Thread: TIKKA / SAKO FINISHING QUALITY

Dont want to start a tikka bashing thread, and it might be just me , but has the finishing quality gone to shit in recent years.Comparing and new build t3 to one of 10year + vintage, there like chalk and cheese and if you throw my just purchased new in the box 595 of 2002 year build in the mix it makes them seem even worse.but a set of optilocs that arrived today are more telling.compared to some of my older sets the machining marks are more pronounced and it looks like they have tried to hide that by using a coarser grade of garnet in the bead blaster .At first glance ,still in the packet you'd think they were Chinese counterfeit items or something .I dont know if the photo is good enough to high lite it but 5 of the cap screws are a bright almost plated looking color and 3 are a more natural stainless look ?Once again it might be nothing but surely they can get this consistent. the worst part was doing up the cap screws.at first i thought i must have miss matched the caps with the bases as there was a binding condition right from the start of the threads.however when i try and screw them into the bases on there own there still as tight as buggery.on my old optilocks you can spin them in with you fingers.
has anybody else found these problems as of late.if this is on going we need to pull up tikka about this or they will go down the same road as there american counterparts and quality control goes out the window in order to meet a price in the market.

I hear you man . My optilocks came with one less screw and I can clearly see the botch up ooh your pic

They recently put the price up too didnt they?

Originally Posted by veitnamcam

They recently put the price up too didnt they?

if they get any dearer they be in the same league as nightforce lightweight rings.but anyhow i chucked them in the tumbler for 8 or 9 hours last night, that made them look a little bit better but still not as well finished as the gun there going on

Those M595's are simply beautiful. Slickest bolt action I've ever used, I rate mine above my sako.

The T3 is pretty crude, rough sticky gritty feeling bolt and cheap arse stock. But they shot well and are great value for money.

Shame to hear the standards are dropping though as this was their styling point.

Kj

Funny. The bolts on my T3 lites are as slick as slick. Definitely no gritty feel. The stock I don't disagree with.

Originally Posted by kimjon

Those M595's are simply beautiful. Slickest bolt action I've ever used, I rate mine above my sako.

The T3 is pretty crude, rough sticky gritty feeling bolt and cheap arse stock. But they shot well and are great value for money.

Shame to hear the standards are dropping though as this was their styling point.

Kj

And yet when the M595 came out I thought they were an abomination (compared to my LSA-55, a true Tikka) pampering to the American market. Now though they hold their place in the quality field.

Originally Posted by zimmer

And yet when the M595 came out I thought they were an abomination (compared to my LSA-55, a true Tikka) pampering to the American market. Now though they hold their place in the quality field.

Had two of those in the past too...heavy! But yes, very well made.

Originally Posted by zimmer

And yet when the M595 came out I thought they were an abomination (compared to my LSA-55, a true Tikka) pampering to the American market. Now though they hold their place in the quality field.

My old man has a mint LSA65, now that was when Tikka made proper premium rifles, as good if not better than a Sako.


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Same here, smooth bolts. Flawless

The M595 is pretty special, so compared to one of them all other rifles feel a bit gritty in the bolt. I mostly use a rem700 these days (insert the usual rem700 bashing comments), but when I do use the old tikka it always blows my mind how beautiful the bolt is.

Nothing wrong with a T3, they changed the game here in nz and made accuracy affordable.

Kj

Mine go bang

Originally Posted by kimjon

The M595 is pretty special, so compared to one of them all other rifles feel a bit gritty in the bolt. I mostly use a rem700 these days (insert the usual rem700 bashing comments), but when I do use the old tikka it always blows my mind how beautiful the bolt is.

Nothing wrong with a T3, they changed the game here in nz and made accuracy affordable.

Kj

Nothing wrong with the older 700,s Kim. I have reblued a couple of of the T3,s as some of them tend to rust very quickly, poor factory jobs

I wouldnt call it smooth. I would call it loose. Same with howas. I like the model 70s bolt feels more piston like if that makes sense but again it could be better

Nothing loose about my 595 except me.