When the Colorado legislature was considering a law that would categorize all guns with threaded barrels as “assault weapons,” that prompted me to think about what other rifles I’d like to be able to use with my Thunder Beast Arms suppressor. I own and have owned several Tikka rifles that I like very much, so it was natural to take another look at the Tikka line.

I settled on a T3x “Compact Tactical Rifle” chambered for 308 Winchester for several reasons. First, of course, was that it was a T3x. The cartridge was chosen because I consider it to be a basic, good for many purposes round. The CTR is in the “tactical” line and Tikka’s precision guarantee is a little better for those rifles than other T3x models: 1 minute of angle (with proper ammunition, of course) for five-shot groups as compared with 1 MOA for three-shot groups for other models.

In addition, I like the CTR’s stock (mostly), plus the fact that the tactical line uses what are essentially Sako TRG magazines, and which I have a good supply of. The rifle comes with a Picatinny scope mounting rail as standard. And lastly, the spawned-in-Hell barrel threading allows me to use my don’t-annoy-the-neighbors Thunder Beast suppressor. (A note about Tikka barrel muzzle threads: Originally they were imported with metric threads, but in recent years that’s been changed to US standard threading.)

In its current configuration:





The scope is a Leupold Mark 5HD 2-10×30mm whose magnification range fits my current employment concept for the rifle which is being lighter and handier than my precision rifles, and for use at close to intermediate distances.

The aftermarket rail on the forend permits using bipods or tripods designed for use with either Picatinny or Arca Swiss mounts. The flexibility to use either type is something I appreciate for a multipurpose rifle. At the rear is a B&T Industries (Atlas bipods) BT27 “folding foregrip” which was intended by the manufacturer for that purpose: as a foregrip. I, however, use it as support for the rear of the stock by grasping it with my support hand while (usually) resting my hand on a small bag or shooting sticks. The BT27 is attached to a Picatinny rail section, and because the stock had just a conventional sling swivel stud there, I had to find an adapter.

The FDE gadget is an Accuracy 1st scope level, and the barrel and action are available in stainless steel as pictured or blued.

The stock could be better. I’ll probably try to install quick detach sockets for use with a sling; sling swivel studs are okay for the purpose, but not my preference. The stock does feel a little “plasticly,” which of course is what it is: plastic; but not really bad if one doesn’t obsess over such things. The length of pull can be adjusted with the spacers at the rear, and the recoil pad is nice and rubbery. My main gripe about the stock is that if the CTR were purchased in Finland, it is evidently available with an adjustable cheek riser. The T3 Tactical model I purchased years ago in 223 Remington did have that stock, but for some reason I couldn’t find it here. When I originally mounted the scope with a Spuhr mount, the scope was too high for a good stock weld, so I switched to Leupold rings. Because of the scope’s small objective bell all that works, but it would be a problem with an X-X×56mm scope.

On the other hand, I could get an aftermarket chassis for the rifle that would address the issues I have with the factory model. That, however, would largely negate my desire for the rifle to fill a (somewhat) light and handy role. In addition, I’d probably lose the advantage of the Sako/CTR magazine and have to switch to the AICS series.* They are not bad, but not as good as the Finnish magazines.

I have measured the trigger pull weight twice and the average was 3 pounds, 0 ounces. The pull weight is adjustable, but that suits me.

After all that, though, how does it shoot?

I had previously fired a few rounds of different types of ammunition, but today’s session was with Federal 168 grain MatchKing Gold Medal Match. That’s not my preference for any serious purpose, but it was good for an initial evaluation. Two strings were fired from a sturdy bench with bipod at front and bag at rear; distance 100 yards. Except as noted for the last target, all groups consist of five shots. The first set of targets was fired without the suppressor and the lower set with a 30P-1 TBAC can. The figures cited are the group sizes in inches and minutes of angle.

Targets, first set, in order 1-3, no suppressor.
1: 1.378" (~1.32 MOA) center to center (CTC). Not absolutely horrible, but it was my first group and the outlier to the left was definitely my shooting error. Without that the group would have measured about 0.85" CTC.
2: 0.634" CTC, ~0.61 MOA.
3: 0.569" CTC, ~0.54 MOA.

Targets, second set, with suppressor, fired in order of 2, 1, 3.
2: 0.632" CTC, ~0.60 MOA.
1: 0.805" CTC, ~0.77 MOA.
3: Two shots only, not measured, but touching.
Note there was a significant POI shift when using the suppressor. For the last target I dialed up +0.7 milliradian.

With the exception of the first group, the rifle and ammunition easily satisfied Tikka’s 1 MOA for five shot group guarantee.





Am I satisfied once again with a Tikka rifle? Yes. With the minor exception of the stock complaints, I literally could ask for nothing more from a rifle of this type and price.

Oh, yes: about the green(ish) grip panel. The rifle doesn’t come that way, but I ordered the green grip because I thought it was oriented more vertically than the original. Turns out I was wrong, they’re both the same, but decided a little diversity wouldn’t hurt.

* This is not absolutely true. Kinetic Research Group (KRG) at least offers a couple of chassis that use the original CTR magazines. There may be others as well, but I haven’t been able to find any.

Edited with new photo, hopefully all in focus. (Gotta love manual lenses rather than those that think they know better than we do.)

30Jun24:

A couple of two-shot “groups” from today. I was testing two Federal Gold Medal Match loads, 168 and 175 grains, on a small steel target to see what effect they would have at a distance of about 105 yards. I shot from standing with the rifle rested on a tripod. The two lower circles were of the 168 grain impacts and the upper the 175 grain bullet impacts. The lower impacts were 0.67" apart and the upper were 1.06" apart. Although it wasn’t intended as a test of precision and/or accuracy and two shots each aren’t proof of much, I am still happy with the results and the rifle.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: sigfreund,

Nice, now do one liter bottles, good write up.

I have the KRG stock on one of mine and I'm quite happy with it especially as I think its well made and modestly priced. Certainly an upgrade from the factory one.

More shooting results at the bottom of the first post.