A little Tikka love...

[MrBorland]

I've heard many good things about Tikkas, so when it came time to pick up decent starter rifle for Tactical Precision Matches, I chose the Tikka CTR in .260 Remington. After about 600 rounds, I'm appreciating this rifle more everytime I shoot it.

The action's slick as snot, I like the 70° bolt lift, and the CTR has a bunch of other goodies I really like. And Tikkas reputation for out-of-the-box accuracy hasn't disappointed. Below are some keyring fobs I shot at 100 yards for fun.

With handloads, I and the rifle are capable of 0.5 - 0.6" at 100 yards pretty consistently. This weekend, I shot the target below - 200 yards, 3 rounds, 0.25". 'Course, I don't claim I or any factory rifle are up to that anywhere close to consistently, but it underscores the rifle's potential with good ammo.

On top of it, aftermarket parts and stocks are becoming more available for the Tikka T3, so a T3 action would make a excellent base for a custom build.

Tikka T3 CTR, .260 Remington:

100 yard keyring fobs:

200 yards, 3 shots, 0.25" (0.12MOA):

 

[sirgilligan]

Very nice.

Tell me about the Tikka action. I have a CZ and really like its CRF action.

I have been doing a lot of investigation on the 6.5 Creedmoor, and as I understand the 260 Rem is similar.

Nice key fobs, the new pennies are so ugly to me, but those dimes are worth more than a dime!

 

[MrBorland]

Tikkas use the same length action for their short action (.308-based) and their long action (.30-06-based), are push-feed and have a 2-position safety. All these are things I don't like, but mainly if it were a hunting rifle. But since it's not a hunting rifle, all it's other attributes more than make up for it.

Since I like this Tikka, I'm giving serious thought into a Sako 85 for a hunting rifle. Sakos are the premium versions of Tikkas, and the Sako 85 has a quasi-CRF, and a safety that allows one to open the bolt with the safety engaged (which is why I live a 3-position safety on a hunting rifle).

The 6.5 Creedmoor and .260 Remington are essentially ballistic twins. In theory, the 6.5CM should handle heavier bullets better, but the load & ballistic data I see for each doesn't bear this out. I don't think you'd go wrong with either. FWIW, Lapua makes .260R brass, but not 6.5CM. It probably comes down to which any particular rifle's chambered in. The CTR had the features I wanted, and comes in .308 or .260, so I went .260.