Tikka t3x recoil lug weakness?

[mtnwest615]

Whats going on with the tikka recoil lug vs say the rem 700 actions? Is the tikka recoil lug a bad design? I hear a lot of long range precision shooters building off of tikka actions. In other words I want to know what's going on with the tikka recoil design and if its solid or something I should be worried about. I just recently became a tikka fan as it's hard to find this kind of reliability in a factory rifle. Thanks to all in advance.

 

[z987k]

You can get and replace the factory recoil lug in just about every metal imaginable. $30 tops. On the old T3's some of the heavy recoiling rounds would eventually put an imprint into the lug. I think they went with a harder steel in the T3x.

 

[mt100gr.]

I think that you have answered your own question. It's a reliable factory design and many, many people around the world use them. The T3x line has a steel lug vs the older aluminum in the T3, but they're easy to swap.

 

[DangerRanger]

It’s fine, people can’t stop ******* with shit and won’t leave well enough alone.

 

[Mountain Tactical Company]

The recoil lug from Tikka is rated to 20,000 psi. Ours is rated over 100,000 psi.

 

[Megalodon]

The recoil lug from Tikka is rated to 20,000 psi. Ours is rated over 100,000 psi.

So that means it's 5x better?!?!?!?!?!?

 

[Gila]

I took my 20 year old T3 apart the other day for the first time. Had my newer T3x apart to paint the stock. I shot “hot” .270 loads in the T3. The T3x is a 300 win mag with about 200 rounds down the tube. Compared the aluminum recoil lug from the T3 with the steel lug from the T3x. Both were shiny where the action tab made contact with the top of the recoil lugs. No imprints on either one. I have never heard of one failing or moving around in a stock. For hunting I don’t see where that design would fail. What I don’t like about the design though is if changing stocks the alignment is critical and may not be perfect. Also the torque on the forward action screw needs to be perfect. But if you don’t change stocks or otherwise take your rifle apart, then all is moot. Tikkas are good shooters out of the box. For match shooting when money is on the line, some shooters have the action modified with an integral recoil lug. LRI does this:

LRI Precision Recoil Lugs for M700 and Tikka-T3 style actions

As with most of our products, they are fostered from the need to solve a genuine problem. Our M700 type lugs are offered in the original Remington OEM footprint in 3 different material options; Carbon, Stainless, and Titanium. The M700 Profile Heavy Tactical lug was made to answer the needs...

www.longriflesinc.com

 

[Mountain Tactical Company]

So that means it's 5x better?!?!?!?!?!?

At least!!!

 

[pucmw11]

At least!!!

The real question is...what is the force put into the recoil lug? If it never exceeds 5k, 20k is overkill and great. If it eventually dents even on the new T3x's, could be a worthwhile upgrade.

 

[Gila]

The real question is...what is the force put into the recoil lug? If it never exceeds 5k, 20k is overkill and great. If it eventually dents even on the new T3x's, could be a worthwhile upgrade.

I would think that it all depends on the cartridge. The T3 aluminum lug in my comparison is from a 270 win. The steel lug from the T3X is from a 300 win mag. No pressure dents or deformation what-so-ever on either one.

Since my last post I have changed stocks on my Tikkas more than a few times and have had no loss of accuracy or loose actions what-so-ever. I recently purchased a Stocky’s carbon VG stock that included a MT recoil lug. The lug pocket in the Carbon VG is much better than on the Tikka factory stock. The recoil lug fits perfectly into the pocket. I certainly can’t argue against a better mouse trap!

 

[pucmw11]

I would think that it all depends on the cartridge. The T3 aluminum lug in my comparison is from a 270 win. The steel lug from the T3X is from a 300 win mag. No pressure dents or deformation what-so-ever on either one.

Since my last post I have changed stocks on my Tikkas more than a few times and have had no loss of accuracy or loose actions what-so-ever. I recently purchased a Stocky’s carbon VG stock that included a MT recoil lug. The lug pocket in the Carbon VG is much better than on the Tikka factory stock. The recoil lug fits perfectly into the pocket. I certainly can’t argue against a better mouse trap!

No arguments against the better mousetrap, especially for a cheap mod like this one! I've not heard anyone having issues with the metal ones from the T3X, but for the T3 folks it surely seems like a worthwhile upgrade.

 

[OrangeRider93]

Can anyone confirm if the tolerances are tight enough on the action / stock / recoil lug that you don't have to pull the action to rear when tightening the screws.

 

[Antares]

Negative. They're will be movements and you need to settle the action to the rear, so that the action and lug are making good contact, before torquing action screws.

 

[Tmac]

My early model T3 in 270 Win eventually indented the recoil lug and accuracy went bad. I flipped it around as a temp fix and later replaced it with steel. My guess is it probably had some play and that exacerbated the issue, not sure. One could bed the lug, but I don’t mess with it as long as the rifle shoots well.

There is no doubt the design almost always works well and also does introduce another potential point of movement. I look at it as just another item to check, like action screws, if I encounter accuracy issues.

 

[glock24]

If you're still that worried, you could also put a Remington-style lug on a Tikka when installing a new barrel.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

The old recoil lugs were soft, maybe aluminum or something. Aftermarket ones came out from places like mountain tactical then tikka upgraded them so they are a non issue.

 

[wind gypsy]

Can anyone confirm if the tolerances are tight enough on the action / stock / recoil lug that you don't have to pull the action to rear when tightening the screws.

Every chassis/stock installation instruction i can ever call reading calls for rearward pressure when tightening action screws. It's easy to do so I see no reason not to.

 

[Gila]

I have dropped all of the Tikka barreled actions I own into custom stocks. The T3 action aluminum recoil lug was replaced with a Mountain Tactical recoil lug. The T3x actions use the same factory steel recoil lugs. The recoil lug should easily fit the pocket in the stock but should not be loose at all. I put the stock in a gun vise and keep the barreled actions level to make contact with the recoil lug. You should feel a slight snap when it is in place. The action should fit the stock inlet perfectly with no lateral or forward-reverse play. The bottom metal and the action screws and the stock should align perfectly with no off center holes or canting of the action screws. The actions screws should be torqued equally. On the T3 action I also replaced the bolt shroud, bottom metal and action screws with Mountain Tactical.