T3 or 695 ?

Win Mod 70

Well-Known Member
Advise please. If purchasing second hand would you go for a Tikka T3 or a 695 if the price difference wasn't an issue and why. Given that it would probably a Hunter model and I may want to replace the stock with a synthetic variant would this change your advise.

Win Mod 70
 
t3 for me every time who knows why you get in one car and it just feels right yet you get in another and think no thanks yet they both have 4 seats and a stearing wheel.i think a synthetic stock for a t3 would be esier to find too.i have had 2 t3 custom builds and 2 t3 left as standard and they all were shooters.
 
The 695 is a much heavier long action rifle with a steel receiver. It is a very good rifle, as is the short action 595.
If you like wood, get the 695. If you think you might like synthetic, get the T3 and both stocks. Most wood on the T3 is rather plain. These are not show guns. The money in them is where it counts. I doubt you will break a synthetic stock, and you could not repair it if you did. It is injection molded cross linked fiberglass reinforced copolymer polypropylene. It is very rigid, hollow, and light.

I have a T3 Lite SS in .30-06 and love it. It is not picky, shoots everything well, so phenomenally.
I really would like 7mm-08 in a T3. It seems to me to be made for something like the 6.5x55 or .270 Winchester, for hiking all day in the hills, or climbing after sheep or goats.
 
Don't dismiss the 695, they are a sound action well made but slightly heavy. The only thing is that they were last made some time ago now so condition is vital. I long regret ever selling mine.
 
M595\695 were made to a standard the T3 is made to a price.

You can get theM595\695 in plastic, as well as the T3. Both shoot well. I think the trigger on the M is a little crisper, but the the T is almost as good.

Out of the two, I would go with a good M695 but if a T3 comes at a good price then snap it up
 
The M series action is far better than the T3, the down side being replacement stocks and accessories are harder to place than the T3
 
Essentially, it is difficult to make direct comparisons. I have both. The T3 (lite synthetic) is "plasticky" and doesn't somehow manage to generate that elusive pride of ownership. But it shoots amazingly well. The 695 feels more reassuringly as if it has a heritage... and the trigger is much better. Obvious, really. Get both.
 
I have a 685 (precursor to the 695!)
all metal and very well made
metal magazine too

neither will win design awards but there is not the headache finding spares as most of the stuff will fit or can be made to fit the M chassis
 
I've got an LS55, predecessor to the 695 series. The action on mine is sooo close to a Sako 75 that my gunsmith managed to make a Mcmillan kevlar stock fit......which means the whole package, including bipod, Zeiss scope and mod weighs in at a shade under 10lbs. If you are climbing hills all day with your rifle, go for the lighter one. Otherwise, I'd go for the older one any day. A bit of research into stock could also pay dividends.....
 
I'm guessing that this is a hypothetical question. If you could find a shop stocking an M695 and a T3 then it would be an instinctive decision once you'd had a chance to handle each side by side.

Even if you prefer a ready made synthetic stock, I don't think that presented with T3 Synthetic against an M695 in wood that you'd pick the T3. On the other hand, there are far more T3's about so their secondhand value is lower so that might sway you if you're on a budget, as M695's do hold their used value.

There is just as much plastic in the M695 and Bewsher's earlier M658 mag model as there is in the T3....... the magazines are steel-sided in each rather than the plastic T3.

The long action LSA65 (not LS55 if you're 'googling' - LSA55 is the short action model) is a different option as it's actually shorter and lighter than the M695, and is 'all steel'. If Lochty has found a McMillan M75 synthetic alternative this would be a bit of an enticement over the M695 & T3 models?
 
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ive just found a stainless m695 laminate in 25/06. dont see many of them about these days in this stock and cal.

she is a beauty though. couple of marks on stock as you expect. but i will get that redone in future if i can be bothered
 
ive just found a stainless m695 laminate in 25/06. dont see many of them about these days in this stock and cal.

she is a beauty though. couple of marks on stock as you expect. but i will get that redone in future if i can be bothered
Great find jay ,I've been looking for the same in .270 to match my .222
 
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