The New Canadian Ranger Rifle? Tikka T3X Arctic .308—SHOT Show 2017

in Authors, Clay Martin, SHOT Show 2017

Updated: February 9, 2017 BY Clay Martin

To learn more, visit h ttp://www.tikka.fi/rifles/tikka-t3x/t3x-arctic.

To purchase a Tikka T3X rifle on GunsAmerica.com, click this link: https://www.gunsamerica.com/Search.aspx?T=Tikka%20T3X.

Overview

Tikka got my attention this year with several new rifles, and one deserving of some praise is the Artic. This gun was purpose-built for the Canadian Rangers, who know a thing or two about being cold. These poor bastards train in some of the most inhospitable terrain on earth, and they needed a no-frills rifle that would stand up to that. Tikka stepped up to the plate.

The New Canadian Ranger Rifle? Tikka T3X Arctic .308—SHOT Show 2017

The new Tikka T3x Arctic is a .308 rifle designed for the Canadian Rangers. Image courtesy of manufacturer.

Specs

Chambering: .308 Win.
Barrel: 20 inches
OA Length: 40 inches
Weight: 8.13 pounds
Stock: Laminated
Sights: Open with range dial
Action: Bolt
Finish: Blued or stainless

Impression

This rifle is beautiful and functional. The orange-colored stock might feel out of place on a military rifle, but it arguably blends in better than black. It is nice to have some old school wood grain in the mix, and I am betting the Finnish engineers know about wood stocks and weather. I predict zero problems there. The iron sights are adjustable and tough, they look like you couldn’t dent them with a hammer. Like the rest of the Tikkas in the T3x line, the Artic features a redesigned ejection port for improved reliability. In keeping with its military lineage, this one is available only in .308 this year.

To learn more, visit h ttp://www.tikka.fi/rifles/tikka-t3x/t3x-arctic.

To purchase a Tikka T3X rifle on GunsAmerica.com, click this link: https://www.gunsamerica.com/Search.aspx?T=Tikka%20T3X.

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Related Tags: Buzz, Feature Articles, SHOT Show 2017, Tikka

Tom Wickstrom December 1, 2019, 12:31 am

If the cost drops a bit, I’ll buy one. The Ruger Gun site scout barrel is to short for .308, and they don’t function like a Tikka. Oh well, I guess I’ll save my money. Oh, I have no problem paying for quality. Really impressive design.
This was my only comment about this rifle, hacker.

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Les Meade February 20, 2017, 2:42 pm

The only thing I see wrong with this rifle is the price, it is quite expensive. Manufactured under license by Colt Canada or somesuch, or is that only the units intended for the Canadian Ranger?

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Jackpine February 13, 2017, 7:09 pm

Had to look these guys up. Sounds like quite a group. Glad they’re getting a rifle upgrade. What Allen said, I’d like a LH version.

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loupgarous February 13, 2017, 4:15 pm

Is the C14 Timberwolf just too expensive for this contract? Princess Patricia’s Light Infantry and other elite Canadian Forces units use those in .338 Lapua with great effectiveness in Afghanistan (with recorded kills at roughly the same distances as Barrett M82A1s).

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allan contois February 13, 2017, 3:37 pm

like the.308 caliber —any thing for lefties ?

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DIYinSTL February 13, 2017, 11:05 am

Is there any chance that the Canadians will export a ton of soon to be surplus .303 ammo? Some cheap rounds for my dad’s old sporterized Enfield would be a great excuse for an afternoon of shoulder bruising.

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- loupgarous February 13, 2017, 4:02 pm
  
  Amazing to think that Canadian Rangers are still using the No. 4 Mk I chambered in .303 (even the Ishapore Rifle Factory in India started rechambering the Lee-Enfield for 7.62 NATO in the early 1960s, and the British Ministry of Defence has Sterling make up a conversion kit for trials before deciding not to convert their reserve stocks of Lee-Enfields to the new cartridge).
  
  The No. 4 Mk I was produced only in North America, by Long Branch Arsenal in Canada and Savage-Stevens Firearms in the USA and mostly for British forces during WW2 – but the Canadian Rangers apparently still work with it.
  
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Scott Perron February 13, 2017, 9:30 am

These new rifles for the Canadian Rangers had to be tough. The CR do long distance patrols in the Arctic on snow machines, and the rifle needed to be big enough for Polar Bear defense. The Lee Enfield in .303 British was replaced due to the limited availability of parts.

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Bryan Young February 13, 2017, 6:56 am

Nice rifle. I went to the Tikka website and got a better & closer look at it. The way they have that front site set up doesn’t inspire confidence though. It looks like the front site is one big (for a lack of a better word) C clamped on that barrel. But still a nice rifle.

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- Les Meade February 20, 2017, 2:39 pm
  
  I know, It’s simply amazing to think that this made it through the long and tedious evaluation process with that thing clamped on there. They totally should have gone with the Steyr, totally.
  
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DRAINO February 10, 2017, 7:33 am

This is sexy!! Me likey!!!! Tikka makes some awesome rifles. Too bad they aren’t American. Kinda like the Sabatti rifles. The only thing that would make them better is if they are made in the US.

AMERICANISM!!!! NOT Globalism!!!!

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- Bud Young February 13, 2017, 1:11 pm
  
  OR just maybe it should be made in Canada?? you think?
  
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Charlie J Boudreaux February 10, 2017, 4:54 am

A new run of M-39 rifles would have also been nice and we they do well in arctic climates.

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- Dan Forbey February 13, 2017, 2:10 pm
  
  I would love to have an M-39 built on this smooth, fast Tikka action. That’d be a fun rifle to shoot.
  
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