Tikka T3 Boar hunter 338 WM

[Thebear_78]

Found a deal I couldn’t pass up on a local classified the other day. A tikka t3 boar hunter in 338 WM. I had a buddy pick it up for me and the guy selling it said he only shot it a few times cause it kicked like a mile!

The Boar hunter has a 20.8” barrel and really nice express rifle sights. It’s a pretty trim and handy little package.

I put a 1-6 vortex on it in QD rings. Kind of a best of both worlds, a red dot at 1x and decent BDC reticle at 6x. Should be about perfect.

Now I just need to load up some ammo. Thinking about going with sone 250 Speer or Partition golds. I have a couple hundred of either.

Anyone running an aftermarket stock on their T3s? I’m not a huge fan of the T3 synthetic stock. It’s pretty stiff but kind of slippery and like the man said kicks like a mule. I had a laminated stocked 338 t3 that would just about rattle your filling out. I see B&C makes a medalist, any other foot sticks you guys know of?

 

[KinleyWater]

Looks like a nice score. Are you planning on using it for the titular hog (boar) hunt, or do you have something else in mind?

 

[Blkram]

Definitely not a fan of the Tikka synthetic stocks; hollow, plastic feel,and hard recoil pad.
Main reason why so many used 338 Win Mags are seen on racks!
A better stock with a LimbSaver pad will tame the beast, or at the very least, add a LimbSaver to it for the interim. Mercury recoil reducers can also help, but add to cost and weight.
You can also produce milder handloads that will reduce the recoil from this carbine.
A friend used a mild load with Speer 200 gr Hot Cor's that produced good groups and mild recoil in his old BBR. Sure it was a heavier rifle that your Tikka, but may also help you, while still being a hammer on game. You could also go with a lighter bullet and reduce recoil some too, but nice to have the ones you have on hand to work up loads with.
At the end of the day, the 338 Win Mag is a great cartridge, and your carbine should be a joy to carry and hunt with. But if it is beating you up, and gives you a flinch, it won't be any fun at all!

 

[Slimfinn]

Nice rifle Bear, B&C might be the best bet for a syn stock, or Boyd's if you wanted to go with a laminate, most of the others I've come across are the new carbon light weights and probably not what you are looking for. And I will say the Limb Saver Airtech recoil pad does a nice job if you went with a tikka oem / take off

 

[nhenry]

I use a Mesa Precision Arms stock on my tikka, though it might get switched with some wood. Nothing wrong with the Mesa though

 

[Thebear_78]

I’m not particularly recoil sensitive, especially something like this that will be carried far more than shot. I do think the carbon fiber stocks seem to absorb more recoil than hard plastic and I agree the limbsaver will probably help a lot.

I have several hundred 210gr TTSX so I’ll probably start with them or maybe 225 partitions as I have a pretty good supply of them as well. Other than that I have lighter 338s for my 338 fed and heavies 265-300 for my lapua. I’m going to have to stock up on some 250s when I can find them.

The only boar we have up here are bears, black and brown. I think this tikka will be a good one for trekking thru the alder patches. It’s definitely the shortest rifle I currently have.

 

[wvbuckbuster]

Nice looking. Like the setup and hope it does well for you. Dan.

 

[Thebear_78]

I loaded up some 210 TTSX with some H414. Started with a mid load of 65gr. As expected it shot lights out. 3 shots well inside of an inch at 100 yards and inside 2.5” at 200 yards.

What was unexpected was that I am really starting to like that PST G2 1-6 much better than I thought I would. At 1x with the dot on it is quick, and easy to shoot both eyes open, when focusing on the red dot you don’t really notice the sights shadow. At 6x it is a very functional BDC reticle, easy to place shots out to 300 yards.

 

[DrMike]

I loaded up some 210 TTSX with some H414. Started with a mid load of 65gr. As expected it shot lights out. 3 shots well inside of an inch at 100 yards and inside 2.5” at 200 yards.

What was unexpected was that I am really starting to like that PST G2 1-6 much better than I thought I would. At 1x with the dot on it is quick, and easy to shoot both eyes open, when focusing on the red dot you don’t really notice the sights shadow. At 6x it is a very functional BDC reticle, easy to place shots out to 300 yards.

That is a skookum looking scope, to be sure. It would be very handy for quick acquisition of your sight picture.