Thread: Is it worth putting a rail on a tikka t3x

Are they steel rings? not too heavy?

Originally Posted by High Hopes

Are they steel rings? not too heavy?

Aluminium, so yeah lighter than optiloks.

There's 60grams difference between optilocks and talleys approx

Z5 in optiloc lows, simple and reliable. No need for a rail.

Originally Posted by SamRoche

What does lapped mean?


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Running a straight bar back and forwards through the two mounted rings at once with a bit of lapping compound.
It’s basically takes off any excess metal and ensures the rings are lined up precisely so when torquing up your scope everything is straight and there’s no undue stress placed on the scope.
Opti lock rings do not need to be lapped as they have a plastic inner that provides a little give and accounts for any misalignment.
Any decent shop where you purchase your scope or rifle from will be able to mount and lap your rings for you.

If you've got a decent rifle and rings lapping rings is becoming obsolete.
Some manufacturers recommend not to.
I have the gear myself but havnt used it for ten years or more and I have mounted a shit ton of scopes.
Perhaps a lemington or a marlin perhaps but any thing that has been machined accurately no need.

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Originally Posted by andyanimal31

If you've got a decent rifle and rings lapping rings is becoming obsolete.
Some manufacturers recommend not to.
I have the gear myself but havnt used it for ten years or more and I have mounted a shit ton of scopes.
Perhaps a lemington or a marlin perhaps but any thing that has been machined accurately no need.

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What rings do you run Andy?

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What does lapping mean?


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Originally Posted by SamRoche

What does lapping mean?


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Ask on the buy sell swap section. Pretty sure there is a couple of sellers who listed 1” Tikka Optilock rings. If you can go with them I would - specifically designed by Sako/Tikka for the rifle.

Optilocks. Bomb proof.

It depends what your trying to achieve - with a hard recoiling rifle and a lightweight scope the rail/base if bedded properly to the action is a much more robust and solid than individual mounts. All the screws can bear together for greater theoretical strength. With the correct parts a rail setup or one piece base can also mount a scope just clearing the barrel or as low as you need... Also you can't bed individual base mounts as easily as the alignment isn't as easy to maintain. A rail gives you more chances for forward and rearward movement but does weigh more.

Another point, depending on the scope and stock you can mount a scope too low leading to an uncomfortable or unnaturally low sighting position. It needs to fit you as the shooter.

I would personally avoid anything that needs lapping, as it can lead to issues such as not being able to reuse the rings if your setup changes or a sliding scope. I also like the option of being able to flog them off later if I change the setup, lapped rings are usually much harder to sell.

Im a fan of a rail but i do like my scope a little higher than most

Personally I think it comes down to what type of shooter are you .
If it is purely a hunting rig then Talley’s are the way to go .
If you like to punch paper at extended ranges then a rail does add some advantages ( 20moa rail helps when distances get long ) .
The weight difference and robustness is “ neither here nor there” in my opinion , both options do a great job ( note the rail rings combo does add more components and as such more things that can loosen/move or fail )
I have four Tikka’s , three of them wear Talley’s and one has a rail .
What ever you decide upon, just make sure you don’t “ cheap out “ on what you get .
Buy quality and you won’t have a problem.

Sorry folks a bit off topic but rather than start a new thread....

Can anyone tell me what height tallys or optilocks I will need to mount a vx5 firedot on a tikka t3 ??

Cheers

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