 6.5 in stock now, It feels like it has crossed over from fad to a fixture of the shooting and hunting world. For my part, I find 20 rounds of 6.5 to be no problem. 20 rounds of 308 out of that compact tikka is not very fun by comparison.

 

[270quest]

I have a T3X CTR 6.5 24", that I am using this year for all my hunts (in for moose, general deer and elk for sure). I have owned many custom and semi custom rifles and this is the most accurate rifle I have ever owned. My load of 42.0 of H4350, CCI BR2 primers, and 143 ELDX gives me 2750 FPS average and will put 5 shots into sub 1/2" if I do my part. I dropped mine into a Carbon Fiber McMillan Game Hunter and it just fits me to a tee. I do have warne mountain tech rings and a 27 oz scope on it to put it at 10# 4oz. But I am ok with that as with the weight and the minimal recoil - I can see impacts and shoot this thing all day long and the the scope tracks, performs, and functions 100% everytime.

The two targets below are the 10 rounds - 2 5 shot groups - from the last time I had her out...

 

[frankrb3]

Not to discourage you from buying more rifles because you always need one more, but I have a Tikka T3 in .300 WSM as well. Hated the recoil. I put a muzzle brake on it and I can shoot it all day long now.

I have been thinking about doing that for a while as well.

 

[fatbacks]

What brake did you use?

Live2hunt custom shelters

Not sure of the brand, but just a pretty standard radial brake. Major reduction in recoil - but yes, very loud. Shot a deer with it last year and had no time for ear protection. Now I have a suppressor on order