I am new to the community and I apologize if you’ve already talked about this before, but I recently watched your video on the tikka superlite chambered in 7PRC, and it struggled a bit to shoot accurately. If I were to get a tikka t3x lite or superlite, what would be the heaviest hitting cartridge you would recommend for such a light weight hunting rifle to perform to your standards of accuracy? I do have a suppressor which can help, but I was curious about your thoughts…?
PS. I would also be curious about your opinion on the heaviest hitting cartridge recommendation for the Ruger American Gen 2 as well!
I’d say 6.5 PRC or 270 are comfortable in the tikka. 7 mag is fine. Past that is a no-go unless you’ll be replacing the stock.
That stock just isn’t rigid enough to handle higher recouping cartridges accurately.
I don’t know that I have the experience to give an opinion on the ruger gen 2 in higher recouping cartridges because my biggest Ruger gen 2 is just a 6.5 creedmoor.
The best reasonably priced platform for the heavy hitters would be a Bergara Sierra or Savage Trailhunter in my opinion.
I had a T3x in 300 wsm and it was just too much recoil for me. I’m 5’7”, 175 lb, (I’ve got the gimli son of gloin blood in me), so maybe I’m weak sauce, but I’m not too experienced hunting so I shoot for enjoyment mostly, and it just wasn’t enjoyable getting rocked by that thing every trigger pull, lol. So I rebarreled the action into a 7 SAUM. I also have one in 7 rem mag and although it has stout recoil, it is 1 moa or less pretty much with any ammo you throw at it.
as a side note, tikka actions are so nice. They just feel so much better than anything else out there that I’ve used, even compared to some of the custom actions. And there is so much after market support you can take a build whichever direction you want, be it lightweight hunting or a heavy for ELR.
I also have a T3x in 300 WSM. I am 5’11, 210 and still, I have to agree, out of the box, with no muzzle device, the recoil was stout. In my experience, a brake and Backstop recoil pad, tamed the rifle considerably. I still feel it, but it is not unpleasant to shoot. That said, I do plan on replacing the stock at some point.