How did the mounting system on Tikka rifles change through time?
Nowadays, Tikka T3/T3x is a well-known rifle made by the Finnish manufacturer Sako. More than a million of them have been made to date. But current rifles are a product of more than sixty years of continuous upgrades (and an occasional downgrade).
This article was written for all Tikka rifle owners and others interested in Tikka rifles to show how the mounting system on Tikka rifle models evolved through time. We hope this will be of help when choosing the correct Tikka mount for you.
For a faster browse-through, we grouped Tikka rifles into complementary models:
Tikka M55 (Short Action) and M65 (Long Action)
Tikka company started making centerfire rifles in 1968 when it introduced Tikka M55 (at first called M76 and LSA55), which was produced until 1989. This is a short-action rifle, which is why Tikka also developed a long-action rifle at the same time, called Tikka M65.
Both models were produced in the original Tikkakoski factory, years before the Tikka brand was acquired by Sako in 1983. These two rifles don’t have a detachable magazine, so the cartridges must be inserted through the completely open top. Therefore, the front end and the rear end of the mounting surface of the receiver are disconnected, which allows the user easier insertion of cartridges, but a disconnected receiver also means a less rigid rifle and that can in some cases affect shooting accuracy in a negative way.
M55 and M65 have a 16.5mm dovetail machined in the front and the back along with 2 mounting holes at each end. These 4 holes have an M3,5 thread machined inside. One thing worth pointing out with these models is that they don’t have the recoil notch, unlike all the later Tikka models. The distance between the front two holes on M55 is 21.9mm and this is true for the rear two holes as well. The distance between the pairs of holes is 91.3mm.
The mounting surface of Tikka M55:
-
Tikka M55 is chambered for:
• .17 Rem
• .222 Rem
• .22-250 Rem
• .223 Rem
• .243 Rem
• .308 Win
• 6mm Rem
Mounts that will fit this rifle:
Mounts for some other Tikka rifles (M65, M590/M690, M595/M695, and T3/T3x), which are meant to be installed on 4 tapped mounting holes will fit this rifle as well. The majority of these mounts will have T3/T3x in the name, as these two models are the most recent.
Mounts available for Tikka M55: CLICK HERE
Everything said for M55 also applies to M65, with the only difference being the long distance between the pairs of holes, which is 109mm for M65.
The mounting surface of Tikka M65:
-
Tikka M65 rifle is chambered for:
• 25-06 Rem
• .270 Win
• .300 Win Mag
• .30-06 Springfield
• .308 Win
• .338 Win Mag
• 6.5×55mm
• 7×57mm
• 7×64mm
• 7mm Rem Mag
• 9.3×62mm
Mounts that will fit this rifle:
Mounts for some other Tikka rifles (M55, M590/M690, M595/M695, and T3/T3x), which are meant to be installed on 4 tapped mounting holes will fit this rifle as well. The majority of these mounts will have T3/T3x in the name, as these two models are the most recent.
Mounts available for Tikka M65: CLICK HERE
Tikka M558 (Short Action) and M658 (Long Action)
In 1990, the Tikka M558 model replaced M55. The brand now operated under the wings of Sako and expanded the engineering team. Indeed, it was the first rifle model that was produced in the new Sako headquarters in Riihimäki – along with M658, which replaced M65.
The main difference between the older M55/M65 rifles and the newer M558/M658 is the middle part of the dovetail, which got extended upwards, meaning the middle part of the receiver, where the cartridges are inserted and ejected is not completely open anymore and it can be seen that it even has a dovetail notch, which runs along the whole length on the left side, although that is still not enough to install mounts for dovetails on that part of the receiver. One new thing relevant for mounts installed on the dovetail is the recoil notch. Another big difference with this model is the lack of 4 tapped mounting holes, which is a step backward, as it deprives the user of mounting alternatives. The user is forced to make use of the 16.5mm dovetail.
The mounting surface of Tikka M558:
-
Tikka M558 is chambered for:
• .222 Rem
• .223 Rem
• .22-250 Rem
• .243 Win
• .308 Win
Mounts that will fit this rifle:
One-piece mounts for some other Tikka rifles (M658, M590/M690, M595/M695, and T3/T3x), which are meant to be installed on the 16.5mm dovetail and make use of the recoil stopper will fit this rifle as well. The majority of these mounts will have T3/T3x in the name, as these two models are the most recent.
Mounts available for Tikka M558: CLICK HERE
The mounting surface of Tikka M658:
-
Standard Tikka M658 rifle is chambered for:
• .25-06 Rem
• .270 Win
• .30-06
• 6.5×55mm
• 7x64mm
• 9.3×62mm
-
Magnum Tikka M658 rifle is chambered for:
• .300 Win Mag
• .338 Win Mag
• 7mm Rem Mag
Standard M658 and M658 Magnum receivers are the same, so the mounts which don’t have Mag in their name will fit M658 Mag too.
Mounts that will fit this rifle:
One-piece mounts for some other Tikka rifles (M558, M590/M690, M595/M695, and T3/T3x), which are meant to be installed on the 16.5mm dovetail and make use of the recoil stopper will fit this rifle as well. The majority of these mounts will have T3/T3x in the name, as these two models are the most recent.
Mounts available for Tikka M658: CLICK HERE
Tikka M590 (Short Action) and M690 (Long Action)
Out of all older models, Tikka M590/M690 rifle resembles the modern Tikka T3/T3x the most. It has 4 tapped mounting holes (two at the front and two at the back), a recoil notch, and a fully connected dovetail, which makes this rifle receiver more rigid compared to older models and the model which came after it. This is the biggest draw of M590 and M690. The only difference to T3/T3x is in the recoil notch, as it is located between the front pair of mounting holes. Compare that to T3, where the notch is located behind the pair of front holes. The insertion of the cartridges from the top is aggravated, but that is not really a problem, since these models already have detachable magazines. Both models are offered in LH and RH variants.
The distance between the holes in each pair is 21.9mm and the long distance between the two pairs is 98mm on Tikka M590.
The mounting surface of Tikka M590:
-
Tikka M590 is chambered for:
• .17 Rem
• .222 Rem
• .223 Rem
• .22-250 Rem
• .243 Win
• .308 Win
Mounts that will fit this rifle:
One-piece mounts for some other Tikka rifles (M558/M658, M690, M595/M695, and T3/T3x), which are meant to be installed on the 16.5mm dovetail and make use of the recoil stopper will fit this rifle as well. Another type of mounts that will fit this rifle are mounts for Tikka M55/M65, M690, M595/M695, and T3/T3x which are meant to make use of 4 tapped mounting holes, but only those that are without recoil stopper and those that have the recoil stopper offset to the back. The majority of these mounts will have T3/T3x in the name, as these two models are the most recent.
Mounts available for Tikka M590: CLICK HERE
On Tikka M690 the distance between the holes in each pair is 21.9mm and the long distance between the two pairs is 102.3mm.
The mounting surface of Tikka M690:
-
Standard Tikka M690 is chambered for:
• .25-06 Rem
• 6.5×55 SE
• .270 Win
• 7×64
• .30-06
• 9.3×62
-
Magnum Tikka M690 is chambered for:
• 7mm Rem Mag
• .300 Win Mag
• .338 Win Mag
Standard M690 and M690 Mag receivers are the same, so the mounts which don’t have Mag in their name will fit M690 Mag too.
Mounts that will fit this rifle:
One-piece mounts for some other Tikka rifles (M558/M658, M590, M595/M695, and T3/T3x), which are meant to be installed on the 16.5mm dovetail and make use of the recoil stopper will fit this rifle as well. Another type of mounts that will fit this rifle are mounts for Tikka M55/M65, M590, M595/M695, and T3/T3x which are meant to make use of 4 tapped mounting holes, but only those that are without recoil stopper and those that have the recoil stopper offset to the back. The majority of these mounts will have T3/T3x in the name, as these two models are the most recent.
Mounts available for Tikka M690: CLICK HERE
Tikka M595 (Short Action) and M695 (Long Action)
Tikka M595/M695 is again a step backward as far the mounting is concerned because the mounting system is more or less the same as on the previous models, the difference being the disconnected dovetail on the right side for the RH variant, and on the left side for LH variant-. This makes the receiver and consequently the rifle less rigid, which could in some cases lead to worse shot accuracy. One small perk of this change is the easier insertion of cartridges, but that is not crucial on models that feature detachable magazines.
Both, M595 and M695 have the distance between the two holes in each pair 21.9mm, while the long distance between the two pairs is 98mm for M595 and 102.3mm for M695.
The mounting surface of Tikka M595:
-
Tikka M595 is chambered for:
• .17 Rem
• .222 Rem
• .223 Rem
• .22-250 Rem
• .243 Win
• 7mm-08 Rem
• .308 Win
Mounts that will fit this rifle:
One-piece mounts for some other Tikka rifles (M558/M658, M590/M690, M695, and T3/T3x), which are meant to be installed on the 16.5mm dovetail and make use of the recoil stopper will fit this rifle as well. Another type of mounts that will fit this rifle are mounts for Tikka M55/M65, M590/M690, M695, and T3/T3x which are meant to make use of 4 tapped mounting holes, but only those that are without recoil stopper and those that have the recoil stopper offset to the back. The majority of these mounts will have T3/T3x in the name, as these two models are the most recent.
Mounts available for Tikka M595: CLICK HERE
The mounting surface of Tikka M695:
-
Standard Tikka M695 is chambered for:
• .25-06 Rem
• 6.5×55 SE
• .270 Win
• 7×64
• .30-06
• 9.3×62 -
Magnum Tikka M695 is chambered for:
• 7mm Rem Mag
• .300 Win Mag
• .338 Win Mag
Standard M695 and M695 Mag receivers are the same, so the mounts which don’t have Mag in their name will fit M695 Mag too.
Mounts that will fit this rifle:
One-piece mounts for some other Tikka rifles (M558/M658, M590/M690, M595, and T3/T3x), which are meant to be installed on the 16.5mm dovetail and make use of the recoil stopper will fit this rifle as well. Another type of mounts that will fit this rifle are mounts for Tikka M55/M65, M590/M690, M595, and T3/T3x which are meant to make use of 4 tapped mounting holes, but only those that are without recoil stopper and those that have the recoil stopper offset to the back. The majority of these mounts will have T3/T3x in the name, as these two models are the most recent.
Mounts available for Tikka M695: CLICK HERE
Tikka T3 (Long Action) and T3x (Long Action)
Long-action T3 and its successor T3x are the most modern Tikka rifles and such are also their mounting systems. The T3 has more or less the same mounting options as the M590/M690, the only difference is the recoil notch, which is located between the front pair of mounting holes on T3/T3x, while on M590/M690 it is located behind the front pair of mounting holes. T3/T3x rifles are designed for both, left-handed and right-handed users.
The distance between the holes in each pair is 21.9mm and the long distance between the two pairs is 82.4mm.
The mounting surface of Tikka T3:
The mounting surface of Tikka T3x:
-
Tikka T3 and T3x are chambered for:
• .17 Rem
• .204 Ruger,
• .222 Rem
• .22-250 Rem
• .223 Rem
• .243 Win
• .25-06 Rem
• .260 Rem
• .270 Win
• .270 WSM
• .300 Win Mag
• .300 WSM
• .30-06 Sprg
• .308 Win
• .338 Win Mag
• 6.5×55 SE
• 7mm Rem Mag
• 7mm-08 Rem
• 7×64
• 8×57 IS
• 9.3×62
Mounts that will fit this rifle:
We believe all the mounts for older Tikka rifles mentioned in this article (M55/M65, M558/M658, M590/M690, and M595/M695) will fit Tikka T3/T3x.
Mounts available for Tikka T3: CLICK HERE
Tikka T3x has one additional hole for mounting, along with standard two holes in the front and two in the back, with the distance between the holes in each pair remaining 21.9mm and the distance between the two pairs 82.4mm.
T3x also has two new recoil notches for 3mm pins in addition to the standard 6mm recoil notch. This means the mounts for Tikka T3 will fit T3x too, although the additional mounting hole and additional recoil notches will stay unused but that is fine.
Mounts available for Tikka T3x: CLICK HERE
Mounts available for Tikka T3x TAC A1: CLICK HERE
Summary
Two-piece mounts, which are to be installed on 4 mounting holes will fit almost all mentioned Tikka rifles in this article, as the distance between the holes in each pair is 21.9mm on all models. The only exception for these types of mounts is Tikka M558/M658, which does not accept mounts for 4 tapped holes.
Mounts, which are meant to be installed on 16.5mm dovetail and have a recoil stopper are also suitable for most of the mentioned rifles, the exception being the first models, M55 and M65, which don’t have a recoil notch.
For installation of Picatinny rails on Tikka rifles, it is recommended to install steel Picatinny rails since the receivers of all the Tikka rifles in this article are also made of steel.
More about that in our article: Aluminum vs. Steel Picatinny Rails
| Help us build our riflescope mounts databaseIf you have Tikka rifles or any other rifle, we would really appreciate it if you could send us photos of the rifle receiver (mounting surface of the rifle with no mounts installed), because it would help us expand our rifle mounts database. It would be of great value to us and we will definitely reward you for your help.
If you have any information about when a specific rifle was first manufactured or find inaccuracies in the article (e.g. dimensions, calibers listed), please don’t hesitate to let us know! Please send us an email for more information. You can contact us here: [email protected] |
