I dont know why, but I just had to have one of these so I got one on the way. I got one in the stainless BBL. Never had a 6.5 x 55, I have heard of a problem when ejecting shells, but they are light recoil and accurate. anybody out there have one and an opinion on one ?

Everything i have read says nothing about ejecting problems. Just ammo is pricey.

Where did you buy and how much?

TP308, welcome to a new adventure in accuracy with the T3 Swede.
In answer to your question about ejection the answer is an unqualified NO... IMO you will not ever have an ejection or feeding problem due to the superior SAKO design and craftsmanship of the T3.

If you read the article about T3's in the Jan/Feb '09 Texas Sporting Journal by Jameson Parker (who claimed design ownership of the WSM calibers and cost Winchester & others a fortune in royalties) that just came out you'll have a much better understanding of what a Tikka T3 represents and where it came from.

As far as the 6.5x55 caliber being expensive to shoot...my strong advice is to learn to reload to be able to fully utilize ALL the attributes of the 6.5 caliber in bullet weeights from 85 gr to 160gr's. Otherwise go online and look at the factory ammo available at Graf's and some some other places. Prices for euro Swede ammo at Grafs run from the WallyWorld 270/308/'06 range to whatever you want to spend for high grade ammo. US made Swede ammo competes at about $20 box & last time I looked you could buy Privi & S&B at Grafs for bunch'e less than that at about $12-$13 a box...with Norma & Lapua premium ammo in $50-$60 a box range for ammo capable of taking elk & black bear or any of the African thin skinned antelopes that can be reloaded in the same components for 40-50% of that. My 2800 fps 120 gr Sierra ProHunter handloads - that shoot into one ragged hole - cost me about $12-$14 a box or less...andmy Nosler 130 gr Accubond elk capable loads mmight cost me couple bux more a box...with factory 270 Accubonds at double & plus that.

I have had a 40 year love affair with a 270 that is being jepordized by my experiences with a Hunter Grade T3 Swede I picked up two years ago, as I wanted to not take a chance on damaging a surgically repaired neck/shoulder, even though I had (& still have) a NIB T3 SS/Syn 270 I'd bought for the significantly lighter weight of the T3 than the very successful Tikka 695 WTHunter 270 I'd been shooting in deference to the shoulder, as the WTHunter weighed close to 9lb's scoped & loaded and the T3 will weigh rigged the same way almost 2 lbs less. My wood/blue HG T3 Swede is 6 oz's heavier than your gun and almost a perfect compromise of weight and recoil wearing a Nikon 3x9 Buckmaster without having to switchout to a made to fit Limbsaver as I was going to have to do with the T3Lite 270 AND shooting the Swede 50+ rounds at a time off the bench in a T Shirt with my bum shoulder. Ah Luv It!

I'd love to know where you found a Stainless T3 in Texas, as I understand that Beretta only imports one run/delivery a year and they are always sold out nationwide by the time I can get my nickels togther. I drove 4 hours one way to get mine from Gander Mtn in Corsicana, and it was the next to the last one in the entire GM system with the other in Michigan.

My T3 Swede has been a joy to shoot with absolutely no tuning from it's out of the box beginning.

If I were looking to only shoot factory ammo, I be buying on line and look for ammo in the 120, 130 grain ranges for max performance that is barely below a 270's in the same weight bullet, as the 140 gr US made ammo is downloaded and lawyerized, as it should be, for the huge number of low pressure receivers in the millions of sporterized 1894 & 1896 Swedish Mausers still killing deer every year. OBTW I can handload 6.5x55 Nosler 125 gr Partitions to 2900 fps...or within 150-200 fps of a 270 in the same NPT 130 gr bullet...max load vs max load and only lose 4"s or less in drop at 400 yards.

Don't short sell the killing power of the slightly slower Swede vs the 270/308/30'06 class of bullets in the same general weight either, as the Swede is designed for deep penetration with it's 8x1 twist and super high Ballistic Coefficients with higher than usual Sectional Density...and is still used in Scandanavia to regularly kill 800-1000+ lb Shiras Moose.

As I said...learn to reload and you've got a caliber capable of replacing everything from a 22-250 in 70gr Varmint bullets, 85 thru 120 gr 243/257Rbts to a 130-150 gr 270/308...and only give up the heavier bullet weights and enough better velocity when you get to a 308/30'06 in 165gr'ers or heavier. As far as the T3 goes there are two distinct schools of thought, if you don't mind the polymer and totin a 6lb 3oz rifle you'll love it...but if you have to have an all steel 8lb rifle it ain't gonna be for you no matter how good it shoots.

Since this ain't my first goat ropin' I know and appreciate the differences ...and still own both...but I'll wind up buying a Swede like yours AND prolly a CZ 8lb Full Stock carbine...and have been looking at beginning to collect 1894/1896 scandahoovian Mausers and any other military 6.5x55 Mausers for their exqusite workmanship I can find, I am THAT smitten with the caliber.
JMHO
Ron

I do not own a Tikka but do own a 6.5 Swede. Mine is a CZ. I can tell you I love my 6.5. I have only had it for about 5 months. I bought it back in Aug and worked up a load for it for this past deer season. It took down all 5 animals I shot and of the 5 only one ran. All the others dropped in there tracks. The one that did run was heart shot and the bullet did not hit any bones so it ran about 60 yards and dropped dead. It was not until the third animal did I realize I had not felt one bit of kick on any of the animals I had taken with it. They will flat get the job done and will do so with little recoil.

Good luck.

Ron, I have been buying locally what I could find, which is 139gr, I just looked at grafs, they have some 100,108,123 which of those would you pick? by the way I have the CZ full stock.

colt45, what are you wanting to use these light bullets for...varmints?

Nosler makes 100 gr'ers in Ballistic Tips AND Partitions..and I'd think the PT's would do better than 243 in 95/100 PT's speed wise - need to go look at the book I guess - and be a better game bullet.

THF time out fairy just ate a longish post of mine so I'll keep this'un short.
Ron

OBTW
The '09 Hornady catalog I got at the DSC Show last weekend shows tons of choices ...certainly more than I knew about...and a new for '09 129gr plastic tipped Bonded game bullet that should compete well with the 130gr Nosler AB's.
RV

I have a friend that shoots a cz in 6.5 Swede. He has many other rifles, but still the Swede is his go to gun!! My wife has a .260 remington mountain gun accurizied by Hill Country Rifle, which is the american equivelant to the 6.5 Swede, I fight her over that gun!!! It Shoots way to good for such a thin barreled rifle. Midway has 6.5 Swede Hornady 140 grain SP for 23.00 right now. They also has some Pravi Partizian 139 SP for 14.00 a box and it has gotten good reviews.

I use the 139gr Wolf Gold and they group better in my T3 6.5 swede than the Remington 140gr. You can not beat the 6.5 for accuracy, and penetration. I have had absolutely no problems with my T3 except it shoots way better than I can......

I should be getting my Tikka T3 stainless this week. A gun dealer that I do a lot of business with found it for me brand new in a gun shop in Alabama. there are several for sale right now (Jan. 19th) on Gunsamerica, Gunbroker and Auction Arms in the low $600 range. I traded a year old Savage 12FV in .308 and a few bucks for mine. I bought 2 boxes of Hornady 139 grain Custom shells on sale for $22 plus change this week. I will try those first and see how the rifle likes them, some guns are like women and cats, real finicky. I too have a bad shoulder and even my favorite .308 and 7-08 get to me, I guess I could try the managed recloil ammo out there, but I just had to get a 6.5 Swede.

I would like to know what you think about the Hornady 139gr if you get a chance PM me or post how it shot. thanks

Speaking of the auctions, I saw a couple 3 of the Lipsy Distr limited run 2008 special 6.5x55 Ruger SS/wood Internationals - the 18 1/2" barreled Fullstock gun that is not produced in cataloged stock in stainless, with good iron sights (Lipsy Distr's of Baton Rouge has the exclusive contract for this SS/Wood setup with Ruger and only produces a super small quantity of several hundred a year in a given caliber & style which makes for a real collectors item in a new production gun) on GB or summerselse at around the $750-$850 Buy Now price range...saw another at $1000 on GA. What a sweet looking setup in premium Ruger wood. Don't think I'm a player but...nice to think about. I'm past the new collector/limited run leave it in the closet thingy and I'd just shoot it at fur until it wouldn't shoot straight no more like I did with my 1st production run M70 FWT 257Rbts.

OBTW Ruger no longer makes a 6.5x55 of any kind...but they are showing a 6.5 Creedmore Hawekeye 77. FYI the Creedmore is a shortend 308 case made to function reliably thru an AR platform and Hornady is loading factory ammo for it. Dunno why Ruger would want to chamber a Creedmore in a bolt gun though ??? S'posed to run a tad faster than a 260...IMO a nother duplicate except for the AR platform usage. JMHO
Ron

Have 2, one is a stainless featherweight the other a rem 700 classic. i would like to get one in the cz full stock eventually but i think it is gonna be difficult. i like the ruger rsi in it but the european stock looks a little better than the straight stock ruger in my opinion; i like both though.

I like the round it is quiet too.

I was really lucky, I was in cabelas and found one on the used gun rack,full stock, tag said it was with the box, I talked them down to 500, and was able to use one of their 100. coupons,400. plus tax, I was smiling all the way home.

My Tikka 6.5 should be here thursday, do any of yall know much about the scope mounts? I understand it is a groove type. if so, is it a good sturdy base. I am gonna put a 3x9x40 Leupold on it for now. I dont know much about this rifle other than I knew I just had to have it. I got lots of pigs to shoot this weekend, so hopefully I can have it boresighted and zeroed by friday morning. I cant wait.

great deal! fantastic price, i am never that lucky

I think the 6.5 is the best all round caliber there is imo. I own 2 as of today, one is a old military rifle that i put way to much money on but is my favorite and just bought a beautifull CZ today from one of the guys on the forum. I have shot alot of rounds thru my old gun and it functions flawless! Long story short you will love it!

Colt, for using a Swede on the occasional short range hog & song dogs ...unless you are keeping the hides ... I'd prolly be shooting a 100gr'er big game bullet of some sort like a Hornady SP or the NPT's. Sierra makes a 100gr HPBT that is a screamer speedwise, that they now refer to as a Varmint class bullet. The ones I picked up last year on FleaBay are bigtime years old and unmarked as VT's - box sez they were made in Sante Fe Springs California and they been located in Missouri forever...and I'd be willing to bet have a thicker jacket than the new stuff. If you want some spendy 100 gr bullets that'll also work on hogs I think Barnes still makes some 100gr solids in an X bullet, but a 100gr TSX out of a Swede at 32-3300fps would be just about perfect for anything in Texas. My Sierra flat base SP 120gr ProHunters are shown in the book at 3000 fps maxed out, with my mild "practice load" thats about 2 gr's under max in RL19 shown at 2750-2800 fps and I would not hesitate to pop a hog where it counts at well undr 100 yards with that bullet. I plan on hunting that bullet for whatever targets of opportunity I find in Texas until I burn up the 1 1/2 box's I got left unless I see that they ain't doin the job. I killed lots of deer with 100gr 257Rbts at that same speed for over 10 years - OBTW my M70 FWT Rbts would NOT shoot 117/120gr'ers worth snot (aka as 1 1/2-2"+) but I could hide 5 100gr'ers UNDER a penny ?!?!?! and made a one shot kill in Wyoming on an pronghorn at apprx 440 yards with a Factory WW 100gr Silver Tip made the old fashioned way in a aluminum SP, and used 100gr 243's for years before that in a simlar shaped flat based cup & core bullet like the Hornady IL's & Sierra ProHunters. Like I said 100 gr Partitions ought to be the berries for anything in Texas...but then what would I do with the 130gr AB's & 140 gr SP's I got laying around LOL!
Ron

TP 308, IMO the weak link of the Tikka T3's is the soft factory rings & screws. I really like the rail mount system that allows anykind of scope to be mounted anywhere you need it for whatever eye relief you are working with...as long as the gun is NOT a big kicker from about 300WMg and larger. I am using the factory rings on my T3 Swede but I went to carbon steel ring screws after rounding the factory screw heads IMO way too easily. I had to buy a 1/2 box (50) at a time from a local fastner distributor in order and wait 3 weeks to get what I wanted. I'll send you a set for a $buck to cover my cost and postage, so PM me to swap address's. Understand these are black painted carbon steel and not blued steel...but I keep my guns well weather protected and am not too concerned about the screws rusting.

On a the T3, it comes already drilled and tapped if you want to use a Leupold/Burris/Talley setup. If I had any reservations I'd lean towards using Burris rings with inserts. For a Quick Release rig I'd opt for Talleys but they are spendy for sure, but for an extended/overseas trip where you might want to take a backup scope to swap out a busted scope and save a hunt, IMO Talley's aircraft quality aluminum QR's would be my choice.

Lemme know on the steel screws, 'cause I'll have to find them buried in the storage shed.
Ron

I got my Tikka T3 friday afternoon, boresighted that evening, zeroed sat. afternoon and the first pig on the ground about 6pm that same day. I got the Stainless Lite vesion. the 6.5 has very little recoil, so the supplied mounts will do for now. I really love this rifle and all my buddies at the lease really are considering getting one too. they are not too easy to come by, one turn off is the price of a spare magazine, about $67. it has taken the first spot in my safe already with my 7-08 and .308 in reserve. I am gonna like this rifle!!

what kind of 7-08 you got? I wish I had my Tikka back.

up to now the 7-08 was my backup go to with my favorite the .308 in Savage Model 12. I got a couple of 7-08,one the Remington Model 7, and a real tackdriver is a low end Stevens 200 I throw in my pickup. less than $300 with a Nikon 3x9x50 Buckmasters, but it outshoots my nicer rifles.

I was dangerously close to buying the Tikka T3 Hunter woood/blued in a 308. From what I have read seems I am interested in the 6.5 Swede. Will this be enough for 400+ yds Texas hill country Red sheep, Ibex, etc.?? I am new to the extended range shooting gig and got bit this past Dec taking a sheep on the side of a hill at 300+/- yds with a 243. Yes I know,,,blind squirrels gota eat too..I admitt..lots of luck on that pot shot. I want to put together a very accurate long range gun just short of a custom job. Any thoughts?