The world of long-range shooting is constantly evolving, constantly pushing the boundaries of accuracy and ergonomics. Each year brings its share of new products, but few manage to create a real buzz well before their official release. This is precisely the case with the Tikka T3x ACE TARGET , a rifle that promises to be the essential reference of 2025 and which is already causing a lot of ink to flow in the sport shooting community.
At BulletAddict.com, we had the opportunity to obtain one of the first TIKKA T3x ACE TARGET rifles available in France so we could give you a deeper dive into this future gem! Get ready to discover why the Tikka T3x ACE TARGET will not only make its mark, but also potentially transform the precision rifle market in France.
Our video of the weapon:
The Tikka T3X ACE (Adaptable Chassis Equipment) arrives in France at the beginning of the second quarter of 2025. We know the Tikka T3x for its legendary fluidity and the incredible quality of its barrels . However, certain details prevented the historical T3x models from going from being a good rifle to that of a "TLD monster". Barrel lengths of up to 24 inches, not ideal for promoting modern calibers like the 6.5 Creedmoor, stocks often oriented towards hunting, and a single, very military chassis, not necessarily suitable for sport shooting (the T3x TAC A1).
But it seems that TIKKA has listened to the needs of the community and has corrected these shortcomings with the ACE TARGET !
A reliable and proven base: The Tikka T3x case
Let's start with the heart of the gun: its receiver. Quite possibly the second most popular receiver in the world for custom guns, right after the famous Remington 700 receiver, and it's no coincidence! The Tikka T3x receiver is simply a marvel of use and engineering. Regardless of the caliber used, the receiver length remains the same. Only two elements change: the diameter of the firing cup to accommodate different base sizes, and the slide translation stop to reduce its travel with short ammunition.
This is the incredible success of TIKKA: producing a single, controlled and industrially optimized case in order to offer incredible quality at a low price .
The only drawback of this solution is that with a "short" ammunition, you have a "long" case, which means that the weapon is heavier than necessary. This is not a major concern for sport shooting, but could be for a hunting weapon. In addition, it offers the possibility of simply changing one part (the slide translation stop) if you decide, when changing the barrel, to go from a short caliber (for example: .308 Winchester, 6.5 Creedmoor) to a "long" caliber (for example: 6.5-284 Winchester, .284 Winchester, .30-06 Springfield). Magazine length management is also optimized, with proprietary magazines offering a generous internal length, allowing to free oneself from the CIP standards for overall length of ammunition (LOA), with a maximum accepted length of 75.4 mm.
The slide features two lugs with a 70° opening angle , providing incredible smoothness for a standard weapon. It is fluted and coated with Cerakote for exceptional durability. The receiver also features a 20 MOA rail to maximize your effective range in TLD.
A standard tikka cylinder head alongside the fluted version.
Cold-forged barrels of remarkable quality
One of the particularities of TIKKA and SAKO, two sister companies, is the manufacturing process of their barrels. We had the chance to visit the factory in 2020 and the most striking memory of this visit is the deafening noise of the barrel manufacturing workshop. A machine capable of striking steel with forces of several tens of tons stretches a cold barrel around a die, transforming a cylinder of 6/7 cm in diameter and 20 cm long into a barrel of 30 mm in diameter and 60 cm long with perfect rifling inside. Once finished, all that remains is to unscrew the die, and the barrel is rifled! The interest of this manufacturing method is the incredible resistance of the barrels , the microstructure of the steel being much better than with hot or rifling processes. To make it more "aesthetic" and eliminate the thousands of hammer blows, the barrel then goes on the lathe to create its future profile, more or less heavy depending on the model.
If there is one thing to remember: your guns will have a higher durability of around 25 to 30% compared to conventional guns!
Attached are photos obtained by endoscope during the unboxing of our Tikka T3x ACE TARGET:
The rifling is clean, with no trace of the manufacturing process, just a few traces of copper and carbon due to factory and proof bench testing. A very high-quality barrel!
We have the T3x ACE TARGET version in 6.5 Creedmoor with a 66 cm barrel and a semi-heavy profile. The ACE Game versions have much lighter profiles, suitable for hunting but quickly limited by barrel heating on a shooting range.
Simple and effective relaxation
Tikka has always accustomed us to reliable and clean triggers, this latest one is no exception! A small peculiarity of the model we have in our hands is the presence of a knobbed trigger, that is to say that there is a stroke with a limited weight before arriving at a stop where you have to increase the pressure for the shot to go off.
The trigger is originally set at 1.4 kg, which is a little heavy, but as everything is clean and frictionless, this is not a problem. We did all our load development tests with this configuration and it did not bother us in any way during our tests.
Afterwards we decided to look at the settings of this trigger, easily adjusted by means of a small screw on the front face of the trigger.
In less than 3 minutes we were able to get the weight of this trigger down to 600 grams! Which significantly improves the feel behind the weapon!
The Tikka T3x ACE Chassis: Simple and Efficient
Let's start by praising Tikka's design: finally, a manufacturer that standardizes its screws and offers a quality key for all adjustments! Indeed, all the stock adjustments and the housing attachment use the same Torx key, very practical for everyday use!
The butt of the butt
It is height-adjustable to suit your shooting position. When shooting prone, it is best to have the buttstock in the high position to prevent the weapon from sliding under your shoulder. When shooting on a table or standing, it is best to have the buttstock in line with the weapon. Our only complaint is the buttstock adjustment, which must be done with a Torx key; we would have preferred a tool-free adjustment.
The cheek rest
It is height adjustable and is equipped with a return spring. Its advantage? Allowing you to instantly switch from the retracted position to your adjustment, a very nice design to facilitate the maintenance of the weapon and the passage of the ramrod. But in this case, why not have made the butt of the stock adjustable without tools to also facilitate the maintenance of the weapon? In terms of adjustment height, in the highest position, we are at the limit for our optic equipped with a 38 mm high mount, yet an industry standard. A few additional millimeters of adjustment would not have been too much.
The hand restraint
The weapon comes with a hand rest to facilitate the ergonomics of the weak hand. This element is not very practical for the use of a rear shooting bag, which is essential for many shooters. It is an accessory to be replaced by one of the many accessories available for the T3x ACE TARGET, such as a bag rider .
The vertical handle
In just a few years, the vertical grip has become the standard for ergonomics on a precision shooting weapon. TIKKA has adopted this standard, with a position adjustment that allows it to adapt to individual tastes and body shapes.
An adjustable thumb rest
A popular new feature in recent years, the presence of a thumb rest allows you to position your thumb and have a more "relaxed" position. The main interest of a thumb rest is to allow you to have your hand in a more ergonomic position, to limit movements to chain shots (the hand is already ready to take the cocking lever). This also allows you to have the entire recoil absorbed by your shoulder and not a certain ratio between your hand and your shoulder, which makes the repositioning and the tensions in the hand and shoulder less "critical" and more tolerant. This thumb rest is adjustable in three positions thanks to a very ingenious triangular shape. We regret the lack of fine adjustment that a shape such as a hexagon or other geometric figure could have provided. But the idea is excellent!
The bridge
The TIKKA T3x ACE's trigger guard doesn't have a through-hole for adjusting the trigger. You'll need to remove the frame to access the trigger mechanism to make any adjustments. Removing the magazine is simple and activated by a button located at the front of the trigger guard. It's a shame that this part is made of plastic, but it's of impeccable quality.
The chargers
The magazines are Tikka proprietary magazines and do not accept any other standard (AICS, etc.). Please note that there are two types of magazines at Tikka: the so-called double stack magazines , usable on the Tikka T3x CTR, Tikka T3x TAC A1, and Tikka T3x ACE TARGET weapons. Recognizable by their steel material and their plastic sabot, they are only available for so-called short ammunition (.300 Winchester, 6.5 Creedmoor, etc.).
We regret the prohibitive prices of these magazines compared to the market standard (AICS magazines). However, we appreciate the generous length of the magazine which allows us to go beyond the CIP standards in terms of ammunition length, with a maximum accepted length of 75.4 mm.
There are other magazines, called single stack , for other versions of Tikka T3x, including the Tikka T3x GAME! So be careful of possible confusion about the magazines; they are entirely made of plastic and exist for ammunition ranging from .222 Remington to .300 Winchester Magnum.
The barrel of the weapon
The barrel of the weapon has a barricade stop , very useful during dynamic use of the weapon as required by the PRS. We will also find a barrel equipped with an ARCA rail , which has become a real standard in the world of sport shooting. It allows the mounting of a bipod or attachment to a tripod.
Positioning the scratch socket:
The position of the rifling is close enough to ensure magazine feeding on 123gr/136gr/139gr Lapua Scenar projectiles. On the other hand, for 140gr Berger Hybride projectiles in contact with the rifling it will not be possible to feed the magazine with a LHT of 77.12mm.
Overall, it is a good positioning of the rifling which allows to optimize the internal volume of the cases while being able to use the magazine, on very long and heavy projectiles 140gr and more it will be necessary to do without the magazine and feed shot by shot
The first load tests:
To start with a safe bet, we decided to reload with Lapua Scenar 123gr projectiles as well as N150 powder and CCI 450 primers.
This combination has always given good results on target on the 6.5CM that we have tried in the past. The first tests are surprising as evidenced by the groupings below carried out at a distance of 100 meters.
The first grouping consists of a series of 7 bullets including bullets number 2 to 8 fired from the barrel, the first bullet having been used to adjust the scope (visible in the middle of page 2). All the groups rotate under half a minute of angle which is remarkable for first tests. Similarly, the velocity regularities are excellent with standard deviations of less than 3 m/s on all the groups, and even regularly under 1 m/s.
However, it should be kept in mind that a group of 3 shots is not very revealing of the performance of a system, but it must be admitted that the 8 groups of 3 shots being under half a minute suggests very good future results to come.Going further in load testing:
We then decided to use a constant charge of 2.54g of N150 and to play with the penetration to find the ideal charge. Knowing from experience that the 123gr Scenar likes to be close to grooves, we positioned ourselves 0.1mm from the grooves and tested by pushing the projectile deeper and deeper.
The sinking variations are carried out directly on the firing point
For this we use new Starline brand cases whose collars have been turned, which allows us to fireform the cases. We decided to let our radar operate for the entire series, because the sinking has little effect on the speeds when we vary by a few centimeters or millimeters.
The results close to the stripes are all very good, an attempt further from the stripes (target 4) shows that in our case, it is better to stay close to the stripes!
Setting number 6 with a Base To Ogive length of 59.20 gives us a grouping of 8 bullets in 12mm at 100 meters… It is difficult to separate the 3.5 and 6 groups, they are very similar and their depression only varies by a few hundredths. We decide to keep the "average" depression of 59.27 which places us in the center of a zone "conducive" to precision.
The velocity collected on the 28 shots (the entire box except the first two shots target 1) is an average of 864 m/s for a standard deviation of 2.53 m/s… With formed fire cases it will be easy to go below 2m/s…
We decided to try ammunition loaded with N555 and BERGER 140 gr HYBRID.
And again the results are incredible with so little testing.
Now let's do some long range shooting!
For this, nothing is better than an electronic target; we place it at 530 meters and make a few groupings.
Here with 123gr scenar and N150 powder
Here with LAPUA 123gr Scenar manufactured ammunition
