Buying Used Tikka - What Should I Look For?

[Rodéo]

Buying into the hype and getting a deal together on a used tikka that is really hard to pass up. It's a stainless T3 Lite in .308 made in 2010 at what seems to be a pretty good price (pm me if you need to know or if it informs your opinion).

Here's what I don't know, seeing as how it's my first used firearm transaction: what should I be looking for when I inspect the rifle in person? The seller said it's only been fired 50-75 rounds, he's the original owner and bought it to hunt with new in 2010 but never got around to taking it out in the field. I have 4 pics of the rifle and they aren't the best quality but everything looks good/new.

I know I should look at the crown of the barrel for fowling and also to check the action/bolt to see if it operates like other tikka's I've handled but don't know what else to look for to ensure I'm getting a shooter.

Appreciate all the more experienced folks chiming in on what they look for when they buy used.

Thanks!

 

[Tmac]

No expert. But a good exterior visual looking for bad dings or messed up screw heads, essentially any sign of bad drops or ham handed disassembly. If it’s used as you have been told it should look pretty darned new-ish. Then a bore inspection with a light, if it’s dirty, tells you something, if clean and shiny it tells you it was recently cleaned but not much else. Work the bolt, want a nice tight lock up and a good trigger feel when dry firing. After that, if it’s a good buy, heck, buy it, and if it does not shoot, it’s a donor action you can rebarrel.

 

[Werty]

A gun without plastic parts!

 

[Rodéo]

No expert. But a good exterior visual looking for bad dings or messed up screw heads, essentially any sign of bad drops or ham handed disassembly. If it’s used as you have been told it should look pretty darned new-ish. Then a bore inspection with a light, if it’s dirty, tells you something, if clean and shiny it tells you it was recently cleaned but not much else. Work the bolt, want a nice tight lock up and a good trigger feel when dry firing. After that, if it’s a good buy, heck, buy it, and if it does not shoot, it’s a donor action you can rebarrel.

Thanks! Didn't think to look at the action screws but that makes sense. Also good heads up on the donor action. Pretty sure I could resell parts or the whole rifle if it doesn't shoot and I don't think I'd be at a loss, maybe a small hit but not too bad at all. Or I could rebarrel like you say...

 

[Rodéo]

A gun without plastic parts!

Haha fair enough... Let me satisfy my urge to own a tikka for now then maybe in a few years I can buy into the "no plastic parts" hype and join that cool club too.

 

[fightthenoise]

Does he have any photos of where those 50-75 rounds landed? It’s pretty tough to mess up a Tikka. I’m sure it’s fine. Especially a high barrel life chambering like .308. A fouled barrel isn’t a deal breaker for me either. I’d be more worried about an over ambitious barrel scrubber doing more harm than good.

 

[Werty]

Haha fair enough... Let me satisfy my urge to own a tikka for now then maybe in a few years I can buy into the "no plastic parts" hype and join that cool club too.

I was a tikka fan, buddy bought one month ago, he's buying a new bolt stop, broke.

 

[Rodéo]

Does he have any photos of where those 50-75 rounds landed? It’s pretty tough to mess up a Tikka. I’m sure it’s fine. Especially a high barrel life chambering like .308. A fouled barrel isn’t a deal breaker for me either. I’d be more worried about an over ambitious barrel scrubber doing more harm than good.

No, unfortunately he didn't take any photos of groups and just said "it shoots like you'd expect a tikka" so I kinda gotta take his word for it. His word is backed up by a bunch of people's testimony as to how they generally shoot so that helps. And good to know on the fouled barrel front. Do you think a borescope inspection is warranted here? I don't have one so I guess I'd have to buy one.

 

[Rodéo]

I was a tikka fan, buddy bought one month ago, he's buying a new bolt stop, broke.

Sorry to hear that... hoping he got a lemon for my sake

 

[Desk Jockey]

Their warranty is top notch so you should be fine.

as far as price goes, remember there has been two generations of the t3x since then and that has really cut the resale price on the T3s. Make sure you check the price against an NIB gen 1 T3x. They can be had well under $700 in light stainless if you can find one.

Biggest danger IMO is that he understates his usage or he tinkered with the gun and torqued it or something stupid. look for wear on the bolt handle and bearing surfaces on the bolt. Look for dings around the mag well and on the magazine That would show use. Scratches Or marks on the action screws or sanding on on the stock that indicate a lot of tinkering.

 

[Rodéo]

Their warranty is top notch so you should be fine.

as far as price goes, remember there has been two generations of the t3x since then and that has really cut the resale price on the T3s. Make sure you check the price against an NIB gen 1 T3x. They can be had well under $700 in light stainless if you can find one.

Biggest danger IMO is that he understates his usage or he tinkered with the gun and torqued it or something stupid. look for wear on the bolt handle and bearing surfaces on the bolt. Look for dings around the mag well and on the magazine That would show use. Scratches Or marks on the action screws or sanding on on the stock that indicate a lot of tinkering.

Awesome. This is very helpful. As far as price, it's at or below any comparable tikka (same model, year, etc) I've found that's sold recently online so it seems like a good/great deal.

As far as what to look for, thanks for the tips. I'll be sure to take a look for tinkering like sanding, heavily used action screws, and wear around the mag well and magazine. Thanks!

 

[Rob5589]

I was a tikka fan, buddy bought one month ago, he's buying a new bolt stop, broke.

How in the heck did he break the bolt stop?

 

[Werty]

How in the heck did he break the bolt stop?

The pin, it's more common than you think.

 

[Rob5589]

The pin, it's more common than you think.

Ahh, the pin. I can see that.

 

[sdupontjr]

I did the same thing as the OP. Bought a used T3 Lite in .308. The one I bought appeared to be in great shape. Had a modified bolt stop to allow for longer COAL loads and also included the LA mag. Mine still has the plastic bolt shroud but so what. I played around with a few different loads and ammo and after some advise on the site, I settled on Federal blue box 150's which will clover leaf at 100. Then I tried Remington corelocks 150's and they damn near shoot in the same hole. I just picked up a SB polar and love it. Oh mine also had a Limbsaver pad installed on it, bolt fluting and he painted the stock.

 

[backcountry_hunter]

Not sure what you're paying, but for a point of reference a couple years ago I picked up 270 T3 blued/syn made the year before they went to t3x with all the updates for $350. To this day it's one of my fav's and if we're talking OEM to OEM I prefer the stocks from the t3's over the t3x's (although adding a straight grip is pretty swell). The T3's didn't always come free floated however, every t3x I've been around or owned has but several t3's needed some contact removed.

just an fyi

 

[Desk Jockey]

+1 on adding a limb saver. My t3 in 308 is light and a bit of a kicker compared to my. Heavier 308s. Limbsaver is a cheap and welcome mod.

 

[Rodéo]

I did the same thing as the OP. Bought a used T3 Lite in .308. The one I bought appeared to be in great shape. Had a modified bolt stop to allow for longer COAL loads and also included the LA mag. Mine still has the plastic bolt shroud but so what. I played around with a few different loads and ammo and after some advise on the site, I settled on Federal blue box 150's which will clover leaf at 100. Then I tried Remington corelocks 150's and they damn near shoot in the same hole. I just picked up a SB polar and love it. Oh mine also had a Limbsaver pad installed on it, bolt fluting and he painted the stock.

Glad to hear it shoots corelokts well. I'm picking up half a dozen boxes from the owner along with the rifle for a few more bucks

 

[sdupontjr]

Coming from a 7mm rem mag it does kick for a 30 cal. I've also had a custom rem 700 built in .308 and it was nothing. If it doesnt have a limb saver, get one. It helps alot.