Tikka T3X Ace Game Rifle: Jack of All Trades?

My first impression when pulling the new Tikka Ace Game from the box was that it is an instrument, not a tool. Although borderline too heavy for hunting, this is a refined precision rifle with popular modern characteristics. It looks like a $3,000 rifle, but to my surprise suggested retail is just $1,849.

The T3x Ace Game is a bolt action with a fluted, semi-heavy, Sporter-weight barrel, and it’s mated to an aluminum chassis that’s configurable for cheek rest height, recoil pad position, length of pull and so forth. At 9.3 pounds, it’s just heavy enough for the precision rifle crowd and just light enough for open-country hunting.

Presumably, that’s why Tikka chose to name it the Ace Game—to distinguish it from its heavy-barrel, higher-capacity Ace Target stablemate. Appropriately, Game suggests both shooting games and big game hunting. It’s a crossover rifle, and my testing shows it’s a darned good one.

This example is chambered in 6.5 Creedmoor and wears a 24.3-inch barrel. It’s anodized Midnight Bronze on aluminum parts and Cerakoted Midnight Black on steel. Tikka offers a wide spectrum of variations, including all-black versions, and an impressive lineup of chamberings including .223 Rem., .22-250 Rem., 6.5 Creedmoor, 6.5 PRC, 7mm Rem. Mag., 7mm PRC, .308 Win. and .300 Win. Mag.

Barrel and Action

Available barrel lengths are either 20 inches or 24.3 inches, and there’s about a half pound difference between the two. The 20-inch version is certainly handier when fitted with a suppressor for field use. The 24.3-inch version offers around 100 fps more velocity with the 6.5 Creedmoor cartridge.

More velocity enables bullets to buck the wind better and carry more impact speed way downrange. Both are key advantages to competitive shooters and hunters alike when firing a mild cartridge such as the 6.5 Creedmoor. It’s up to you whether compact packability or maximum reach is more important. The good news is that Tikka offers both, so you have the option.

Tikka’s T3x action has been around for many years, so it’s well proven. It features dual locking lugs on the bolt head, with a stout 0.22-inch-wide extractor set into the right-side lug at about two o’clock in the bolt face. A spring-loaded plunger-type ejector opposes the extractor at about 10 o’clock in the bolt face.

Both bolt shroud and bolt knob are made of high-impact polymer. Spiral fluting in the bolt reduces weight slightly and provides a place for crud to accumulate when shooting in muddy, dusty or other dirty conditions while allowing smooth bolt operation.

Handling and Fluting

The bolt handle dovetails into the bolt body and is secured by the cocking piece. A small tab with a dab of red paint in a divot serves as a visual cocking indicator. Tikka T3x rifles employ a two-position safety at the right rear of the action. When engaged, it locks the bolt.

According to company brand manager Joe Cunniffe, the barrel on the T3x Ace Game is the same as on the Tikka Roughtech models. The Ace Game’s barrel is fluted, which reduces weight without compromising stiffness and helps with rapid cooling. Up front, the muzzle is threaded 5/8x24 and ships with a simple thread protector. The fact that it does not have a muzzle brake is indicative of the overwhelming popularity of suppressors.

Some iterations of the Ace Game ship with a simple “black steel” finish. Those are generally priced a tad lower. For the $100 upgrade cost, I’m a big fan of the enhanced corrosion resistance and visual appeal of the Cerakoted version I tested.

Triggers are single-stage adjustables. As received, mine released at a very crisp one pound, six ounces. It’s perfect.

Double-Stack

Magazines for the Ace Game are Tikka’s traditional composite single-stack mags, just like the company uses in its hunting rifles, except these are five-round versions rather than just three rounds. Ace Target rifles, on the other hand, use Tikka’s more expensive double-stack metal 10-round magazines.

Because so many precision rifle shooting competitions—from PRS to NRL Hunter—require eight to 10 rounds per timed stage, I wish Tikka had used the 10-round magazines in both versions of the new Ace line. However, it’s worth noting that the magazine well inserts are made of composite, and all three current mag-well types—T1X, single-stack T3x and Tikka CTR double stack—are interchangeable.

Cunniffe also said the company is currently developing an AICS magazine well for the Ace. The molds are being cut even as we speak, so that will soon be an additional option as well.

What’s really unique about the T3x Ace Game is its chassis. Machined of lightweight aircraft-grade aluminum, it’s got all the bells and whistles modern precision shooters demand. As a bonus, Cunniffe said the Ace chassis will be available for sale separately, so if you already own a T3x or T1x you can drop that barreled action right in.

Adjustability

The chassis is super adjustable. The cheek rest features dialable height adjustment, with a release button and a spring-loaded return spring that enables the shooter to lower the cheek rest in an instant to remove the bolt and clean the bore. Push the locking button, and the cheek rest will spring back up into place at the predetermined height.

The recoil pad is easily adjustable for height. Beneath it, the toe of the stock has a flat section with an M-Lok slot, and the rifle comes with a nice bag rider with a thumb hook installed into that slot. QD sling cups are machined into each side of the skeletonized stock.

Some shooters may lament that the stock does not fold. I’m not one of them. Non-folding stocks are more rigid, lighter and less costly. Adding a hinge would likely have bumped up the price of the Ace Game significantly. I seldom use the folding feature on the hinged stocks I do own, and I think a hinge has little practical use—while I recognize the cool factor.

Tikka sells the T3x Ace Game with a good hand-filling AR-type grip installed. While I haven’t seen the need to try it, literature indicates it can be adjusted for angle and distance to trigger. If you don’t like it, it’s easy to change. Above the grip there’s a reversible thumb rest.

Flexibility

The chassis is machined identically on each side, making it compatible with left-hand Tikka barreled actions. Cunniffe told RifleShooter it’s likely the company will offer southpaw versions of the Ace Game at some point.

A quality section of 1913-spec optic rail is factory-mounted to the top of the action. On its forward end are a cutout and a screw that would allow the end user to add an additional section, lengthening the rail to provide a mounting surface for accessories. The standard Tikka dovetail is machined into the top of the action, so if you want to mount your scope low and close, you can remove the optic rail.

The trigger guard and magazine well are combined into one nicely contoured composite part sandwiched between the vertical AR-type grip and a textured metal barrier stop in front of the magazine. As for the fore-end, it’s a well-designed flat-bottomed affair with an integral machined Arca rail. M-Lok slots run down the length of both sides and the bottom. A QD sling cup is installed near the rear of the fore-end on each side.

Notably, the tip of the fore-end is fitted with a serrated anti-slip block of composite. This adds a surface that can be wedged against a barrier to achieve adequate stability in challenging positions.

Accuracy

Enough tech specs. How does this rifle shoot? For testing I mounted a Nightforce ATACR 4-16x42mm F1 scope and added an MDT bipod. My very first three shots after bore-sighting resulted in a 0.40-inch group.

With that great start, I bore down and fired two more three-shot groups. To my astonishment, the second group cut a ragged 0.24-inch hole, and the third group an itty bitty 0.14-inch hole.

From a clean, brand-new barrel, without any break-in, the new Tikka produced a three-shot average of 0.26 inch at 100 yards. That was with Sako TRG ammo loaded with 136-grain Scenar bullets.

This Sako load would prove to be the most accurate, but not by a whole lot. As you can see in the accompanying chart, of the seven loads I tested, not one averaged more than three-quarter m.o.a. Even more impressively, five of the seven averaged less than one-half m.o.a. There were no fliers, no unexplained impacts—nothing but impeccable accuracy.

Point of Impact Consistency

As if that level of accuracy alone wasn’t impressive enough, I allowed the barrel to cool only between different ammo types. As a rifle destined for precision shooting disciplines, the T3x Ace Game rifle must maintain its accuracy and hold its point of impact over long shot strings and with a very hot barrel. In order to test its integrity when hot, I fired those three consecutive three-shot groups back to back, as quickly as I could re-stoke the magazine.

I don’t think I’m sticking my neck out to say this is the most accurate 6.5 Creedmoor I’ve ever tested. That’s saying a lot considering the cartridge’s propensity to shoot well in most rifles.

Throughout testing the T3x functioned smoothly and reliably, never threatening to hiccup. I fed cartridges from the magazine and I chucked them in through the ejection port. No issues either way.

Ergonomics of the Ace Game is typical of chassis-stocked rifles. It’s easy to make the chassis fit you perfectly, but it’s cold to the touch, angular in the hand and heavier than a similar wood-or composite-stocked rifle would be, but it offers a lot of great shooter-friendly features. I particularly like the barrier stop in front of the magazine, the thumb rest that helps with consistent shooting-hand placement, and the easily activated magazine release. The cheek rest’s quick release for lowering and spring-back function are really nice for removing the bolt and cleaning the bore.

Light-Trigger, But Heavy Overall

Any discussion of ergonomics wouldn’t be complete without mentioning the one-pound, six-ounce trigger pull. It’s crisp, clean and consistent. Overtravel is a tad more than you’d find with some aftermarket triggers, but you’ll pay a lot of money to buy a better trigger than what comes stock in this gun.

Although the Ace Game is much too heavy to serve as a mountain rifle—or even an all-around backcountry hunting rifle—its weight is just fine for hunting from a stand or in open country. The weight would be an advantage in windy conditions or when jacked up on adrenaline from spotting a giant buck.

While it’s not classy in a historic sense, in today’s world of technical shooters, it’s got panache and style to spare. This rifle would be at home anywhere from your local PRS match to the far-reaching senderos of South Texas whitetail country.

What’s impressed me most about the T3x Ace Game is the combination of world-class accuracy, consistency, reliability and shooter-friendliness. A decade ago, you’d pay north of $5,000 to get a custom rifle that would come close to equaling this one. You can have almost three of these Tikkas for that price.

If you’ve been looking for an honest precision centerfire rifle that’ll shoot lights out but won’t break the bank, I recommend Tikka’s T3x Ace Game. Short of spending $5,000 or more, nothing else touches it.

Tikka T3X Ace Game Specs

• Type: bolt-action centerfire
• Caliber: .223 Rem., .22-250 Rem., 6.5 Creedmoor (tested), 6.5 PRC, 7mm Rem. Mag., 7mm PRC, .308 Win., .300 Win. Mag.
• Capacity: 5+1
• Barrel: 24.3 in. medium profile, 1:8 twist, threaded 1/2x28; Midnight Black Cerakote finish
• Overall Length: 44.3 in.
• Weight: 9 lb., 5 oz
• Stock: configurable Midnight Bronze chassis; fore-end w/M-Lok slots and Arca rails
• Trigger: adjustable single stage; 1 lb., 6 oz. pull (measured, as received)
• Safety: two-position bolt locking
• Sights: none; optics rail
• MSRP: $1,849
• Manufacturer: Tikka, sako.global

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