D9Firearms

As we stated before we always like to post feedback especially on firearms that we recommend. As you can tell from the site Tikka is by far my most favorite rifle. It is not an easy rifle to sell to people like a Remington or some other well known name. Most people haven’t heard of Tikka and that’s why I always take pride when I get feedback on these rifles. Once you put one in your hands and operate the smooth bolt and adjust the trigger to your liking it’s all over but the explaining you have to do to your wife. Regardless, of the explaining you have to do it will be worth it. Our good friend David sent us his feed back on the Tikka T3 Deluxe he purchased from us. (As a side not, we shot together the first day he had it out and I had my Tikka T3 Deluxe 270Win. and mine delivered 3/4″ with factory ammo. I’ll let David tell his story.)

Tikka T3 Deluxe - Review
by David Boone

It’s been almost a year since I first handled a Tikka T3, having been turned on to them by friends at D9 Firearms. This past week it was my turn to become a proud owner of a Tikka T3 Deluxe in .308 Winchester. Tikka rifles are made in Finland and Tikka’s parent company is Sako, known for their world class rifles. For the uninitiated, Finland is the country that gave the world Simo Hayha, a sniper with 505 confirmed kills against the Russians, using open sights. Obviously, the Finns take the accuracy of their rifles seriously and the new Tikka T3 is no exception.

My initial impression of the Tikka T3 line was that of a light to moderate weight rifle, with a slick, bolt throw and action, easy to shoulder and easier to point. The T3 Deluxe sports a higher grade hardwood stock than the hunter model and has slightly different checkering in the grips. A hand rubbed oil finish on the Deluxe suits the traditionalist in me, and she is not so lovely as to worry about taking her hunting. I haven’t taken any measurements on the geometry of the stock, but she feels much more comfortable to shoulder and better balanced than my Browning A-bolt. Whether it is this geometry or the well fitted recoil pad (one of my pet peeves is poor fitting recoil pads on mass production firearms) the recoil of the .308 Tikka is well moderated and putting a couple boxes of ammunition downrange does not leave me reaching for the ibuprofen.

My first trip out to the range left me scratching my head, questioning my mounting of a new Nikon Buckmaster scope, a model which I have had good results with before. I was shooting handloads of Reloader 15, and the groups were running just under 2” at 100 yards and the point of impact was shifting on me. After a remount of the scope and a follow-up to the range with handloads of two different powders and 4 different powder charges behind them, the Tikka finally came into her own with 43.9 grains of IMR 4064 behind a 150 grain Sierra spitzer. Her last 3 shot group of 1” with this load after 25 rounds through a hot barrel with no cleaning was almost as good as the 3 shot cloverleaf fired from a cold barrel.

Would I recommend a Tikka? Without a doubt. And as others have said before, shoot a variety of bullets and powders through your rifle whether they be factory or handloads until you find one that suits your rifle and needs best. It really does make a difference. The Tikka T3 Deluxe will be my hunting rifle this fall – a good looking, well balanced rifle, light enough to pack deep into the woods and capable of all the accuracy I will ever need.

We appreciate the feed back and we appreciate your trust in D9Firearms. Please contact us if you are interested in a Tikka rifle. (Picture shown above are from D9Firearms personal collection.)

Rifle shown above is Authors Tikka Deluxe 270Win w/Zeiss Conquest 3×9.

I just received an email from one of our clients that has purchased a couple of firearms from us and it was perfect timing and I knew as soon as I read his email I had dropped the ball on another one of D9Firearms favorite and recommended rifles, the Tikka. Deer season is coming up soon and it’s time to think about upgrading that old Remington or Savage or getting the son or daughter geared up or just rewarding yourself for hopefully getting caught up on all the honey-do items this summer.

Now most of know of some tale tellers and although Larry works for a competing engineering firm here in town I have no doubt he and the rifle performed just as he described below:

Hello Darrel,

I have been out of town for a while but just wanted to let you know a few things about the guns I bought from you. I carried the little .270 Tikka to Laredo last December. I never had a chance to take it to the range but just took it from the box, to the carrying case, to the hunting ranch outside Laredo. I fired 2 rounds through it at the ranch range the afternoon before the first hunt. Hit black on the bull both shots. I took a 9 point whitetail, measured about 140 inches on the first afternoon. I made a perfect heart shot at about 175 yards. While waiting for the buck to stop wiggling, I saw a large sow at about 225 yards. I put a round right behind her ear. Turning around in the stand, we had a pack of javalinas at around 300 yards. Holding about 2″ over the head, I put a round thru a female at around the 300 yard mark. My guide was sucking a little wind but I just acted like this was an everyday thing. Anyway, thanks for turning me on to the Tikka. It is a great little rifle and will be my friend for a lot of years.

Thanks again,

Larry

If you are considering a new deer rifle Tikka will deliver out of the box no questions asked. Let us know before deer season gets here and we will get one to order for you.

Rifle shown below is Tikka T3 Lite SS w/Burris 3×9. This is the same rifle we provided Larry only in a blued finish.

At D9 we have been working on the 308 Winchester bullet to develop a load that will deliver outstanding results. Currently, we’ve focused on the 168grn and have tested this specific load in three different manufacturer’s rifles. Additionally, since the same bullet will not always produce the same result in the same manufacturer’s rifle we have also tested it in multiple models. Currently we have tested this round in:

Tikka T3 (Tested in 3 different local client rifles, all sub MOA, best was .5 MOA)

DPMS LR-308 (This has been tested in the AP4, LR-308B, LR-308 24″, all .5 MOA or better)

Springfield Armory M1A National Match Loaded (Tested in 1 rifle with poor results 1.5+ MOA)

We are planning a test with another local client in the Remington 700 SPS Varmint in the coming weeks and will publish the results.

We are federally licensed to manufacture and sell ammunition. However, we only manufacture on a per order biases and require a minimum order of 50 rounds. If you are interested in 308 ammunition please contact us. Prior to ordering we request you acknowledge the inherent dangers of using custom loaded ammunition. (We do not load any rounds that we won’t shoot in our guns. A test sample is pulled from each batch and tested fired for accuracy and reliability prior to releasing.)